This is our third trip to the Mayflower Inn. The property is beautiful and the room, especially in the Allerton building where we stayed, are luxuriously furnished. The spa is divine with gorgeous decor and great services. Lunch and dinner are always great - prompt and professional service and light and inventive fare. Excellent (if somewhat expensive) wine list.
HOWEVER, I will not return until they replace and upgrade the mattresses. It was like sleeping on a water bed with a painfully hard top layer. How can a mattress feel rock-hard yet offer no support and wiggle like crazy every time you roll around, all at the same time? I don't know - but that's what they've got. Even though the stay is wonderful, I really value a good night's sleep and the mattress situation is just unbearable.

My 3 daughters (one acquired the old-fashioned way, and the other two by my sons' intelligent marriage choices) informed me on my birthday that my gift would be a spa experience with them in December. As my birthday was in August, this gave me lots of time to get excited.
We just returned and the Inn was all it's cracked up to be. From the moment we arrived, the service was quietly efficient and thoughtful. The rooms in the main lodge are beautiful, and the restaurant is excellent - and as we were not looking to lose weight, it fulfilled our foodie desires as well. We decided to hike at the nearby park, and asked the kitchen if they could provide us a packed lunch. They did and it was perfect.
Now for the spa review. Yes, it's beautiful. Yes, the services are outstanding. I do think however that a visitor should know that it is co-ed - and that there are as many men hanging out in their robes awaiting spa services as women. It seemed to be quite the place for couples. I admit that it made me a bit uncomfortable. I chalked it up to my age until my daughters expressed the same thing.
The other quibble I have (and yes, this is probably quite minor...) is that the website tells you not to bring too many clothes as you'll be having 'lunch in your robes'. However, our experience was quite the opposite. The dining room at the Mayflower is quite lovely, and it was absolutely NOT a kind of place you'd be lunching in your robe. As for the spa, we were told that food wasn't allowed!!!!! There is a beautiful dining room table in the outer edges of the spa, but I guess it's just for admiring.
If you go, plan to pack clothes for the restaurant. And, plan to adopt a devil-may-care attitude about lounging with men you've never met. Maybe next time we'll bring OUR men.

Just returned from our second stay in two months and can report that the Mayflower has set the standard for us for quality, with tasteful decor, gracious service, a delicious menu of locally farmed ingredients, and superb accommodations. On our first visit the two of us stayed for one night and it seemed like a week. This time we returned for two nights with two couples and two other friends. All of us left, albeit reluctantly, with smiles on our faces. We met for dinner at night, hanging out at the bar until everybody arrived: There was no rush, no pressure. The rest of the time we went our separate ways, enjoying amazing breakfasts and lunches, working on laptops by the fireplace in the bar, finding a comfortable corner of one of a number of intimate libraries, or disappearing for hours at a time in the beautiful spa. It would be so easy for an inn of this caliber to lose its way with unctuous service and precious decor, where one fears hitting a fork against a plate or raising a voice. There wasn't a hint of stress in two days. Note that the inn is very conducive to working with excellent Wifi and clear ATT cell phone service. Other carriers might be more difficult and require a little patience to find the right corners -- all comfortable to be sure -- to get a good connection.

My husband and I just returned from our 10 year anniversary celebration at Mayflower. I can not think of a more perfect place to have spent it. If you are looking for luxury, romance, and a place to get away from everything, this is the spot. We felt as if we were worlds away - particularly Europe. We stayed in The Allerton Cottage (room 42) and everything about it was magnificent! The spa was perhaps the nicest we have ever been to by a long shot! And the overall service was absolutely stellar. We plan to return as soon as possible!