Clarion Inn Harpers Ferry - Charles Town

This stay was sad and disappointing after a wonderful visit in June 2021. Back then, the staff, clean and well-equipped room, restaurant, and grounds were all great. I booked again for 10/3-4/25 without checking reviews, and now I wish I had. I was embarrassed because I'd told my travel companions how good it was. I understand it's under new management and they're working to restore the hotel, and I hope they make it better. The front of the building and property looked dismal. A friendly clerk at the desk was reassuring, but the room felt rundown and smelled old and moldy. The desk wobbled as if it might collapse, and the toilet wouldn't flush. Someone tried to fix it while we went to dinner at The White Horse Tavern, but it was still not flushing when we came back. After I reported it again, they said it had been fixed. I asked for another room and was moved two doors down. That one looked just as dismal, though its toilet worked. The staff was friendly, prices reasonable, and the restaurant still served good food, but the adult drinks were weak and clearly not standard 1.5 oz pours. The wait staff was great. The live music would have been nice if it weren't so loud, so we sat outside to hear each other talk. Breakfast was free but boring: tired-looking fruit, pale, barely cooked sausage patties, and watery eggs. I had half a waffle and tea to tide me over until we could get a decent breakfast at a restaurant. The hotel is only minutes from Harper's Ferry.

We were four, including two teens and our dog, staying in November 2025. The staff were kind and hardworking, and the location was excellent, about five minutes from Harpers Ferry or Charles Town and just off the main road. There's a tavern restaurant with live music attached to the hotel. The continental breakfast was decent, served in a beautiful, sunny adjoining dining room. The place looked tired and gloomy from outside, though we might not have minded if the room had been nice. The hallway smelled of old smoke, and the room was musty with a slight odor, but not too bad. We found about ten crickets in the bathroom and some stinkbugs on the walls. One room key didn't work, and the toilet clogged after its first use, so I had to get a plunger from the front desk. The beds and sheets were clean, and the room was mostly nicely decorated.

The location above Harpers Ferry worked well for visiting several nearby historical sites, but I probably wouldn't stay here again. Staff were generally helpful, though some didn't pass notes on to the next shift. The mattresses felt like padded plywood to me, and the indoor pool was closed for maintenance, which was a letdown since we chose the hotel for it. The restaurant only had a limited Valentine's Day dinner menu for couples, so we couldn't eat there during our stay. We had booked a king suite, but at about 11:30 pm the toilet wouldn't flush and there was no maintenance staff. We were moved to a double queen for the night and told we could return to the suite after maintenance came in. The next morning no one was at the front desk, so we went out to explore. When we returned that evening, a different staff member said our suite had been given to someone else and no king suites remained. The room we were given instead was a downgrade and had a water or condensation leak above the bathroom sink. A wonderful woman without a name tag refunded the price difference between the suite and double queen.

The pool was the only reason I chose this hotel and paid that price, but it was out of service and unheated when we arrived. They said it would be fixed the next day, but it stayed that way throughout our three-day stay. I asked for a partial refund and got only the pet fee back, which was no use to me. We were told housekeeping was available on request. We asked for fresh towels and room service, but nobody came. For all three days, we dealt with overflowing trash, replaced our own wet towels, and had to find toilet paper ourselves. The staff were polite but clearly stretched thin, with just one person for all the rooms. Breakfast was disappointing too. On day two, we arrived during breakfast hours and found no juice or protein, just apples and bread. Eggs and sausage were restocked after 30 minutes, when we'd already finished a poor breakfast. Muffins and several things from the first day never came back. The beds were comfortable, but the room wasn't very clean. The carpet looked dirty, dead insects were on the bathroom floor, and the bathroom was basic. Water pressure was very weak, and the shower took a long time to heat. For the price, the quality and service weren't worth it. There are beautiful nearby cabins for half the cost. They don't have a pool or room service, but at least they don't claim to. This felt more like a rundown motel than a real hotel.