My Sunday has just been ruined as well as my memories of my 16th wedding anniversary.

It has been one week since we stayed at the inn and we just received a phone call from the owner, Hazel, accusing us of stealing pillows from two of the rooms!

My wife answered the phone and became so quickly flustered that she had to pass the phone to me. Hazel refused to discuss any details but instead lectured me on how stealing was a sin and then hung up on me. I tried 4 times to call her back to try to clear up the matter and each time she hung up on me after a similar lecture. I am an EAGLE SCOUT and I would do nothing to tarnish the image of the Boy Scouts. I am taking her accusations personally, and her unwillingness to even discuss the matter makes me extremely upset! We had many disappointing aspects to our 2-day visit, but I would have never even written a review figuring that maybe Hazel had a bad weekend. After all, it was her 75th birthday. But her actions show me that she is not a good host and she may have more serious issues which are demonstrated by her actions today in accusing us of stealing pillows FROM TWO ROOMS! (Important note: another couple stayed in one of the rooms supposedly missing pillows after us. How come Hazel didn't have the pillows missing then, and ask us about them while we were STILL STAYING AT HER INN! She was cleaning the room herself on Sunday when I asked for ice.)

Thus I will now tell my full experience of the weekend to inform and warn others.

We were supposed to stay at the "Love House" a second property owned by Hazel and Richard. Upon arrival my wife was met by Hazel in the parking lot and told with no introductions that "You are not staying here!" My wife finally figured out that she was telling us that she had moved us to the other house because Hazel was putting her entire family up in the Love house. We knew nothing of the change. But, since we were getting an upgrade (so we thought) we went with the flow. We were shown two rooms and given our choice (Blue or Burgundy) at the Victoria-Albert. The 3rd floor Burgundy was much too hot (2nd floor thermostat read 80 degrees) so we accepted the Blue. Nice room, a little warm but we were told that the ac would cool it off by evening. The room instructions said there was "turn down service" but it never happened (Maybe since we touched the pillows, that’s why we got accused of taking them!).

We were asked the next morning to change rooms because they had the blue room booked to another couple for our second night and Richard had not talked to Hazel about reservations. (A hassle) Now we had to stay on the 3rd floor in Burgundy. Again, we went with the flow as each room is neat in its own right. The inn is very conveniently close to the VA creeper bike trail. On our second day, Sunday, we returned from 20 miles of biking, I was very hot and I asked Hazel for ice for my warm soda. She was cleaning the Blue room from our stay and screamed through the house for Richard! When he did not answer, she said I would find cold water in the fridge and that I would have to wait for ice! Ice was never brought to the room and after15 minutes I went to look for the ice again in the community room. Hazel saw me enter the room and with a very rude voice, treated me with contempt by slamming the freezer door across in front of me to show me how the ice was placed in the fridge part (NOT THE FREEZER!). BTW the thermostat never dropped below 78 during the day on the second floor and it felt warmer on the 3rd floor. Thank goodness for all the rain to cool things off. We left for dinner and stayed out of the inn for the evening as it was clear that her birthday party was planned encompassing the entire 1st floor (decorations, balloons, etc) and we were not invited. We didn't desire to attend the party but that left no nice place if we wanted to sit someplace other than our room, to meet other guests or socialize.

I can say that she made a good omelet but we had eggs both mornings. We were not told the breakfast menu but we were told where to sit.

I've started to calm down now after an hour of typing. My anniversary weekend will be forever tainted by her phone call. Do your self a favor; don't risk a stay with Hazel.

This was our first time staying at a B&B so we weren't sure what to expect. We were met promptly an shown to our room which was beautifully decorated. Room was very clean and comfortable. We were given our barter tickets and were on our way. The next morning breakfast was great, very nice. Our hosts were very gracious and friendly and made us feel right at home. The walls are a bit thin and you can hear others walking and talking in the house, but it's a house so I suppose that's to be expected. Other than that, no complaints. Very much enjoyed our stay.

The innkeepers were very accommodating in handling our several changes of plans, checking us in early, obtaining our theatre tickets and reservations for the bike ride, and serving an early breakfast. The room was beautiful and the bed comfortable, but warning: the AC doesn't reach the 3rd floor and it didn't cool off until midnight. Breakfast and dinner were excellent but the innkeepers admonish you if you don't eat something.

