Please note that the only other review to date is from 2009. My husband and I stayed at the Montford Inn in May 2013, and having stayed at over 30 inns and B&B's I feel we have a good basis for comparison.
At one time this Inn received many awards, and they are framed and hanging on several of the walls, along with an overwhelming amount of other knick knacks, Native Indian paraphenalia, and quilts. We had a late arrival (9 pm), which we noted on our reservation. We arrived 10 minutes early, but then had to wander the house looking for someone to check us in. She was not friendly or inviting, complaining instead about having to wait up for us to arrive. She didn't bother to show us the house, or any amenities that could be found within it (there's a coffee maker downstairs we noticed as we were leaving the next day) but she did tell us what time to be downstairs for breakfast-so I guess that's something.
The room was cute, but terribly small and stuffed with 8 large pieces of furniture. We decided to unwind with a little tv before going to bed, but the tv is so small that we couldn't tell what was going on from the bed, and even from the chairs right in front of the tv cabinet it was a strain. We decided to call it a night and turn in.
The room temperature, though fine when we walked in, continued to rise throughout the night and with no thermostat in the room, and windows that don't all open, it got to be quite stifling. Finally, hot and sticky with sweat and unable to sleep through all the train horns blowing from one end of town to the other, I decided to wander the house and see if I could find the thermostat, and just hope that the other residents that night would understand our discomfort.
Our room finally started to cool down at about 7 am, and with just a few hours of sleep, we headed down to breakfast. The lady presiding over breakfast, who I believe is the owner's wife, offered us coffee (which I can't drink) and when I asked for 'anything else' she offered water. A little later she offered OJ, which I gladly accepted until I took the first sip and found it to be terribly watered down and bland. The fruit smoothie that was brought out as the first course was also watery. The main entree consisted of a small egg and potato quiche (tasted only bell pepper, no seasoning) and a fruit cup (sliced bananas, cantaloupe, and strawberries-ripe and delicious.) After this very unfulfilling and bland meal we ended up getting a second breakfast on the road to curb our appetites until lunch.
During breakfast, the owner's wife asked us how our night was. We told her it was warm-sweaty warm, so warm that we couldn't sleep and finally tried to open the windows and find the upstairs thermostat. She told us it was our fault for not calling the owner (at 3 am??) and that if they don't know there's a problem, they can't fix it. I agree wholeheartedly with that sentiment, but the way the issue was handled was just terrible. Ideally, there would be a thermostat in each room, or at the very least the unfriendly lady that checked us in could have pointed it out, in case we needed to adjust it during the night. On the flip side, the guests who stayed downstairs FROZE all night long, so maybe they have a balancing issue with their A/C unit.
Overall, it appears this once great B&B has fallen to neglect by the owners, or perhaps been bought by newer owners who don't hold to the same standards that earned the Montford awards in years past. Service is unfriendly, breakfast is forgettable, the room is uncomfortable (though it has GREAT bedding) and the trains, oh the trains. I live near trains and figured this would be similar to home, but it's NOT. I've never heard trains blow their whistles that long, or come through that frequently. It's like they have a personal vendetta against the town and anyone trying to sleep in it. read more