Business combined with down-time with my brother landed us here. Our reservation, and my stupid questions via email (next time I'll read the website thoroughly) were addressed promptly. On arrival, we were impressed by the breathtaking gardens, old trees, and serene fountains which surround this inn. The common rooms are handsome and spotlessly clean. Common amenities are average-to-excellent and are par for the course with a place like this.
Our greeting was tepid. We weren't shown to our rooms, only told which way to turn "when you get to the top of the stairs. The fridge and drink pantry for guest use upstairs was tiny and cluttered.
While told that the place refused pets (due to allergies) we were greeted by a very gregarious, hairy Golden Retriever. He was friendly enough, but ruined the blue blazer I planned on wearing at dinner/out, and the inn had no facilities to send it out for cleaning. They certainly didn't offer to have it cleaned.
My bedroom, with it's own bath, was spotless and excellently appointed. The shower head spewed water onto the bathroom floor but at least there was plenty of hot water at a fine pressure. The suite's own climate-control was nice -- I didn't expect a B&B to be equipped that way. The Caswell-Massey products boasted on the website were absent; another boutique provided toilet supplies. But the Vitabath promised for the shower was there -- and reminded me that I've not bought this stuff for my own shower in a long time.
The place is very quiet, however, it's not built to enhance quiet - the walls between suites failed to conceal the activities of the persons therein. This place is not for you if you like to play loud music, or have long, loud telephone conversations. I don't, so it didn't make a difference. Had my beloved been here, I'd hazard a guess that we'd both have been thrown out because my beloved is a music-lover -- at all hours of the day and night.
We really wanted to love this place. One star off because the "Culinary Institute of America"- trained chef/owner wasn't inspired at all. Breakfasts were Spartan and uninteresting. Store-bought baked goods and under-ripe pears with balsamic glaze do not a breakfast make. An over-cooked egg thing was inedible. Coffee often ran out, as did creamer and supplies.
The most significant disappointment was when we asked that our rooms not be made up. Bro works for a federal agency, and I brought client work, so we didn't want the help going in, for security reasons (laptops/briefcases). We thought it would save the innkeepers trouble and money.
The response to our request for privacy was "that's not gonna happen."
How does one respond to such a response from an innkeeper? We chose silence and came up with an alternative plan. The local police secured our laptops - a nice favor -when we presented credentials and explained the potential for a security breach.
If you're in the North Fork for wine fun, go here. If you're a lush like we are, you'll get along fine with the innkeeper's wife, because, like us, she can't wait for cocktail hour. Except she was working. We were on vacation.
The redeeming factor here is that the place was a great value - not cheap, but a superb value for the grace and serenity of the physical plant. Even discounting breakfast, which we had elsewhere every day.
I don't know if our problem was that we just didn't feel like drinking wine all day (and then driving, drunk, as did some of our fellow guests), or that we didn't want to hear all about the second-rate wines offered at the local vineyards over and over again.
Our fellow guests had, for the most part, been there before and were signed-up for activities. One of them knew who I was and despite my gentle requests (four) for privacy and anonymity, continued to inform other guests about how "woefully awkward" he found several of my media appearances.
This place is pretty, it's well-located, but my experience was more like staying in the home of a tight-assed, drunk in-law than a serene, revitalizing B&B experience. read more