Greg P.
Yelp
Overpriced and running on fumes...
(if looking for a review of the restaurant only, please skip to end of the review; second to last paragraph)
My wife and spent a weekend at the Manor on Golden Pond. I had visited once before decades ago and remembered it being luxurious and elegant. My how age comes for all! Perhaps, I have been blessed to stay at many other beautiful inns and hotels across the U.S. Whatever the reason, the Manor on Golden Pond is a disappointment.
Holderness is a great location to get away from it all. And I do mean "all". You will not get a single bar of cellphone service at the Manor. Be prepared, for good or for ill, to be cut off from the world. Still the New Hampshire mountainside is gorgeous. The locale is not the issue. It's the Manor itself.
The staff are helpful and well-intentioned although at times, harried and overwhelmed.
The decor is quaint and well-suited for the countryside environment. However, the rooms are old and a bit musty. The fireplace is a very nice touch. Unfortunately, at night guests (and some of the staff) who do not know how to start a fire set off the fire alarm. This went off three or four times during the evening. We had no problem starting our fire. We simply ignored the 10 steps listed on the placard above the fireplace and used our previous experience. If we followed the 10 steps we would probably still be trying to light a fire. Plus, the starter packets were nowhere to be found.
I will note that the view from our room was breathtaking. The patio outside the room was also pretty.
The main parking lot is a little small and if guests dining at the restaurant but not staying at the Manor take up all the spots, prepare to have to park further away.
The breakfast was lacking to be quite honest. For a 4-diamond establishment, this should have been much better. The kitchen forgot our homefries on several of our dishes. The eggs benedict were modest in size. My wife's omelet was quite greasy. It simply was not gourmet given the price of the stay and the luxury that the Manor should be aspiring to provide. Any diner could produce a similar breakfast.
The dinner was the biggest disappointment of them all. In fairness, I must note before continuing that the server was very nice and helpful. The restaurant is rated 4 diamonds. I ordered the wild mushroom risotto. It was a bit oversalted but not bad by any means. I had the beef medallions for dinner. I asked for the beef to be cooked medium. What I received were two dry bricks that had previously been beef. Most of the other accompaniments, mushrooms and fingerling potatoes, were also very dry and over baked. I have no idea how a 4 diamond kitchen can do this and respect itself. My wife ordered the beet salad which was good. However, her chicken was extremely dry. The desserts (the goat cheese cheesecake and chocolate financier) were average. Perhaps, my definition of 4 diamond is different. Perhaps, Boston has spoiled me. But at a 4 diamond restaurant, I expect to leave impressed and there should not be a single issue with the food.
We will not be returning to the Manor on Golden Pond. For the price of one of the night's stay, we could have stayed in any number of luxury inns in NH or Vermont.