C S.
Yelp
Quirky, eccentric and cozy! The fireplace in our beautiful room was toasty and welcome as we checked in during a thunderstorm and torrential downpour. The inn is nestled in a quiet residential area, which had a fantastic vibe. I've never stayed in a B&B style hotel before so it was really cool to be able to stay somewhere that felt local - it is!
The service was good, but a bit hit or miss - checking in was a wee bit confusing. The day we arrived in Portland, we tried calling them to see if we could do a slightly earlier check-in. It was a random Tuesday in July so we figured we'd ask and if not, no big deal! However, their phone number returned an "all circuits are busy" response so we just walked in to ask.
Really nice staff members told us we'd receieve a call in the afternoon when our room was available. We ended up getting caught in the heavy rain close to check in time and had not received a call. We tried to call them again to no avail - it rang once and told us that all circuits were busy and to try again later.
We entered the lobby. It was empty except for a woman sitting at her laptop. I initially greeted her thinking [hoping] she might be an employee, but she was just a really nice fellow guest. We eventually found someone - I think my partner accidentally walked into the kitchen, haha, and they didn't really seem to want anything to do with us. I guess our room had been ready for a while, but the missed call was not explained. They handed off our key, but it was awkward because we didn't know the building or layout at all. We asked them where our room was and we were told it was upstairs on the second floor. We were handed a printed out map of Portland and a brochure advertising local businesses and went to go find the stairs.
They do keep their only front entrance door locked and guests will need a code to get back in. This was awkward because we weren't told this [I'm sure Diane would have told us if we'd met her first] aaaand locked ourselves out when going to get dinner - oops. There's no working buzzer or doorbell and the phone was a bit spotty again so we ended up knocking until someone came and apologetically and graciously explained the code to us. Again, just something that would have been helpful information upon check in.
Diane was upstairs and was absolutely fantastic - she intercepted us by chance in the hallway, told us a bit about the inn and the artwork that went into the awesome rooms and suggested restaurants in the neighborhood! She was so lovely and I would have figured her for an owner/operator of sorts - very accomodating and happy to have us!
If you are into handpainted walls, kitsch, mismatched furniture and prints, fun dustruffles, and a clean, modern bathroom, this is the place for you! It added character, fun and more local color to our trip. The service was mostly HIT so I would definitely consider staying here or another Lark Hotels location, but my overall suggestion as a guest to the staff would be to make sure the inn is a bit more easy to access, get in, check in, and find your room. Shabby chic is a cool aesthetic for a hotel but not for a phone system in 2018. It ain't the Grand Budapest, even though this place looks like the perfect Wes Anderson fever dream.