Hemingway House Boutique Hotel

I loved the street and the location, and it was nice to park our car and leave it until we went home. But the rest of the stay was a hassle. My family had stayed here over 10 years ago, and we returned after it was recommended as a B&B with wine for our anniversary. The place has been renovated, but in my opinion it’s worse. It no longer has the old town charm, and looks nothing like the photos on its website or third-party sites. We arrived on Thanksgiving to find no one available to check us in. After we rang the bell, a surprised-looking woman named isa came out. She had us wait outside while she checked whether we were expected. For nearly $1,000 for two nights, I certainly hoped she had our reservation. Then she brought us upstairs to the room called “Martha.” The door code was supposed to be the last four digits of our phone number, but it didn’t work, and she couldn’t open the door either. Eventually she used her personal code. The room had space to walk or space for bags, but not both. The bed was comfortable and clean. We had a nice street view from a balcony shared with neighbors across the hall, so it wasn’t private. Nothing was soundproof: we could hear neighbors in the bathroom from bed, every creak and step, and every door opening and closing. We’d booked a BED & BREAKFAST, as Expedia, their own website, and signs outside and on the door all say. isa told us when breakfast would be, but there was no complimentary wine, despite that being in the listing. In the morning, a happy, warm woman was weeding the front entrance. We first assumed she was the owner because she took such pride in tidying up. Her name was **GALENE**, and she worked there. She was confused when we asked about breakfast because no one had told her there was any. Galene immediately offered to make it, since isa had told us breakfast was 9-9:45, but we wanted to walk around instead of sitting down to eat. We declined her repeated offers and said we’d take her up on it the next day. The next day the owner, ERICA, and her husband, JESUS, arrived. We asked to talk because the Hemingway house listing across multiple platforms was INACCURATE. ERICA was standoffish from the start and blamed Expedia for the incorrect breakfast and wine offers. That’s hard to understand when their own signs and website call the place a BED & BREAKFAST. When we said the photos didn’t match either, she said the property had been remodeled. ERICA said she’d honor breakfast the next morning. By then, a $3-per-person breakfast wasn’t worth arguing over. It was the principle. For what guests pay, don’t fight them over a cheap breakfast they booked, and take responsibility for misinformation instead of acting like you’re doing them a favor. Otherwise, why stay here instead of a hotel?

We booked through a third party for November 27-29 and paid for the stay there. The listing promised complementary wine, breakfast, and parking. On the morning of the 28th, we were told there would be no breakfast or complementary wine. When we complained to the owner, Erica, she responded unprofessionally and negatively. She said they don’t honor third-party sites, that the site had lied about the booking, and that they don’t provide complementary items. Galene was the one bright spot. She did her best to fix what the owner or manager wouldn’t, and provided breakfast on the morning of the 29th. It was amazing. Parking spaces are very small. The rooms that have been “updated” are small and grey, and don’t look like the pictures on the booking sites or even the property’s own website.

We came from Missouri and Colorado after hearing positive reviews, and were very disappointed. We’d told them when we were arriving, but got very little information about parking. When we arrived, all we were told about the rooms was “upstairs,” which wasn’t much help with three buildings. We called the emergency line six times and got voicemail. No one answered until an hour later. After we finally figured out how to get in and settled, relatives traveling with us sent a picture of the back of their bathroom door, covered in DRIPPY MOLD. Reviews suggest management changed very recently, which is disappointing. We told them ASAP that we’d check in late, as requested. But after multiple calls, emails, and texts asking them to return our messages, we waited HOURS for anyone to respond. While writing this, I’m in a very hot room with no way to control the air conditioning. The bathroom window shutters won’t stay closed. There’s only room for bags or walking space, not both. The website photos are from previous owners and don’t show the current conditions. This ruined our trip and our mood. If it weren’t so hot outside, we’d sleep in the car. Sleeping in a hot car still sounds better than this room.

The email said room cleaning and parking fees applied, but that Wi-Fi, wine, and continental breakfast were included. It first said to let them know in advance if we didn’t want breakfast, then farther down told us to ask someone if we wanted it. There was nobody at the property to ask. The pleasant woman who greeted us wasn’t there while we stayed, and had actually put us in touch with someone else by phone because she didn’t speak English well. The Hemingway House door sign directed questions to The Inn on Charlotte, but that property was locked up too. No one was available for questions or concerns, or to request the complimentary $15 breakfast. There was no complimentary wine, our room wasn’t cleaned, and it was quite warm. We were beyond disappointed. We used to recommend this place regularly, but not anymore. Calling it a Boutique Hotel or Bed and Breakfast doesn’t fit. We could have paid less at one of several hotels and been much happier. We were originally booked at “The Inn on Charlotte,” where we’ve stayed before and absolutely loved it. Because of an air conditioning issue, we were moved next door to the sister property, which was fine with us. The confirmation email also showed the included amenities, so the lack of them was a letdown.