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    Boone Tavern Hotel

    3.8 (217 reviews)
    Open Open 24 hours

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    Rear entrance from Parking Lot
    Bob S.

    We decided to stay here while travelling through Kentucky. It's a pretty fancy place on the National Historic Register. Located next to Berea KY College, it's in the heart of Berea which makes traffic a problem at times. The rooms were nice enough but our biggest gripe was the window air conditioner that left a lot to be desired from a noise perspective. And being right in the heart of Berea, the traffic noise was more than expected. They have a nice restaurant and a beautiful lobby. The bathroom was roomy and the bed was comfortable. Free parking in their lot. It cost a few dollars more than other places but it was fun to stay at such an historic hotel for one night.

    Always a great stay!
    Mandy S.

    A cozy place to stay & scenic outdoor adventures await you! Tour the stunning Historic Boone Tavern with me Hike the beautiful mountains of Berea Kentucky & book your stay at the elegant Historic Boone Tavern Hotel in the heart of it all. Built in 1909 & named for Appalachian hero Daniel Boone, the Boone Tavern has been hosting visitors of Berea, Kentucky, ever since, including the Dalai Lama, Henry Ford, President and Mrs. Calvin Coolidge, Eleanor Roosevelt, Maya Angelou, and Robert Frost. They even have a hiking package! Whether you like to get outdoors or cozy up inside, Boone Tavern is the perfect place to stay.

    Information on the master switch.
    Looking Out For The City ..

    02/04/2025 Checked in at the hotel. One thing I noticed with this hotel is that the parking is to the back of the hotel on approach. The parking spots do seem small and I wonder if there are enough spots, for number of rooms at this hotel. The interior of the lobby is really homely, arm chairs, fire places, etc. I was able to turn the key and enter my room (you had seen that right. One uses a key to enter their rooms at this hotel). What I had noticed though is that there is a MASTER SWITCH one has to turn on before the bathroom light comes on and the main light/fan over the bed. I found this to be an inconvenience because it was never told to me upon check in that I would have to do this. One can find this information on a document on the dresser next to the coffee and under the t.v. What I found interesting was there is a sign on the t.v. that states "You Hungry?" yet I would rather have that same sign display the fact that a master switch needs to be turned on before electricity is on in the room. I feel like people in my generation probably do not know what a master switch is, so I feel like this needs to be displayed somewhere easily seen and explained. When I got into the room, the first thing I did was bee line it to the bathroom. Would it make sense to put it there? I do not know. Would it make sense to put it on the t.v.? I think that would be the best place. Another inconvenience was that there was no waste basket in the actual room part. There is one in the bathroom and so this led to me always having to go to the restroom to throw anything away. Restaurant The restaurant part of the hotel is really nice. I was able to get a table next to the window and one can see all the college students walking by. I had the smoked rainbow trout cakes and the spoon bread is COMPLIMENTARY. I did not know that from other reviews on here. It reminded me of a puffy pancake with corn taste. 2/5/2025 I ended up waking up to take a shower and noticed that the shower had taken a good amount of time to get warm. Is there a way to fix this? Also, I ended up getting breakfast, two biscuits and two turkey sausage patties. I found it interesting that they served the biscuit with apple butter in addition to regular butter. The apple butter was so good!

    Loved this pristine hotel with the serene blue dining room. I traveled alone and my room was small but the perfect size for one. The area is charming and beautiful to walk around in. Too bad I only spent one full day there.

    Ivy Y.

    Beautiful hotel. Came here with a dozen or so other women for a motorcycle retreat. The whole place is beautiful and elegant yet very comfortable. Sometimes I feel like I'm in a museum when I'm somewhere like this but this place had a very "homey" feeling. Maybe cause I was there with my homies LOL The restaurant was so good. I ate at least one meal there every day of my 3night stay. Sometimes two! I would 1,000% stay here again. I'd love to bring my husband.

    Michael G.

