I booked this last minute. My first hostel stay and I would like to say I genuinely enjoyed it…read more People hung out in the common area, you get to talk to people who are very friendly. The place was super clean. Would definitely come back if I am ever in the area.

If you're an elder millennial, this is a much different hostel experience than when you backpacked…read moreEurope in your 20s. Black Elephant Hostel is clean, calm, well-run, and has such a good vibe. The aesthetics are top notch. My friends and I loved relaxing at night and working on a communal puzzle at the big table. My only suggestion would be to add more hooks on the wall in the Double Trouble room to hang towels and coats.

Trish was nice and the Vermont soap was a real treat…read more Now for the bad! The Crawford room is more like a little torture chamber... the wood stove smell is intensely acrid, overpowering and just not healthy to be breathing those fumes! There were over 50 ladybugs flying around in my bathroom and in the bed room... also on each window was a clear bug sticky pad... each was completely covered with dead hornets, wasps, gnats etc... like some Natural history insect display. The ceiling in that room is so poor that you can hear every step above you when all the hikers are moving around. It is awful! It's an annoying crunchy sound and it feels like someone is going to fall through the ceiling at any time! I DARE that owner to sleep in that room for an entire week! Also to add insult to injury... 2 new male hiking guests arrived during my stay and they smelled sooo bad that I ran into my room for cover. Their BO, dirty clothing, socks ,shorts, pants, feet etc smelled up the entire kitchen area and the common living room as well. I have been a nurse for over 40 years... this was one of the most disgusting odors that I have smelled in a very long time! They should have paid me to stay there... I was happy to leave. The toilet rocked, the lighting was poor and no cable TV... so much for my $250.00 worth. I would like to suggest that they open a mud room... or perhaps a decontamination area for incoming hikers who need an immediate shower and a laundry area next to that to start on their clothing. Dont expose other paying guests to this filth! These men also put their shoes on the porch with a fan running all night long to dry their smelly foot wear... so much for sitting out on the front porch! Those shoes smelled bad too! I would NEVER return and if you are a retiree who wants a little quiet down time.... do NOT stop here... keep on going.. find a real hotel!

I'm sad that I missed Earth Day yesterday. To make up for it, enjoy this overdue review of one of…read morethe most special places I've ever been to. The Notch hosts one of my fave racial justice orgs - Summits in Solidarity - and that commitment is felt in everything The Notch does. I stayed here in June for their annual Solidarity Night fundraiser and it was magical. I was assigned to one of the bunk rooms on the third floor which contained single beds arranged around a large room with views to the road and lush backyard. There is a large shared kitchen on the middle level, a gorgeous living and dining room, private suites downstairs, and other smaller bunkrooms on the third floor as well. There is also a huge backyard with space for tent camping. Except in private suites, bathrooms are shared. There is also laundry onsite. The Notch is both a backpacker's Eden and an affordable base camp for tourists or day hikers. Read on for what I loved: --AFFIRMING IN ALL THE WAYS. I was just as fat, and Black, and queer as I wanted to be. --Great intro to broader backpacking culture. Yes I backpack with my lil group of queer fat hikers. It was great to get exposure to AT thruhikers and people who set and achieve massive goals. Seriously inspirational! --Super clean and respectful space. I'm always dismayed when travelers of a certain age say they're "too old" to stay at a "rowdy, grungy hostel." Well friends this is anyplace but. The place was spotless from the bathrooms to the kitchen to the bunkrooms. And folks were respectful of quiet hours and day sleepers just catching some Zzzs after a big hike. --Everyone from the staff to guests were super nice. I felt very welcomed and cared for. A woman I was bunking with even asked if I wanted to join her for a trip to Lost River. --Location location location!! Right around the corner about a mile away is North Woodstock, down the highway is Littleton and you are smack dab in the middle of Franconia Notch which AS YOU KNOW is my fave place in NH. I can't think of a better situated place with just the right amount of peace and proximity. I shudder to think of all the summers I spent in the area at AirBnBs, scared to take a chance. So glad I did last June and I hope to join them again for this year's Solidarity Night. Shout to Trish and Serena for making my visit extra special!

Found The Little House last minute when trying to head up to the White Mountains. Kind of wish we…read moregot there a day or two sooner to go across the street for live music(Common Ground....also a good coffee shop). The owner messaged me right back through AirBnB and Peter(owner) met us upon our arrival. Having stayed at many Hostels in the past, this was a good mix of Hostel and Inn. When we asked about place to buy beer nearby he said Hannaford's was 8 miles away, but it was 8PM on a Sunday night. Without us asking, he brought came back and brought us over a few beers he had laying around. There were three different rooms to hang out downstairs and one with a gas fire place. I believe they have seven rooms and can sleep up to 16 people. We stayed in one room with two twins. The backyard was snowed in, but has a fireplace for warmer months. He mentioned they've hosted Family Reunions, Weddings and other parties since buying the property a few years back(they live across the street). Overall great experience and hope to make my way back up there.

A lovely local spot. It is comfortable, clean, good location (a local hangout spot/cafe/bar/pizza…read moreplace across the street) with charming old-fashioned decor. Rooms are wonderful and I was excited that our room was also warm (I've had a several issues with heat in B&Bs in NH, MA. They seem to always keep rooms too cold for my taste). Bathrooms are shared, so if you are a bit hesitant about sharing bathrooms with strangers consider other place. Bathrooms, however, are squeaky clean, and one of them have a sauna. Common use areas look cozy as well. There is a kitchen stocked for cooking breakfast and to have some snacks, tea, coffee. Hosts are very nice people. Even though, I stayed only a night, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I bet it is even nicer in a summer.

