We needed to stay one night in the Rochester area and picked this hotel after reading the positive reviews. I feel like we stayed at a totally different establishment than the other reviewers.

We were given a room in the original part of the Inn, in the front of the building at the top of the grand staircase. The room was quite big, had a hardwood floor, fireplace mantle, hammered iron hinges on all the doors and old fashioned door latches. While the Inn has some charming period details, if our room was indicative of the other older rooms, they're in need of a major overhaul. The room contained a hodge podge of furniture but no dresser to store clothing (good thing we were staying only one night) and a big tv in front of a window.

The glass in one of the windows was broken in several places, the wallpaper was outdated and dirty in spots, the painted trim was chipped, the floor needed refinishing or at least a bigger rug, the antique bathroom sink top was cracked as well as many of the floor tiles. Tab curtains were hung on cheap white utility rods (which really aren't meant to be seen), and the hem on the bathroom valance (which needed a wash) had fallen out. The lighting in the bathroom consisted of a single bulb antique fixture over the sink. Our bathroom window also provided a view of the kitchen's back door and the dumpster.

We called it a night at 10 p.m. only to be awakened by a group of rowdy dinner guests taking photos for 15 minutes at the base of the grand staircase. (The staircase is only a few feet front the front desk- where was management?) We were awakened at 5:45 a.m. by the sprinkler system hammering (like someone was pressure washing) tables and chairs set up on the front lawn (the front lawn is used for dinner/music on weekend nights). The "hammering" lasted for at least 45 minutes during which it was impossible to sleep.

At 8:30 we went down to breakfast which is set up in the foyer. Breakfast consisted of sliced fruit, banana muffins, granola, milk and oj but NO coffee or hot water. When we went looking for a staff member to help us out we discovered both the kitchen and office were dark. There wasn't a staff member to be found and the phones at the front desk were now ringing constantly. We grabbed some fruit and discovered that the fruit had been cut on a surface last used to cut onion! Yuck!! About 20 minutes later, a staff member appeared. When we asked about the coffee, he apologized and explained that the front desk person had not shown up for work. (Someone obviously set out the breakfast items - shouldn't they have made the coffee?) When we checked out a short while later, he did reduce our room bill by $40 to make amends for the breakfast snafu.

Overall, we were very unimpressed. If you do decide to stay there and you like your quiet time, make sure you ask for a back room in the main inn or a room in Rolland house.

We spent two nights at the Governor's Inn and found it to be a charming old New England Inn. The staff was extremely courteous, friendly and helpful. Even though our room was directly over the ballroom where a wedding was in progress our room was very quiet. We have family in the area and plan to stay at the Governor's Inn on our visits to the area. Anyone who wants a central location to visit both Portsmouth and the White Mountains on daytrips would find this an excellent location for both price and convenience.

We like this little hotel - friendly people at the desk and in the restaurant. We were there on Thursday, the right day to hear live musik of the "hopeless folks". In not more then 5 minutes we were familiar with all the people in the bar. Special thanks to Robin, Luke, Matt and Adam. It was an unforgetable evening. :-)

We stayed for one night on our way to the Maine coast. We had dinner at the restaurant and it was good, not great, but no complaints. The staff was quite friendly and quite competent. The breakfast was nothing special. The rooms were comfortable, but really need to be updated a bit from a cosmetic and mechanical standpoint. However, for the price it was quite a good value. The grounds are beautiful as are the two mansions that serve as the Inn.