We booked this on-line with 1st Class Bed & Breakfast in Fredericksburg who have many B&Bs listed. We wanted to stay somewhere close to town so we could just walk. When we arrived in the Hemingway Suite, we were assaulted with the delicious smell of pizza. The only problem is when cooking pizza often there is the smell of burned crust. It smelled like they were baking it in our living room. Secondly, the noise from the restaurant was atrocious. You could even hear people pushing their chairs back to get up or scooting them in to sit. Even though the suite did have a large screen TV and listed as having cable service, we could not get any stations. You could hear the waiters taking orders. As for the suite, the bathroom shower glass didn't look like it had been cleaned in a while. There were not enough towels for a 4 night stay. I was reading in the book that they leave for you to make your comments and someone had stayed there the night before we arrived and their comments were that the TV didn't work and the pizza smell was overwhelming. She also said she had stayed there 4 times and this would be the last unless they fixed the pizza problem. I called the reservation service, highly irritated, and they did accommodate us with another property that was more money but they didn't charge us the extra. For the 4 nights we were at the other property, we were treated like step-children and not treated to things offered like cheese and fruit trays, fire logs to match the amount of nights we were staying, freshening of the linens after a couple of days, etc. This is really a critique of both the B&B and the reservation service (1st Class Bed & Breakfast Service.)

We spent a night in the Barcelona Suite. The first thing you notice when you walk in is all the locks on the cabinets/ closets. Not even a place to hang your clothes without moving a chair. But if you DO move the chair, you can't walk around the bed.

And what ever happened to cleaning? Our bathroom had mildew on the shower tiles, no wastebasket , and dust so thick you could write in it! The living area was littered with gum wrappers as if school children had had a gum wrapper war. And the coffee table had a white powdery substance all on one edge. Didn't even want to know what that was! When we opened up the bed, we found a paper wristband, such as you are given to go in and out of some of the local festivals. Made us wonder if the linens had been changed.

And fruit tray with chocolate as advertised on the website? Not in our suite!! However, the kitchen did come complete with 2 microwaves -- aparently the built in one no longer worked. And the frige was stocked with 2 diet Dr Peppers, and 2 6 oz orange juice!! How upscale can you get?

The passageway from the bedroom to the bathroom was locked, so we had to walk thru the LR, Kitchen, and entryway to get to the bathroom.

There was no shampoo or conditioner in the bath, and the "decor" was 3 rolled up wash cloths in a basket. I pulled one out to use, and it was stained and still had mascara on it from the last person who used it. YUCK!

There was no security lock or deadbolt on the inside of the door.

When we voiced our complaints to the people at "First Class" B&B seemed to just shrug off the complaints with a "sorry". and didn't really seem concerned. Don't waste your money on this dump.

Pros:

Beautiful historic building
Large, spacious accomodations
Good access to Main Street
Privacy [at least during winter months]

Cons:

Poor housekeeping: We had to visit a local supermarket to buy items that would be standard in a cheap chain motel; most glass surfaces grimy and sticky
Loud heater
Guest clothes closet locked [apparently they store cleaning materials in it]
Inoperable coffee maker

The owner of A.L. Patton Suites is also the C.E.O of the First Class Bed and Breakfast reservation service [whose service is quite variable depending on which individual you speak with in the office -ranges from superb customer service to extreme disinterest]. They advertise 'first class' and you pay a 'first class' price, but the experience, just because they do not take care of 'the little things' is a 'second class' experience.

We stayed at the AL Patton recently for our first Fredericksburg B&B experience, and and there were good and bad things about the room (Hemingway Suite).

First the good:

The location is great, just at the western end of Main. We were only a short walking distance from most of the shops and the restaurants. Walking into the suite, it is very impressive in terms of size, appearance, and layout. This second floor room is very large and the living area's 4 or 5 main windows look out over Main St. I liked the decor for the most part, even though it seemed at times that they were blending too many different styles. The bedroom was seperated from the living area and had a little fridge and microwave in the closet. The bathroom was very nicely decorated and the most pleasant of all the rooms. It also seems they have attempted to correct some of the problems mentioned by previous guests. The heater in the suite worked (almost too good - I put it at 72 and woke up in the middle of the night and had to turn it down). Even though no breakfast is provided at the building, they did have a cheese and cracker plate in the fridge along with a $10 voucher good at some of the coffee shops and bakeries on Main.

Now to the bad:

Most of what I had read from previous reviews is true. One of the primary complaints was from noise and I have to say the noise was somewhat bothersome. When in the bathroom, we could hear people talking from the adjacent room (Barcelona). Street noise was also audible, but any place on Main St will have a little street noise so that wasn't as big a deal. We brought our iPod and portable speakers, which drowned out all this noise, but a lot of people might not have this option. The restaurant underneath the room was closed all day, so we didn't have to deal with that noise at all, which was mentioned by other guests. The noise that bothered us the most though was the bedroom fan (very squeaky) and the sound of the heater turning on and off. Both my wife and I had a bad night's sleep even though the bed was very comfortable due to this noise. I didn't notice a problem with dust as other guests had, but it did appear that the room could benefit from a more attentive cleaning crew. The shower glass looked like it wasn't cleaned at all before we arrived. Also, the breakfast voucher we received was good at a only a handful of places, but none of them served a good big full breakfast from what I could gather, but rather most were coffee/bakery style places instead.

We stayed at the AL Patton only one night and it was on a Sunday, so the rate was less than on the weekends. Still, it was over $150 with tax, so I think you should shop around more before settling on this place. The room is more unique, spacious, and interesting than most hotels, but the value and wealth of lodging options available in this town should be considered first.