Met upon arrival by Hazel, in a frenzy of instructions and notifications of things she was NOT able to do for us - serve us dinner that night, put us in the room we requested, or present us with our Barter Theater tickets. She actually admitted they FORGOT WE WERE COMING! (We had a reservation confirmation for a package deal for 2 nights, a dinner, and theater tickets weeks in advance.) Awful greeting for first time weary travelers!!! We felt like a total inconvenience. Not to mention she shouted most of the time because the TV she was watching was turned up extremely loud. This TV could later be heard in the second floor bedroom. Very annoying.

The new room she put us in had immediate problems. This began the role of my husband having to play handyman - when we were supposed to be on vacation! The toilet didn't flush (figured out the broken chain could not be immediately fixed) and the sink did not have hot water- my husband had to fix that. We told Hazel about the broken toilet and then were rudely led to another room since this room was unusable. Hazel made it a point to inform us of the exact price and how much extra this other room was costing her. She also went on to complain about her housekeeper and even previous guests! A good business owner should never be saying such things to their customers!

The room we were now given was extremely cold. There were obvious differences in room temperatures throughout this inn. This is either a mechanical or financial issue that the owners need to deal with and fix. As we proceeded to head out for dinner and to the theater, we asked Hazel if she could get the fireplace working in our room because it was very cold. She began to inform us (as she did several other times later on as well), that she has a bad wrist and that her husband had knee surgery and she only might be able to help us with the fireplace "if we didn't get back too late." In other words, these innkeepers were unable to run their own business at this time due to their limitations and ailments. It would have been more appropriate for them to close their business during this time or hire the appropriate help!

Needless to say, Hazel did not get the heating issue in our room corrected during the 3 1/2 hours she had while we were out. She was in the same spot watching the loud TV when we returned. And once again, it became my husband's duty to get down on his hands and knees and attempt to turn on the fireplace in our room while Hazel shouted out instructions and tried to light the pilot light which she seemed unfamiliar with.

The fireplace did not heat the room at all during the night. My husband and I awoke in the early morning hours, sat up miserably in our coats and hats, agreeing to check out first thing in the morning. To be courteous to the owners, we waited until we heard Hazel was up (we never did see her husband the whole time we were there) and then we checked out of this place after politely expressing our discomforts with this inn. The final words we got from this bed and breakfast owner were, "IT'S NOT MY FAULT."

We would never go back and would never recommend this B&B. I'd like to sum up my complaints in these two paragraphs:

It is very obvious that this inn needs some TLC, updating, and fixing. The display does not adhere to the true character of the house. It seems as if the owners just bought it and never upkeep it. As already mentioned, the heating issue needs to be addressed. The bathrooms had brass fixtures that were all tarnished and green - very unappealing, not clean. Several light bulbs were burnt out in the final room we got and everything smelled musty. The decor was a mishmash of second hand junk. The towels looked like what we would use for old rags. We noticed two different bugs in the inn. Our wastebasket was lined with an old Walmart bag and the bathroom hand-soap was a 1/4 full bottle from CVS. Overall, things were dingy, dusty and crusty. It made us wonder if the owners ever check the rooms. This is shameful for a bed and breakfast as we were paying for the quaint and comfortable amenities of this particular Historic Home in this historic area which we chose to visit. We were terribly disappointed.

These owners were not prepared for our arrival nor were they able to handle the circumstances that came up due to their physical limitations. Situations came up that required our assistance and this is inappropriate. They were open for business though they seemed to not be ready or able to handle business under their personal situation. Hazel even seemed unfamiliar with how to operate things in the house. Due to their personal situation, they should have implemented a back up plan which could have included hiring a part-time host. Hazel's comment about these circumstances not being her fault leads us to question, then whose fault is it? It certainly wasn't ours, though she made us feel as if we were an intrusion. They are the business owners and hosts. They need to take responsibility of this business they own, have the rooms ready, and keep all things operating well and in good condition, or perhaps it is time for them to retire.