Red Garter Inn

There was no staff on site when we arrived, and our room door had been left wide open. As I looked around, another guest came out of his room, walked straight past me, and entered ours. I first thought he was the host, but he stepped back out and returned to his own room. It unsettled us and made us feel unsafe. Later we found pubic hair in the toilet, which made us think this guest might have used our bathroom before we arrived. It raised serious concerns about privacy, cleanliness, and security. The host later said the guest was staying an extra night, thought the room was unoccupied, went in to “take a look,” and then booked it for the following night. But he was already settled in his room before we got there, and we checked in well after check-in time, so he had plenty of time to access our room earlier. We can’t know if anyone entered before we arrived, whether anything might have been taken and blamed on us, or whether hidden cameras could have been installed. The host called it an “honest mistake” and offered only a downgraded room, without compensation for the inconvenience. The bed was extremely firm and uncomfortable. The whole experience fell far below expectations, and I wouldn’t stay here again.

I was looking forward to the historic hotel, but this wasn’t a comfortable stay and I can’t recommend it. I don’t understand the high rating. Maybe it’s the building’s history or its location. There were no real services: no greeting, no one around to answer questions or bring things we needed, like toilet paper. Unless you’re paying $30-50/night, I’d skip it. We paid over $200 in the off season, and I felt taken advantage of. We rented the biggest room, "Big Bertha." It was okay, and the reservation did warn us about the very steep stairs, which were quite an adventure to climb. But they didn’t warn us that it was basically just a room, and not well stocked. We had to call for more toilet paper. There was no water, coffee, or tea in the room. Both beds had sheets that were too small, only reaching your waist or lower chest. Really? I’ve traveled for years and never seen that. The room’s 'balcony' looked out at noisy equipment, so sitting there wasn’t appealing. In the morning I expected fresh coffee or tea, but it took me 15 bleary-eyed minutes to find the hidden Keurig pods, which were cheap, and everything was do-it-yourself. The coffee was barely drinkable, so we had to buy some elsewhere.

The bathroom was freaking awesome, and everything else made for a really comfortable stay. We were in Big Bertha's room, where the beds felt great and the temperature was just right. We ran a white noise machine and heard nothing. Easily the coolest hotel we've stayed at.

Clean, nicely put together, and really interesting. We had a good time and would come back.