We stayed for a week and had a wonderful time. The pluses: Nice rooms with private bath, large covered porch for lounging and talking with your neighbors, coffee every morning on the porch is brewed for you, comfortable beds, quiet and dark at night. You'll sleep better here than at any urban motel. Go out at night and see the stars, which are amazing. Patty Cakes, the hotel cat, will give you lots of affection and a purr. Food is farm style, reasonably priced, and excellent. You won't go hungry. Of course, the countryside is the point of the trip. The lodging gets one ready for the next day, and does it very well. The hosts are approachable and helpful.
The minuses are minor: Pillows could be a bit fuller. With no light pollution, the rooms are pitch dark and don't have night lights, so be sure to pack one if you need it. More shelf space in the baths is a problem with all hotels and would be welcome here too. Meal scheduling isn't flexible, so you'll need to show up at the appointed time. Depending on the time of year, you may have moths or mosquitoes (but no insecticide exposure, thankfully.) There's no TV in the rooms and if you have a GSM phone it won't work, though 3G service does. There's no alarm clock in the room, which seems odd given the emphasis on showing up on time for meals. No phones in the rooms either, though you can use one at the Frenchglen Hotel a few steps away and another pay phone on the street in front of it.
All in all, you're staying at a wildlife refuge, so that's part of the charm and it's not a complaint, only the reality. Drover's is like stepping back into the past to a simpler time and worth it just for the experience of remembering what life was like nearly a century ago--but with wifi, air conditioning, and hot running water. read more
