We decided on this bed and breakfast because we had attended an event earlier in the year in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood and found it to be charming. I always said I wanted to go back and spend a romantic weekend there and explore. The Silverstone seemed like the perfect choice due to the close proximity to the downtown area and because of my love for old houses. For this particular get a way the focus was on relaxation due to some personal issues. For my own sanity I just needed to get away from home and relax.
Upon arrival we weren't sure what door to use so we used the one a young lady came out of assuming she was also a guest. We pressed what I assumed was a bell and waited. When no one came we hesitantly went inside and said hello. It was an awkward feeling. We were greeted by Yolanda, a charming woman who we immediately found to be warm and inviting, encouraging us further inside her expansive mansion and to our room (actually we had our choice of two rooms) on the second level. I asked for a tour and was told as a guest we had use of the entire downstairs which consisted of a guest kitchen, a sitting room, 2 foyer type areas, as well as an expansive dining room. A butler's pantry with coffee/tea and another functional kitchen for their breakfast preparation was also on the first floor. The home was lovely and felt just like that, someone's personal home.
Upstairs we had our choice of smaller bedroom with private bathroom, or huge bedroom with no bathroom but would have exclusive use of the bathroom in the smaller bedroom. This is what we choose. However when it came time to use the facility and shower I did feel awkward gingerly walking down the hall, round the corner, thru the unused bedroom to reach the bathroom. In hindsight I would not have choose that option again, although our huge room was beautiful and well equipped. There was really no reason for me feeling this way, as I didn't encounter anyone on the way, but my whole perception felt very personal. I know that's the way bed and breakfasts are supposed to be but this one felt more personal and I don't know why. At no time did our host make us feel unwelcome in any way, she was quite the contrary, it was just this feeling I had that everything was too "personal". But I was also very emotional and dealing with a lot of personal issues so I could have just been the mood I was in at the time.
Our sleep was not sound and as relaxing as I had wanted and needed. Our "neighbors", a young family from India with a young autistic child were extremely loud. We had not seen them previously and really didn't know at first if the conversations were coming from the owner or another guest. I'm assuming that because of the time difference around 4 AM they started skyping what we thought was India and spoke to at least 6 different relatives. We know this because we heard their entire non English conversation both ways - from them and their relative. They sang, laughed, had their kid converse, etc This went on for HOURS! At one point my husband yelled for them to shut up (against my wishes) but this continued basically until 7am, and we were expected to be at breakfast at 8am. Looking back I wish we didn't ignore the situation. A door separated our room from theirs and we should have knocked and told them to keep it down. I was just in shock that someone would even act like that, and speak so loudly and animated at that hour of the day with other guests surrounding them. I regret not speaking up.
I ran into Yolanda in the morning who inquired about our sleep and I gently told her about the early morning antics and she apologized but really I undermined the situation and didn't let her know that we were extremely frustrated and worse of all exhausted. But had she known I don't know what could have been done at that point.
Breakfast was delicious but again the experience was slighted because this rude couple allowed their son, 6 years of age at best to wonder about the dining room touching everything, including dishes on our table without uttering a word. Where was this kids parents? They came down a short while later but why was he left unattended in someone's house with antiques and fragile items to begin with?
The breakfast was delicious. Yolanda is a dietician and the meal reflected her background on nutrition. The omelet was loaded with healthy vegetables but it was well seasoned and moist. The homemade waffles, a nutrigrain I'm assuming by the color had just a hint of orange zest to them, I loved and eagerly ate everything up.
Yolanda was a great host and very friendly and showed genuine concern for our family. I enjoyed meeting her and would have gladly given our stay a 4 star rating had it not been for the rude family next door. read more