Barrister Suites

My sister and I stayed at the Barrister in the Barrister Suite for two nights, July 22 and 23. This was the perfect location and loved the relaxed atmosphere and the old Victorian home made us feel so special. The dining room is elegant and the breakfasts were nothing out of the ordinary. Nick told lots of stories at breakfast and certainly made us feel like family. He steered us to some great restaurants that were all within walking distance. Beth also made us feel so at home and comfy. Would definitely stay here again.

Great 1 night stay! My husband and I stayed at the Barrister B&B on 8/28 while traveling from Glacier NP to Yellowstone. We picked a good one! We stayed in the Morning Room which was adorable and comfortable. The property is in a great location and we enjoyed walking to the downtown area with many shops and restaurants. We loved the breakfast - yummy! (thank you, Chris) and mostly enjoyed meeting Nick, Mary and Beth. We are so glad we chose this property and will definitely stay again if in the area.

Felt like home! My husband and I stayed here one night before our retreat at Feathered Pipe Ranch and 2 nights afterwards. We felt welcomed and the atmosphere was very relaxed. Nick, the owner, was over-the-top accommodating. Nick helped us get the best out of our experience at his B&B as well as the town of Helena. The B&B is in a great location and we were able to walk to downtown sights and events. Overall our stay was amazing, due to Nick and his staff.

We loved the Barrister Bed & Breakfast! Our room was perfect. Clean, calm and very comfortable. Nick and Beth are amazing hosts. The house is historic and offers large common areas. We also loved the amazing breakfast. The only bad thing was that we stayed there for only 1 night. We would definitely stay there again!

Oh my! What a gem for Helena! Beautiful home, immaculate renovations and restorations. Nick, the owner, did a fantastic job. Tons of character! Beth and the other female were just as wonderful. This sets the bar for all B&B's! Breakfast this morning was just amazing! Close to an expensive restaurant in a big city. Nick spent time showing us around, and even chatted with us during breakfast. You can see the three of them are so proud of the home, it beams from them at all times. Great location, close to everything, and views are amazing. Thank you, we WILL be back.

Beautiful B &B in a beautiful Victorian home. Our host Nick was so welcoming. All of the staff here were super friendly and helpful. The house is gorgeous. They even welcomed us with wine and hors d’oeuvres at 5:30. Breakfast was delicious- we wished we could have stayed longer!

The bed was very comfortable, our room was lovely and the breakfast was delicious. We had a great conversation with Nick, the owner, and his friend Rosemary on the porch over a glass of wine before dinner. I am traveling by bicycle, and Nick gave me a safe place for my bike and good advice on my route. The neighborhood is quiet and beautiful, with the cathedral next door (the Barrister was once its rectory) and beautiful Victorians lining the street, yet it is centrally located. Many restaurants are within walking distance.

The Barrister is a beautiful, warm and comfortable place to enjoy Helena. Every room has its own charm and elegance. We ran into some troubled weather on our way from Portland and Beth was so flexible about our arrival time. We very much enjoyed our time chatting with our host, Nick, learning about the history of the Barrister. Definitely a place to return to. Thank you!

I stayed at the Barrister the night before a state licensing exam and I couldn't have been happier. I was put up in the small study (library) for one last study session and Nick, the inn keeper, checked on me a few times throughout the evening. I felt very cozy, well taken care of, and very much at home. Breakfast was pumpkin waffles and sausage with fresh fruit. Nick is a very sincere, warm, and welcoming gentleman. Don't pass this gem up, I know I'll be back!

I suppose this might be nice for some people, however we felt distinctly unwelcome. This B&B is not gay friendly. If you are LGBT, may I suggest either the Sanders or the Carolina, as both were very warm and friendly.

