Peggy C.
Yelp
When we checked in, I could sense one of the two people at the front desk looking us over--maybe because we were in casual clothes (jeans/sweats) and most people who stay here--rich people who pay $30-40k/yr for their kids to attend a high school (the nearby Phillips Exeter Academy)--don't usually wear such clothes. As we filled out our info (my car plate), the staff asked for our email (they said it was to contact us in case we left anything behind, or to email us about special offers, or something like that). My boyfriend declined, since he doesn't like getting spam or "offers," esp. from places that he's likely never to go to again (we're in Exeter, NH, remember?). More on that later.
The exterior of the inn was typical of an inn--looked like a large, well-maintained house. Inside, the lobby--from the carpeting to the decorative wall/shelf by the restaurant--looked more like an upscale hotel.
We took an elevator up to our second floor room, and the character of the hotel changed yet again, into what looked more like a nice apartment building in NYC. Polished brown wood doors open into the rooms. Our room was at the end of the hallway, in something like an alcove. Once inside, the bathroom was on the right and not "down the hall" as described on Expedia, which made me think it was to be shared with another guest. It was actually *in* the room, just on the other side of the bed.
Based on others' reviews, I expected the room to be cramped. It wasn't, really. I mean, we had two small rolling suitcases, a bookbag, duffle bag, and one or two other bags, and it was alright. Then again, we put our stuff on the oversized sofa chair and all the surface areas we weren't immediately using.
The bed had about 8 pillows on it, which made it look nice, but ultimately proved impractical as we had to toss most of them off (onto the floor; hey, no other space for them). The bed "cover" (more like a heavy comforter in an olive-colored duvet cover) was really soft, but it was too much with the other one (in a white-sheeted duvet cover) underneath it. The bed and blanket were among the most comfortable I've ever experienced.
The bathroom is blindingly bright--not hospital white, but immaculate. Until you notice the little things, of course. Like the stray hairs on the shower tiles, or the rust on the door hinges, the dust accumulated on the cotton swabs/balls container, or on the sink, or, most disturbingly, on the room doors' decorative molding. I mean, I'm not OCD about cleanliness, but when a brown door has parts of it that are white with dust, that's when I take issue. When everything else is immaculate, what dust there is becomes really noticeable and off-putting. When a place tries to convey the image of luxury and delivers instead something rough around the edges, it's disappointing and laughable (like when the "luxury" towel so described on a card in the bathroom with a bright red ribbon tied around said towel turned out not to be as soft and fluffy as even my towel at home but as rough as those in motels and, dare I say it, those used in my kitchen to wipe spills on the table.
After we checked out and had driven 20 mins to our next destination, I realized that I forgot my phone at the hotel. I called them, and the woman who answered must have been the same one who asked us for our contact info, because she said, in a patronizing tone, "You didn't leave us your contact info." (I wanted to tell her that first, we didn't leave it because we weren't likely to be back there, nothing personal; second, if we had left anyone's email address, it would have been mine, which would have been useless since I wasn't checking my email on the road anyway).
I didn't appreciate the staff person's patronizing manner, but the hotel itself was not bad. I should really email them about the cleanliness of the room, because it would have been a great experience otherwise.
The inn is usually between $100-150, but we were fortunate enough to get the room for around $80-90 on Expedia (last-minute booking for a Sunday night stay).
