I must admit that there is a complete disconnect between my experience and the strong reviews and awards I've seen all over the internet for L&L. Kudos for receiving 5 stars on Yelp and Trip Advisor. However, my experience and perspective is a bit different.
Check in at the office brought me into an room (or let's say workspace) that seemed to be of someone who could definitely benefit from a professional organizer. Papers and books and things were crowded/stacked into a small space. But hey, let's not judge by their personal space and get to the Inn. I was given an orientation and brought into the main communal area. The halls and communal area were not air conditioned...which was aligned with their self-admitted environmentally conscious style. Good for them...not so much for these guests during an especially hot day. That being said, bonus points for the cute lamb and lion prints on the walls of the main entrance.
The remaining hallway walls were hand-painted amateur-looking New England themed murals ...boating, sky, clouds, etc. that looked like they might have been drawn by a middle-school student. View attached pictures and you can see that the room entrances/halls looked like something you might see in one of those pop-up haunted house tours around Halloween. As for the rooms, they were furnished with outdated furniture, carpets, and accoutrements. Didn't quite have that "whimsical" feel that they were going for. I would expect that a New England B&B should either have a classic/ traditional New England experience or the other extreme of Modern New England (e.g., they could take a lesson from the Cottages at Chatham Bars Inn. Their playbook seemed to work). L&L rooms were more like 1970s leftovers.
The room had a custom prepared three-ring notebook with an overview of the Inn/Owners (with self-congratulatory comments)/Surroundings/Things to Do/Restaurants, etc. However, it was also a very amateurish frayed school binder...feeling like it was prepared in an afternoon with a Staples-run to buy a some sheet protectors. Not especially classy. But after reading the binder, I'm fairly certain the owners aren't really going for classy...one example being their continental breakfast. It might be more accurate to call this place a "Bed and Continental Breakfast", as breakfast was very minimalist. A bit surprising since "breakfast" is supposed to be one of the mainstays of a Bed and "Breakfast". No? In their defense, they call themselves an "Inn". Their standard fare was bread, cereal, hard-boiled eggs, oatmeal, and fruit. There is the option to upgrade and pay for additional items. Additionally, there was no place to eat. The owner's spin is that this experience is meant to be low key...e.g., bring it back to the room, eat at the pool, sit on the wicker chairs, etc. I prefer to eat at a table like a grown-up.
Getting back to the A/C, our room had a window a/c with an additional floor-standing eye-sore of a fan. However, they weren't turned on until we entered the room. Which was a bit stuffy w/o any circulated air. We were instructed to turn off the A/C if we left for the day...or else the staff would do it for you. The later was done in our case, which didn't bode well for the chocolates from the local Penny Candy store that I left in the room.
The hangers in the closet were annoying and old security hangers that you had to fidget with to snap back into place. There were some insects here and there which i guess is to be excepted with the screened-in hallways. But, when you add up this experience and have a month fly out of your suitcase when you get home, it can be a bit disconcerting, leaving one feeling skeezy, with a need for an urgent laundromat run.
The bedding and linens situation also surprised me considering the owners have so many years in the hospitality industry. We were not given fresh towels every day. I'm sure it was another environmental decision, but it might be better if you asked the guests if they had a preference. The bed linens were also problematic. The sheets did not have a fresh pressed mint feel you would expect from a paid accommodation. While I'm sure they were clean, they felt worn and over-used. I know nothing about running one of these places, but isn't there some rule of thumb to replace sheets once they start to feel less than "new". The mattresses also had body indents from over-use. As for the hosts, we had very minimal contact...and you can see other rave reviews. Anyway, I wasn't expecting a 5-star classy hotel accommodation, but I was expecting "classic" and traditional. Compared to other B&B's I've stayed in, this was my least comfortable, least impressive experience. A-OKY read more