We stayed here for one night on the way home from Portland.
Tons of positives:
We were in awe of the detail and fantastic restoration the owners had done. We loved the furniture, wallpaper, and painstaking touches that made it really feel like a blast to the past. The grounds are amazing, and the more you wander, the more you'll see- flora, fauna, and a perfectly placed table and chairs to sit and enjoy the grounds. The room was exquisite, and we wish we had more time to spend and enjoy the space. Breakfast was delicious, and we enjoyed our conversation with the owners and other guests. Check out time is at noon, and it's nice to have an extra hour before you have to pack up and leave.
A few cons:
It being an old house meant that sounds travelled far. I think we'd stay in the Brick House next time, for more privacy. And while I loved the food and appreciate their efforts to make it special, I'd also have been happy to have a serve yourself meal and not have a specific reservation time for breakfast.

We've stayed here twice when visiting Ashland. The rooms are beautifully restored and decorated. We've stayed in 3 rooms: the Brick Cottage, the Barron and the Gibbs Room and of those, I liked the Gibbs the best. They did a great job.

There are only two drawbacks to the place. First, it is a long, dark 15 minute drive after a play. It is hard to find the turn off the highway. It is fine in the summer-and it is in such a beautiful setting that it more than makes up for it-but I wouldn't want to be making that drive in the rain or snow.

Second, John is a stickler for precise timing, which really detracted from the vacation vibe both times we stayed there. He's otherwise an extremely pleasant person, but he would do well to let go of his expectation that his guests stick to an agenda.

When you book a room, he will ask you when you want to check in. We showed up 20 minutes early the first time we stayed there, and the first words out of his mouth-once we found him-were "You are early."

The last time was even worse. When you check in, he asks you what time you want breakfast. He writes it down! We said 9:30 the first day and "earlier" the next day. He didn't ask me to elaborate and since they only serve breakfast for an hour I didn't imagine it would be a problem. The second day we showed up for coffee at 8:00am and started chatting in the living room with several other guests we'd hit it off with the day before. We moved to the breakfast table when they did (after John said to come on in) and continued to chat. The rest of the guests joined shortly. In my wildest dreams, I could not have imagined what happened next.

After a bit, John walks out with hot scones and announces in front of the table of 8 people, "Now who said they were coming at 9:30 but showed up early?" When I said, well, we said that for the first morning but I told you we wanted to eat earlier the second morning. He told us in front of everyone that I had not gotten back to him with a change in time and that Kathy needed 15 minutes to make our scones-then promptly set the scones down in front the other guests and left us sitting there humiliated and empty-plated. It was awkward for everyone, and the table fell silent. He finally came out after about 5 minutes with some fruit for us, but no scones until our scheduled breakfast time. As I write this, I realize that maybe we were supposed to just get up and slink away until 9:30, even though we were having a great conversation with another couple?

I felt really, really bad, so bad that as I am writing this review, I'm not sure I'd stay there again. It is a very, very lovely inn, and if you can follow John's rules, you will enjoy your stay. Otherwise, prepare to be scolded in front of other guests.

Historic preservation is my passion, and the Ashland Mountain House is a grand example of working preservation excellence. Once a stagecoach Inn, the Ashland Mountain House still functions as an Inn...a century and a half (and more) later. I doubt the miners had eggs benedict for breakfast though. Maybe they had banana pancakes and walnut butter like I did...no journal entries of 1852 suggest this good fortune. D. and I got to stay two nights...the other couple at breakfast got to stay six nights. Oh, how I envied them.

We were treated like royalty in this remarkable B&B, rebuilt from the past with love and skill and maintained with care and thoughtfulness. We spent three nights of a long weekend attending performances at the Shakespeare Festival in early-August and returning to the peace of the Mountain House. Set about 8 miles south of town, on a small country road, the surrounding countryside was beautiful and calming. Breakfasts were five star events with fresh fruits, fresh baked goods, and creative meals. Kathy's baking skills reached their peak in the afternoons, when she placed extraordinary home-baked apricot tarts, or peach cobbler, etc. on the dining room table for anyone to sample. John's accuracy in rebuilding this historic stagecoach stop made for a beautiful step back in time with choice designs in our comfortable bedrooms. All in all we loved our stay and would return in a heartbeat.