    First rule of Spoon bread is do not ever try to get spoonbread during the Spoon-bread Festival in Berea. Save your self-time and trouble just go to Boone Tavern and get it there. The Tavern is beautiful but pricey and has a limited menu. I love the rustic feel of the place. I had a sweet onion soup to start off, it was like french onion soup with gruyere cheese. Jennifer had the Trout cakes, which as a interesting take on the traditional style crab cakes. I was going to have the grilled Ribeye, which is a 12-oz ribeye, (Med Rare of course), cooked in a garlic herb butter glaze with a truffle pomme pave' which is very thin sliced potato dish. I had to look that up because I had no idea what it was. Priced at $48,00 is is some what pricey. But opted for a cheaper option of the Wilderness Burger instead. My wife had the had the Chicken Saltimbocca, which is a chicken wrapped in prosciutto and stuffed with ham and mushrooms along with smashed potatoes on the side. The downside to the dinning is the limited menu. The Flourless Cake is amazing, and so is the Ky Butter-brown Cake. We stay the night in the hotel as well, the rooms vary in size but all have the rustic decor and feel for them. We had breakfast the next morning before leaving, once again limited menu options so we settled for Biscuits and Gravy with 2 eggs on the side. The downside that is always common with biscuits and gravy is the ration of gravy to biscuits. Not enough gravy with the biscuits. If you are thru the area visiting in Berea, check out Boone's Tavern, nestled among many craft shops that you will most certainly find something to catch you eye, but don't forget your wallet $$$$$$$

    Ray R.

    Stopped in for a bite while staying in the hotel. The hot brown was really good and the service good. The atmosphere lacked and kind of stuffy but don't let that steer you away because the food is comforting.

    Dining room
    Anne R.

    Love the history throughout the hotel- definitely take time to linger and read the walls and browse the craft catalog. You'll start to see some familiar things around the hotel from the college craft. Here for dinner? The signature Spoon bread is gluten free corn meal- dig in ya'll! Moist and mealy! They sell the mix too as an add water only mix if you want to make it at home too! Want to make it even better? Ask them for some of the amazing honey they carry, or maybe a dab of some hot sauce for an extra kick. We just wanted a light meal, so we ordered the Kentucky Burgoo, which is like a combination of veggie stew and chili, with chili powder and cumin flavors. Garden salad with red Russian dressing may have had an interesting kick of Worcester sauce in there. Dessert was a decadent and dense bourbon glaze bread pudding (no raisins) that made me crave a coffee to wash it down. Apparently it's a dry county but restaurants and the tavern can sell beer, wine, and liquor- so if you're visiting the college, come here for your sips of Kentucky bourbon. A $30 breakfast voucher was included on a website special for booking a room online, and for our voucher, we got two coffees a Classic Tavern Breakfast of eggs, local farm sausage, herbed breakfast potatoes, and biscuit; and a yogurt & granola plate, and a slice of banana nut bread.

    Flaked chicken

    Great food and wonderful service. Quite snowy Sunday dinner. Food was hot and fresh and very tasty.

    Rachel D.

    Not impressed one bit. The historic hotel was pretty but otherwise nothing here was impressive. It really stinks when you spend a good amount of money on a meal only to be so disappointed. We ordered two lunch meals and had water to drink and walked away spending like $40. If the food was good, that would have been a different story. We started with spoon bread - so bland. I ordered the Mac and cheese with pulled pork. It did get a little better as it sat a short time but still not very good! Especially for $21 - wowza! Hubby ordered the grilled chicken club sandwich. It had good taste but the chicken breast was tiny compared to the large bun. The fries were just alright also. So bummed we wasted money here when there are so many good restaurants! I would not recommend.

    Butternut squash ravioli
    Debbie D.

    Execution good, service can be a little spotty (I am sure it depends on what time you arrive ;-) The spoon bread came out warm; the butter we requested arrived 5 minutes later when it was now cool. NBD My dining partner had the chicken in a nest; not exciting but sturdy fare and the mashed potatoes were spot on. I enjoyed the butternut squash ravioli and the leftovers were great for breakfast the next morning... LOL Bread pudding could've been a little less sweet, maybe skip the layer of sugar on top. The bourbon was very distinct! Very beautiful setting but could use a freshen up, perhaps a pop of color. Just my opinion, of course...

    French toast

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    Review Highlights - Boone Tavern Hotel

    Official Motto of Berea College, established in 1855: "God has made of one blood all the peoples of the earth".

