Previously, we enjoyed staying at the historic Herlong Mansion. Now, under new ownership, the charm is gone. It is not worth the high room rate to be given sub par service and be treated as an afterthought. From the time of check-in, we were not welcomed or even given a smile. Hospitality was non-existent. We returned to the house at the designated “cookie and drink” time in the afternoon to discover no snacks, no drinks, no staff, no note. We called the after hours number to learn that, no there wasn’t an emergency. The owner, Kim, was at a hair appointment and had allowed the manager to leave early without making arrangements for the guests. Eventually, Kim arrived and left refreshments for us. (By that time, we had gone to dinner and returned to an empty house and minimal lights turned on to welcome us, no music, no ambiance. But, there were refreshments.) Breakfast was questionable. With someone in our party with food intolerances, we alerted management about the special food needs from the time we booked our reservation. The reaction was not hospitable (at one point, when listing what the guest could eat, Kim snarked, “I’ll just serve her a bowl of air”). A request for simple poached eggs was greeted with a disinterested ‘we can try’ the first morning -- and while they looked and tasted good, the request felt like an imposition. (FYI - The only offering for everyone that morning was biscuits and gravy.) The second morning, Kim was in the kitchen cooking and was not especially cordial or hospitable. (We were greeted flatly with ‘oh you’re up.’) The poached eggs requested, while edible, were a particularly odd presentation: two yolks plopped into a bowl with separated whites. The air conditioning unit in the Magnolia room makes a random whirling/ticking/alarm sound. Be forewarned, light sleepers! The sound is torturous for those trying to sleep and could even be heard by our companion guest in the room across the hall. The next night we moved into a different room, which was blissfully quiet. This review is intended to forewarn possible future guests It is not intended for the owner because during our stay we spoke with her in-person and on the phone about the issues we were experiencing. Not only has the Herlong Mansion become inhospitable, but cost saving measures (turning up the air conditioning, turning out the lights) are negatively impacting what once was a pleasant experience for a stay-cation. So disappointing. We would like to point out that the house and rooms are very clean. (When we complimented Kim on the cleanliness of the place she remarked that she doesn’t have to clean it.) Sadly, we are saying so long to the Herlong for now.
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