I'd booked this place a while ago - last February when we knew we were going to do the New York Marathon on Nov 6th - and I wanted a place close to the start, and this seemed ideal - besides the rates were WAY more normal than downtown Manhatten hotels. Later I saw some really bad reviews and grew a bit apprehensive. - Well, when we got to the Harbor House we got a really friendly welcome and were shown our two rooms (we're a party of four). Both the rooms (Verrazano and Brooklyn in accordance with their respective major view straight across the water - unimpede) were decorated with BA bit of old-world charm - very, very pleasant and cosy. Our room has a shared bathroom on the floor. This bathroom has recently been totally renovated it seems. Our bed is really comfortable and nice. It's also totally quiet at night, except you will hear other guests returning and talking loudly out in the hall.
For breakfast there's corn flakes, croissants, different types of bread and bagles - fruit would index be nice ... the seating is a bit limited, one large table seating up to roughly eight people.
We really like this place and wouldn't hesitate to come here again - people should just keep in mind it IS indeed a B&B and not a 5-star Hilton, and as such it is a realy great place to stay with a lot of charm and a view to die for.
Grocery stores are 2 minutes away, so's the nearest bus stop, which will take you to the ferry in about 15 minutes.

I'm not one to write reviews but this Bed & Breakfast was SOOOO bad I had to! We came in NY one day earlier than planned and all the hotels in SI were booked, except this one (we know why now).

First off, we came at 9hr pm and had to wait 45 mins, in the lobby, for the owner to prepare our room? I can't believe he didn't have ANY time during 7 am to 9pm to prepare a room if the whole bed & breakfast was vacant.

After entering our wonderful 4x4 bed room, that cost 150$. The bed was hard as a pile of bricks, if I slept 2 hours that night it was all. In addition, we only had a bed spread for a blanket.To add more joy to this wonderful bed and breakfast, they don't provide towels, face cloths, hand towels or any soap (neither for the sink or bath)??? Do you travel with hand soap in your purse in case your room doesn't provide it? Also, I hope you and your partner are comfortable with each-other because the door for the bathroom is a french door AKA you can see into the room when you pee or take a bath.

For the breakfast part, well, it starts a 7am. However, the owner is not there to provide breakfast?? We waited from 7am to 7:45 am in which we gave up. We were lugging our baggage to our car when we saw the owner arrive. I confronted him; telling we had been waiting for 45 mins for our breakfast and he replied with an ok??? We were later informed by another guest that switch to the same hotel as us that breakfast consist of cornflakes & croissants.

This was a total waste of a penny, would NEVER recommend to anyone.

We live in Manhattan and my husband wanted a weekend getaway at the last minute in July. There are not a lot of choices. Friends stayed here in April and recommended it and we made the reservation before I read these reviews. BEWARE and note that this is not a 5 star operation. The manager Mervyn and his wife have run this place for 12 years and they do not cater to anyone really. The do the minimal amount necessary. It was hard to reach them by phone or email - mostly they don't respond.

We drove which made things easy but I'm sure you can come from Manhattan via the Staten Island Ferry and the S51 bus and then it's just a few short blocks from the bus stop although the neighborhood where the bus stops does not look particularly iniviting. This corner on the water is totally peaceful and lovely. The oil tanker ships and some cruise ships line up under the Verazzano Bridge wiating to be called into port. The Alice Austen historic house next door offers added peacefulness and quiet. Across the street is a waterfront 'park' with a foot path a small garden and some benches. The local people come down here and eat pizza and walk along to a very small pebbly beach. The Alice Austen house property has a nice shade tree with a bench. The public wwaterfront area has no shade. The views of the bridge and Manhattan in the distance are lovely.

Those are the PROS.
The CONS are: traffic noise - motorcycles and people coming and going along the water. It wasn't terrible, but it is noticeable. Also, the ships have engines going and exhaust can float across the water. Not terrible, but more noise that one would think.

Marvyn is not a warm and welcoming person in my opinion. THEY DO NOT LIKE TO PROVIDE TOWELS. However, I spoke with him on the phone twice before coming and he never mentioned to me there were not towels. Nor is that written on their website. I told him "I didn't see any towels in the room." ANd he said in a very slow and deliberately unfriendly voice "Guests are supposed to bring their own towels." ANd I said "Well how would I know that? You didn't tell me that when we spoke TWICE." So he said "I'm going to give you two towels." ANd he proceeded to go to the hallway on the second floor where you will see several locked closets built into the wall. He opened one and it was full of neatly folded towels that were actually quite nice. He moves in slow motion and made me feel like he was doing me a grand favor. Since the room was $120 per night plus $20 in taxes, I think we should get towels. That is not cheap considering that this place doesn't offer much.

Breakfast is very basic - croissants, rolls, and generic corn flakes. No snacks. No communal fridge.

The property has a lot of charm and could really be fantastic if the managers cared more. The porch overlooking the water has table and old wrought iron furniture that's comfy. But the flower pots had dead plants in them, and the decor was a bit shabby.

The beach boardwalk at SOUTH BEACH was a lot of fun to walk along. We drove there and parking was free. There is a snack kiosk and a fancy restaurant night club and the boardwalk is quite long with a pier too. Great sunset activity. We ate brick oven pizza at Tony's Pizzeria and Trattoria Italiana on Bay Street which is walking distance although Bay Street is not too savory, in my opinion. We also loved the Staten ISland Botanical Garden which we drove to but is accessible by bus. IT was free, free parking, and very quiet, lovely gardens. NOTE that the Chinese Scholars Garden, which had a lot of money poured into it, closed at 4pm rather than the 5pm that was listed on the website so we didn't get to see it. There are picnic tables and a cafe near one of the perrenial gardens.

So we enjoyed our weekend getaway here. But I did not care for Mervyn and his lackluster attitude. He could be friendly enough, but he puts out minimal effort running the place, which is too bad. I am sure there is interesting history behind this property.

The ALice Austen house has some nice activities. They showed an outdoor movie last night but we had other plans and couldn't come. It has a peaceful vibe and the photos give you a sense of this area during the grand old past.

Parking on the street was free. There is WiFi but Mervyn never told us about it and there are no signs for it. So if your room is on the third floor (no elevator of course) and you are tired and in your jams, you can't get online without going down to find him. I said "Is there wifi?" and he said "Yes." LONG PAUSE. I had to ask "Is there a password?" ANother pause, and finally he told me what it was. The attitude does not make you feel welcome.

The Harbor House is fantastic, Mervin is a great host and a really nice man who i can now call a friend. I would reccommend the Harbor House to anyone who is visiting New York, The rooms are nice and big, the bathrooms are clean and bright, and the view from the porch is FANTASTIC!!!!!! Well worth staying here!!!! Andrew Dev, Liverpool, United Kingdom.