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    Holiday Inn Express Berea

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    This is what a roadside hotel should be! Extremely clean, friendly, comfortable, quiet and right…read moreoff 75. When we rolled in close to midnight, we were greeted by Arthur who was the friendliest and most helpful hotel employee we've come across in a very long time. Check in took less than a minute and we were in our sparkling clean room another minute later. The bed was so comfortable. In the morning, another smiling face greeted us warmly in the lobby. (Sorry, I forgot to ask her name!) The included breakfast was well above average and also super clean. Jennifer kept things stocked, never stopped cleaning, answered questions, and was yet another positive and friendly staff member. I don't know who hires the employees here, but they have a real knack for finding gems! Overall, this experience far exceeded expectations. We will be returning whenever our travels find us in the area!

    The hotel was very comfortable and provided a good night's sleep, just what we needed on a long…read moredrive. That's the good part and really the most important part I suppose. The bad part and really only reason it's 4 stars vs 5 is that my booking.com app wasn't working properly and had the hotel at $128 for the night before taxes. Since I couldn't get it to work (i recently upgraded my phone and suspect that's the reason), i asked the receptionist if he could match the price or do anything for me to get closer to it. He said he can't give any discounts and the rate is $199. That's crazy to me. I was checking in at midnight. I also signed up for Igh rewards but they said since i didn't sign up prior to my stay i can't get credit for the stay. Silly really, when you're trying to promote a rewards program but refuse to give the reward.

    The Brick Room - Recently renovated historic space in Downtown Shelbyville, KY.

    The Brick Room

    (2 reviews)

    My wife and I went and checked out this event space and think it will be a great fit for our…read moreupcoming parties in 2015 and 2016+. We booked it for both a corporate event for our California business and also a personal party in 2015 to entertain friends within a one hour flight from Chicago. I was referred to it by a guy in New York who was looking for a place to entertain two sets of clients, one in in Lexington and one in Louisville, at a central location around the Oaks and to do the Bourbon trail one day. It is a midpoint location part way between. They have a unique high ceiling apartment rental next door that I think you can rent in conjunction with the event space. The unit is huge. I stayed one day while I was siting my party weekend. That makes for a great place for the wedding party say or to entertain the most important clients at your event. Both the space and the loft are very unique and have a much younger/modern vibe compared to the traditional decor and architecture for this town. There is a good Mexican restaurant next door. I really liked the open layout, you could decorate it however you liked if you wanted to do a theme, but it also looks great with the minimalist shop lights and functional sliding warehouse-style door. I don't want to quote prices because it probably depends but I was surprised how reasonable it was, talk to them yourself... The primary drawbacks as I see it is there is nothing else to rent like this within 20 miles, so I probably will have to rent it several years in advance and I tend to have a hard time planning work events too far in advance so it may be booked before my 16 and 17 event is planned. I talked to Kevin, who was very informative and down to earth. I met with an owner there also who happened to be dropping by to weigh in on some details. He is a broker in this town and said he did this as a creative outlet (enjoys rehabbing historic properties) and to increase the demand for permanent housing nearby as he is an investor, so that is how he can justify to rent it out at what I calc'd to be below-market rates for this type of space. If you like modern style, high ceilings and flexible space with a nod to the past and walkability to nearby goods and services(huge factor for us) is a big consideration for you, this is your thing. Check it out for yourself ... I think you will agree with what I am saying though- the place is sharp and this town had needed something like it for a long time. Look forward to many events here.

    Gorgeous event space!!! Super cute apartment on top and fun modern- rustic style! I had a bride…read moreget married here and it was stunning! Perfect new wedding venue for smaller weddings! Quaint and in the heart of sweet Shelbyville! Don't know much about price range of renting the venue but it's worth checking into for any private party or quaint wedding!!! Down side to the location is finding it! But- once you do- it so neat and special!!! To the owners- you may want to paint the back door a funky bright color for parkers that park behind the venue to find the right entrance!! And painting the front door the same! We were a bit confused of where to get in... But that seems to be an easy fix!

    Boone Tavern Hotel - hotels - Updated May 2026

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