GUESTS BEWARE - Innkeeper threw us out with no warning. Having grown up in a hotel family and studied hospitality, I understand the service industry is challenging. However, the treatment we received from Mel at the Maplegrove Inn was the most irrational and disrespectful lodging experience I have ever had.
My friend booked the room. On the day of arrival, I called ahead to ask for dinner recommendations since we were arriving at 7:30 PM and local spots closed at 8 PM. Mel answered and immediately became hostile about us missing the 7 PM check-in cut-off. I politely offered to have her leave a key under a rock, but she refused, aggressively stating they must meet every guest. She grudgingly agreed to stay until 7:30 PM.
To save time, my friend dropped me off at a nearby restaurant to grab food (I was 6 months pregnant & hungry) and went ahead to check in. When Mel realized I wasn't at the check-in, she became livid. When my friend explained I was grabbing food because I was pregnant, Mel snapped, "Stay somewhere else, I'll just refund you." This was an incredibly stressful and unsafe situation on a peak summer Sat night in a tiny town with no other lodging options available.
My friend returned to pick me up, and we assessed our options. Finding nowhere else to stay, we reluctantly returned to the Maplegrove. I swallowed my pride, walked in with a smile, and introduced myself. Mel had cooled off, offered a brief apology, said she'd thought I was being "entitled and inconsiderate" of her business hours, and handed us over to Kate, who was lovely and settled us in. The rest of our one-night stay was physically comfortable, but entirely ruined by the extreme stress of the arrival.
For Management: my friend got 1 confirmation email sent to us two months prior, which buries the 3-7 PM check-in time without highlighting it (see screenshot). It also instructs guests to call if they need alternate accommodations--which we did, only to be met with hostility and an attempted eviction. While Kate was professional, I cannot recommend the Maplegrove Inn. Your stay is entirely at the mercy of highly mercurial innkeeper Mel. read more