We spent a recent Saturday night at the Georgian House bed and breakfast in Annapolis, MD. Yes, the house is old, has a lot of character and is in a great location to downtown, the rooms are nicely modernized, and the hosts -- Ann and Tom are friendly -- but the finer details that you would expect from a $230+ per night B&B are just not up to par.

First, when we entered our room-- the Samuel Chase Room -- which was comfortable but small (or "cozy" as the website says), we found there was no soap in the bathroom. Neither hand soap at the sink, nor bath soap for the shower. So before we did anything, we had to find Ann and ask for some soap. Next, later that evening, around dinner time when we returned to our room from touring the city to get ready to go out to a performance, we found our room permeated with the smell of a pan fried steak from cooking in the kitchen downstairs. Apparently, the ventilation in the kitchen is not very good, or some other unusual thing had happened, and cooking odors filled our room. Fortunately, the room has a small balcony and door, which we opened and ventilated the room. Later that evening when preparing to brush our teeth and go to bed, we found there were no glasses or cups of any kind in the room. By this time of the evening we were tired, in our pajamas and decided to not bother Ann, and just drank water using cupped hands. Next we hopped into bed to watch some TV on a small flat screen TV set and found that the reception of the TV channels did not work. Curiously, although when turning on the TV set it said Verizon FIOS, which is one of the best TV providers in the area, on every channel we explored the picture would pixellate, totally break a part and then go dark. So needless to say, we could not watch any TV.

Finally, the last two details that caught our attention occurred at breakfast the next morning. We were served a croissant-french toast with bacon, fresh warmed fruit, blue berry muffins and coffee and orange juice. Although the french toast and other dishes were good, the bacon appeared to be left-over from some earlier day, or time. It was an assortment of re-heated, broken pieces of bacon strips, clearly not freshly cooked that morning. And it was not what we smelled cooking the evening before. Then on a final note, we couldn't help but notice, with some reservation, that Tom, who played the role of server, brought us the plates of french toast, while attired in an old sweat shirt and jogging shorts. It kind of looked as though he was still in the process of exercising, or had just jumped out of bed in a hurry and pressed into duty.

I don't know about you, but when I spend time, and my money at a B&B in this price range, I expect to have a near flawless experience and to have the little things taken care of. That has always been one of the attractions for me and my wife of staying in numerous B&Bs around the Country. Warm and welcoming hosts, friendly talkative guests, unique settings, exquisite food and service, and attention to detail.