Great people, fellowship and hospitality!!! Highly recommend…read moreto AT hikers, leaf peepers, or anyone wanting to decompress.

Belknap House is absolutely a great place to stay! The staff great... The facility very clean…read more.. The price, the best you will find and all the money made goes int to help other that are less fortunate. Keep up the amazing job Belknap House!

My nephew and I were looking for a nice place to rent in Laconia in order to spend a whole day at…read moreFunspot the following day. I went on-line and found this place through AirBnB. Looked like a good place. Got there, was met by very friendly staff and were guided through the house and to our rooms. The rooms, beds and linens were clean and orderly and the kitchen and living room likewise. Super friendly staff helped us to plan our evening by letting us know what restaurants and pubs were available and how to get there. The next morning, we met the Executive Director of the house who happened to be there and had a very nice chat about the local area. After that, we headed to Funspot. In summary, we both recommend this place very much! And Funspot is really cool too!

adorable and so well done. big wave dave was the best, great communication and very kind. we loved…read morethe atmosphere, cute quirky new hampshire vibey decor, and cleanliness. we got discounted tenney mountain skiing tickets from dave too! would ABSOLUTELY go back!

Do you love buses? Do you love friendly cats and dogs? Do you love climbing? Do you love clean,…read morechill, cozy places with kind and welcoming people? If so, Barn Door is the place for you! And honestly, even if you like none of those things you should check this hostel out because it is affordable and extremely pleasant as a place to lay your head when you're exploring the White Mountains National Forest. That said, Rumney is the spot for outdoor rock climbing and Dave, Liam, Allison and the rest of the staff at Barn Door live the life. They have tons of info from the extensive library and maps, to rental gear and tips for good places in the area. As far as lodging, there's outdoor camping with a solar electricity charge port and water refill station, as well as an outdoor shower. You can take a bed or private room with up to 4 beds in the hostel itself. Or, do the bus! The bus is basically car camping with a massive upgrade. From the parking area you follow a winding path up to the clearing with an outdoor kitchen, fire pit, picnic table, compost toilet, and, voila, a bus with 2 cozy beds, an upper deck, a sink with potable water, and a stove to keep you warm. There was also a coffee pot and lovely local coffee in locally made mugs. The bus has plenty of ventilation but also closes up tight so we never felt too hot or cold. There was plenty of room for all our stuff and we slept very well on the beds. The upper level bed had pillows, sheets and a duvet. Lower level was a bed created from two bus benches and we probably would have been able to make up a bed but just used sleeping bags. You access the upper level via ladder and unless you're tall and limber, it's a bit athletic going up and down. But it's sure as hell really fun! In the evening, there are lights along the path to the bus and it is honestly just magical walking through the woods and over the bridge. We loved our stay and look forward to returning. The staff were so nice and we loved chatting with them and hanging out with their friendly pets. The inside of the hostel was immaculate, including the bright, clean, well ventilated showers and toilets. Thank you for a great climbing vacation!

STUNNING hike. It's not too difficult, it is essentially an entire loop and when you get to the…read morebottom you see this amazing body of water (I wish I came during Fall honestly (I came late November) to see all the colors and all) but it's sooo refreshing. The air quality is amazing once you get to the bottom and it feels literally like a breath of fresh air. Would recommend!

We stayed at Inn at St. John. It was very clean and comfortable. The staff was so very friendly and…read morecourteous, the breakfast was convenient and good. The location makes it easy to quickly get around. We walked to the Old Port area, the Western Promenade historic area and to downtown Portland from the Inn. The Inn is dog friendly, and the staff enjoyed out pup. The Inn is close to Maine Medical Center if you have someone there in the hospital. I recommend the Inn for your stay in Portland.

There were tons of positive reviews for the St John Inn so my husband and I booked it for our…read morevacation in Portland. Unfortunately our stay was very disappointing. Upon checking in the front desk only gave us our keys, no instructions on how to get to the room, where the shared bathroom was or any information for our stay. Our room was 9C which we found out very quickly was 5 flights up the steepest definitely not up to code stairs. Me and my husband are 25 years old and in great shape and it was a struggle for even us to get our luggage up to our room. Our room was honestly pretty sad looking. There was a bed and a sink with no mirror and a mini fridge and a microwave in the corner. You can tell this place is historic because everything looked very old and outdated and looked like it could use a good clean. We found leftovers from the guests who stayed in our room beforehand so the room was not turned over well. Also the smell in our room was horrific. It smelt like something was wet and molding. I even went down the 5 flights of steps to let the front desk know my concern of the smell and all he did was hand me a can of febreeze. I was hoping when they would go to clean our rooms the next day they could clean and get to the bottom of whatever the smell was but our room was not cleaned the entire 4 night stay even when I went down and asked the front desk if our room could be cleaned due to the smell and if we could get fresh towels. I had to go down to the front desk several times to ask for our room to be cleaned and finally they changed the sheets got new towels and sprayed breeze again and didn't say anything about the smell. The shared bathroom was across the hall and this was honestly the worst part. I've lived in dorms with gross shared bathrooms but this one is not only gross but it's the tiniest bathroom especially if it's supposed to be a shared space. First time going in the whole bathroom was wet and slick with towels on the floor and shampoo from other guests. There's hardly any counter to put your towel or toiletries. The shower itself is extremely small I'm only 5'3 120lbs and I could barley wash off my arms and legs I didn't even attempt to wash my hair in this Barbie doll sized shower that was pitch black dark with a moldy celling. The Inn says they have a complimentary breakfast but all it is in bagels and coffee in the lobby hot breakfast is not provided. The plus was there were no bugs! Other than that I would not recommend staying in the St John Inn.