The Barrister is one of the best B&Bs I have stayed at. Nick offers the right combination to make a perfect stay in Helena. The rooms are large and the beds are comfortable. The Breakfast is also great, but this is not what has drawn me back three times to this big old mansion. The front porch offers a great way to relax well into the night on the cool summer evenings in Helena and the sitting room has piano which is played by whoever is in the mood. The office is set up with what you would need to finish up a proposal or presentation and the TV room is just right sit and chat while watching a game, movie or the latest episode of your favorite show. What makes this place special is that the host brings the people staying there together. You all eat at a big table in the morning and have great discussions where everybody joins in, and in the afternoons you will find a bottle of wine ready and some creation to snack on. Often you will find several of the guests gathered around with wine and takeout food in the evenings spinning tales about their travels or solving the problems of the world. I have been many places and stayed in many B&Bs but I always seem to compare them back to the Barrister. Food is a 4 -- consistently good Breakfast ( Ask for the Orange Pancakes or the Huckleberry stuffed french toast!) Atmosphere is a 5 -- Outstanding Staff is a 5 -- Nick and his sister go out of their way to ensure you have a great stay. Venue is a 5 -- Grand old Mansion restored to a clean well furnished B&B with the added touches of home. You have the run of the place with only the personal living area in the attic and basement off limits.

We arrived on a Sunday afternoon around 5 pm, which was right in the middle of what we thought was supposed to be the "wine and hors d'oeuvres". After letting ourselves in the opened screen door, we poked around the silent downstairs a bit to try and figure out how to check in. We finally went back outside to ring the doorbell, waited 5 minutes, called the Inn's phone line, waited 5 minutes, and then rang the doorbell again. One of the owners (Nick's sister) finally came downstairs to check us in and told us we should have rung the doorbell to get service immediately. What?? Anyway, we were shown to our room (the Lilac Room) and the owner offered to bring us glasses of red or white wine - saying they weren't doing the wine reception because several people were checking in. She brought a very nice silver tray with our requested glasses and a bowl of mixed nuts. The room was very nice looking, and the bathroom across the hall was nice, with a claw tub/shower. Sleeping was a little difficult, due to the heat in our room. The air conditioning is in the hallway and they keep the window above the door cracked open. But even lying sprawled on the bed with the fan on full and a window open, we were too hot to fall asleep for over an hour. Breakfast was good; we had huckleberry pancakes, bacon, and fruit. You specify what time you would like to eat the night before, within a range of 7:30-9 (ish), and your places at the table are set for you when you come down. We enjoyed talking some with another gentleman coincidentally also from our local neighborhood (in Arizona). But it's not a specified breakfast time at the big table, as I was originally thinking from other reviews, so be prepared to have people coming and going from the table. We left with a poor impression of the inn because we were basically made to feel that we had overstayed our welcome. The Lilac Room is just across the (narrow) hall from the washer/dryer. A young man was cleaning the linens and, at 10:30 AM, knocked on our door to ask if we were staying on for another night. It was pretty clear he was wanting to clean our room if we weren't staying a second night, so we rushed to pack up our things and left the Inn. We were never told a check-out time, nor did we feel 10:30 was overly late for us to be relaxing in our room. It was just a bad way for us to leave, after waiting so long at check-in and having difficulty falling asleep. Let's hope this was just a one-off experience for them.

Not the worst place we have ever stayed in... When we arrived the front door was locked and it took several minutes for Leann to respond to the doorbell. They seemed to have family visiting and we definitely felt like we were imposing on their family time. Our room (the Barrister suite) was nice, but we hardly slept at all. I know old houses can have creaks and make some noise, but we couldn't take a step anywhere in our room without it sounding like we were trying to wake the dead. The fan in the on-suite bathroom sounded like a small jet engine getting ready for takeoff, and there was no way to turn it off without turning off the light. Just turning over in the bed made the floor creak. So after about 3 +/- hours of sleep, we made our way downstairs for breakfast at 8:30...major disappointment. We were served cold, hard, turkey bacon, half a rock hard bagel, a cold, flavorless veggie quiche, and a cup of fruit smothered in what I think was yogurt. Needless to say we were no where near filled up. We left as soon as we could get packed, rushed home (2 hours away), and made our own breakfast. Nothing about this place is worth the $140 we paid for the night. We would have been better off in the Holiday Inn. Nick also had the audacity to insult one of his competitors...one that we had stayed at before and had a great experience. Not cool Nick. ...but we won't be going back.