200 South Street Inn

The entry process was way too complicated, and there was nobody on site to help. All the instructions were buried in a novel of a welcome email. If you’re coming over from your Uber, you’d better sit down and get your reading glasses out. Maybe I’m dumb, but other guests were confused too. A few basic signs could fix it. The property has new owners and feels totally different. It’s no longer a B&B, though they still benefit from old reviews. Everything feels cut back: the room was tiny, maybe half the size of a standard hotel room, too cold, and the shower never got hot enough, even for someone who doesn’t like a hot shower. The walls were thin, with no real sound blocking. At 5am a beeping noise woke me despite being a heavy sleeper. I waited, then went to investigate and found somebody had left the fridge outside my unit open. There was no room turn-down and no tissues. Taken together, all these little things define the stay.

South Street Inn, you’ve lost me as a customer. It’s still a nice hotel, but it used to feel like a real B&B and had a quaint charm. This year it’s become a smart home with total automation and no personal connection. At $500 a night, I shouldn’t be troubleshooting internet or parking. On the first night, our internet didn’t work. I spent 45 minutes trying to sort it out before calling the 800 number. The person who answered was great and fixed it, but why should that be an issue at this price? They have internet in Sudan, for crying out loud! The next evening, the parking lot behind the inn was packed. There are 12 rooms and 15 spaces, and I was a guest, but there was nowhere to park. I called the 800 number again. I stay at Marriott’s around the country and have never had to call an 800 number to complain about parking or internet, especially at this rate. They told me to download a QR code and park down the street. That was inconvenient and felt less safe than parking behind the inn. The automated setup may be good in some ways, but it loses the true B&B experience that brought us here. If there’s a problem, you have to call an 800 number. I’m not naturally a complainer, and I’ve never paid this much for a stay.

It’s still a nice place to stay, but it has changed a lot and lost much of its charm. The experience feels impersonal now. It used to be one of our favorite places.

The staff were lovely, the rooms gorgeous, and I even had a little footstool for my teddy bear. Breakfast was proper food, not like many hotel breakfasts, and the wine and cheese in the library were delightful. I left a necklace behind and contacted the hotel later that day. They found it and mailed it promptly. I’ve only been back home a week, in another country, and it was already in my mailbox today. I’d return in a heartbeat.