4 stars for the inn proper, 2 stars for the restaurant.
Despite some warnings from previous reviewers and the hotel itself, our GPS had no trouble locating the Woodbound Inn, tucked into an off-the-beaten-path lakeside community in rural New Hampshire. We arrived just before the snow, and it looked like a perfectly charming place to hole up for a storm.
The outside has a rambling New England feel like the many ancient farmhouses in this part of the country that have seen a patchwork of additions over the years, but the inside has undergone a very tasteful renovation with lovely finishes...I would call it "Contemporary Colonial" for lack of a better descriptor? Simple and elegant rather than ornate. Anyhow, it was a pleasant surprise, especially given the low nightly rates of $81 for standard rooms and $120 for suites.
Our suite had the feeling of being furnished over time with collected antiques and real art, and I very much appreciated the details that the Woodbound got right...really good lighting (a mix of recessed cans and lamps everywhere you could possibly want one), terrific paint colors, old wood floors, aged oriental rugs, and hidden quality elements such as high-end door hardware, fabrics, faucets and tiles. These little details, however, were lost on the boyfriend, whose ideas about a properly-appointed hotel room seem to be based largely around quality and size of the television(s) and creature comforts such as microwave and mini fridge. But I loved it and said so over and over again. I would be perfectly happy curled up here for a week or more with good books and my knitting and some hiking boots and nightly cocktails down in the lobby area after dinner in the dining room. It very much felt like a good place for a self-contained vacation.
At least, that's what I thought until we experienced the restaurant. First, let me say that our server was DELIGHTFUL and the high point of the evening. Craig (I think that was his name) personally made me a spicy bloody mary which was to die for, then pre-mixed a couple and left them with the kitchen staff so that I could have them with brunch the next day.
But with the exception of the tapenade, the food just wasn't very good. We started with the corn fritters...HUGE portion (I'll upload a pic), but otherwise exactly as a previous reviewer had described...fine, but bland and devoid of any sign of the promised bacon/scallion flavor. Boyfriend got the cocoa-crusted filet which he hated for its mealy texture, and I got a barramundi special which was similarly a big disappointment. The lobster and ravioli that accompanied it were actually pretty tasty (decent, not great), but the fish - - which should have been the highlight - - was awful. Overcooked with a burnt bottom (and I mean BURNT as in flaky black cinder, not merely a char) and a top crust that was so tough I could not cut through it with any utensil on the table. Starving and not above a bit of creativity, I tried to eat the fish out from between the two wretched layers only to find it borderline spoiled. Not so far gone as to make me sick (I hoped), but enough to taste and even smell a bit "off." If Craig hadn't been so nice, I would have asked him to smell it. But never mind, it was a pleasant evening on the whole and we would be returning in the morning for brunch which was rumored to be outstanding (full breakfast until 9am was included with the price of our room, but we opted to pay the $8 upgrade and get the brunch which started at 10:30 and would let us wake up a bit more leisurely).
So the next morning, we watched the clock with stomachs rumbling after our failed dinner (oh, add in-room coffeemaker to boyfriend's list of things that take a hotel room from good to great) and went downstairs to brunch at 10:30 sharp. Only to be told by the front desk that the restaurant had closed 15 minutes prior due to a broken stove, that brunch was cancelled, and that we had missed the breakfast that was included with our room rate. Awesome. After some awkward silence and my noticeable disappointment, the desk clerk said that she MIGHT be able to get us a cup of coffee or see if the kitchen had SOMEthing they could give us to eat, but the hesitant way she offered made me feel like an urchin at the back alley door so we declined and checked out...hungry and woefully uncaffeinated. Suffice to say my visions of a self-contained vacation in a country inn were shattered by the reality of having to bundle up, clear snow and ice off the car, and drive several miles just for a cup of coffee.
We'll go back (because I have a groupon to use!) and I will hope for a better experience with the restaurant, but I will definitely be packing some snacks, an electric kettle and my french press just in case :) read more