We have stayed in many B&B's across New England. KTI is good, but there is absolutely no way I could give this inn any more than 3 stars. Mark is a great host. He is friendly and wonderful to talk with. His personality alone is one of the inn's positive assets. The other big positive is location - this inn is a pleasant 1/2 mile walk to the center of Freeport. The building is old so most of the rooms in the inn itself are smaller - especially the bathrooms. We liked that, but some may find it a bit quirky. We found the inn to be very comfortable and it definitely had a nice homey feel in the public spaces.
My main issue with this inn involved the housekeeping - or lack of it. When we arrived, the bathroom had one bath towel. I had to scrounge for a 2nd one since we were clearly a couple. They also do not provide shampoo or conditioner. I actually asked and was told that they provide a bar soap that also doubles as a shampoo. Yes, I then checked and the bar did clearly say that on the wrapper but I'm sorry, if I'm dishing out over $800 on a multi-night stay I am not washing my hair with a bar of soap. We had to buy our own at CVS.
In terms of daily housekeeping, there isn't any. During our 3 night stay they didn't enter the room. No towel change. No TP check (I had to find it myself). No trash removal. Again, for $800 I don't expect to have to ask for a basic housekeeping visit - especially for TP. If you stay for one night, you would never notice this, but if you stay 3 or more nights this issue is difficult to ignore.
The room was acceptable. We chose our room because it had a daybed, but when we arrived we noticed there wasn't one. We thought we made a mistake, but then checked the website while staying there and our room definitely indicated a daybed (even showed a photo of it). So be advised that the rooms may not match the description. Our room was on the parking lot side of the building on the top floor. At night any car that drove in lit up our room. I noticed this all 3 nights. Darkening shades or even drapes would have helped. Just a note for the new innkeepers to consider. But overall, we liked the room.
Also, be advised that there is no cable or satellite TV. The in-room TV gets a handful of local Maine stations but primarily relies on a streaming option only (Roku) that you must log into yourself with your own subscription. So if you don't have a streaming subscription, don't expect much in terms of TV. Many B&B's don't offer in-room TVs. If you aren't going to provide a usable TV option, then it might be better to simply not provide one. Just something for other guests to be aware of.
The website indicated that cookies are provided daily. There were some when we were there, but they really were not restocked and the final day had no cookies whatsoever. So don't get your hopes up on those either. Something else the new innkeepers should emphasize again since it would have been a nice touch.
Breakfast was acceptable. It was prompt and service was great and the breakfast area is a nice part of the inn. Natalie (housekeeper and server) was a highlight of our stay and I very much hope that the new innkeepers retain her.
By midway through our stay, we both had the distinct impression that the innkeepers had checked out of this business. Most of our stay they were noticeably absent (and we actually never were introduced to Nancy despite seeing here briefly twice). At our first breakfast, Mark happened to make an off-hand statement about the inn having been for sale last year. That made me wonder, so I checked online later that day and easily discovered that the inn was recently sold in August 2023. So the innkeepers are clearly on their way out. Had I known that, I probably would have thought twice about booking here. I don't begrudge the innkeepers for checking out since I imagine running an inn is tiring, but this most definitely explained almost all of our issues with our stay. That little extra effort to ensure a repeat stay is simply gone.
We probably won't visit again until after the next innkeepers fully take over. At that point, we may give this inn another chance. Based on past reviews, this inn clearly had been very good when the innkeepers were trying and we really did like the building and the location. With a little effort this inn would clearly be great once again, and I fully expect that new owners will bring back that effort once they take it fully over. read more