My friends and I have been coming to Ashland for over 30 years. I have never traveled with a pet and this year wanted to take my wonderful companion (Miki) with me. This was also the first year in a long time my wife came ( she just retired). The places we normally stay (such as The Palm) told me flat out no dogs. well the search begins.

Lucky for me I tripped over the Village Suites of Ahsland Hills (owned by Windmill Inns of America) . Pet friendly, service guarantees, Rooms are twice the size of the Palm and they are less expensive and CLEANER!!! What's not to love?

You get a 2 room suite for less than the price of dinky little rooms in other hotels! woo hoo! this makes for a very relaxed stay.

In walking around the property, it appears that there are several more buildings that have been cordoned off for future redevelopment when he economy picks up. This includes a building that housed the ballroom, meeting rooms, conference rooms, and a large swimming pool ( not currently in operation).

Obviously the owners had some difficult choices to make with regard to managing this beautiful large piece of property in tough economic times. They executed beautifully on carefully maintaining three of the buildings that house the current suites. The suites are clean to a fault. Usually I find at least some fungus in the bathroom of a chain. This one was spotless and that was much appreciated.

The service was also impressive. My friends were down at the Palm, and asked me if i had an area we could have a barbecue or picnic. I called the front desk and inquired. They said they would set up a barbecue (propane ) for us to use in the back courtyard area!! Woo Hoo!

I asked if they had some paper plates etc- they sent me down 2 complete sets of ceramic dishes and cutlery- enough for 8 people. Woo Hoo!

I wondered if they had a large bowl for mixing a salad - 5 minutes later a salad bowl appeared at the door.

I noticed on my walk around the tennis courts ( yes tennis courts) they had a helicopter pad.... Hmm I wondered if i was going to push the limit by asking when the next helicopter rides were ( ha ha ).

The bathroom had a shower rod that bowed out so the shower curtains didn't rub against you while you were showering. ( see picture)

They had a bazillion cable channels including hgtv and syfy etc - some that many of the other hotels don't carry.

They have free WIFI and it actually works!!! When I stayed at the Palm --- some of the rooms got wifi and others got nothing.

Now in reading this you may think I'm knocking the Palm. I'm not. The Palm is the only recent hotel in Ashland I have experience with that i can compare with. The Palm has an outdoor pool and nice, but small rooms. Some have a kitchen and a bed/front room- its cute and the gardens are nice. The people there do very well by that particular property. However the Village Suites at Ashland Hills is, I believe, in a different league.

The Village Suites at Ashland hills are actually suites -- offering two large rooms plus a kitchen area with a fridge, and microwave. Even the heater/ air conditioner is quiet!

Now for a couple of quibbles.
1 No on site restaurant. It would be nice , but in a town like Ashland good restaurants are killing each other for your business go have fun at the Morning Glory - or slightly out of town up on Mt Ashland, or at Brothers.
2 Old klunky televisions - no large flat-screens. But then who comes to watch television when the Shakespeare festival is down the street?
3. It is farther away from he Shakespeare festival than many hotels ( ie The Palm). But being of a certain age means i drive around anyhow. People that simply have to walk everywhere might find this a problem - except that the Ashland Suites property opens up on to some gorgeous trails nearby. Besides, parking down near the festival is a nightmare.

The barbecue and the dishes, were at no extra cost. My pal Miki ( see pictures) - no extra cost! These are good people come make a reservation - help them weather a bad economy so they can redevelop what will become a premier property in the area!!! If you make a prepaid reservation you save even more money! My cost was on the order of $50 a day less than what I would have spent at the Palm.

I wish i had more time to travel around - I would check out the other Windmill properties!