We stayed in the "Victorian Suite" at the Bisbee Grand Hotel in January 2008. We were looking for a romantic getaway in a charming little town. After we visited websites of numerous hotels and B&B's, we settled on the "Victorian Suite" at this hotel.
When we first arrived at 3 p.m., we were a little surprised to find the hotel lobby locked. There was a sign directing us to an adjacent bar. Wondering what we got ourselves into, we went to the bar and learned that our concierge was actually also a bartender. After a lengthy check-in process (since the concierge/bartender had to run back and forth between the bar and hotel lobby to process our credit card), we finally got to our room.
Our room was the one depicted on the hotel's website - the four-post bed with the velvet curtains. What the grainy picture on the webiste didn't capture was the peeling wallpaper, or the uneven marble surfaces and unmarked tiers in the bathroom that I repeatedly stubbed my toes on when trying to go to the bathroom or brush my teeth.
I was quite disappointed with the marketing for this "suite" by the hotel - although I assumed "Victorian" meant decorated to look like the late 19th century British period, I didn't realize that what it actually meant was furnished with stuff collected from a dumpster in the 19th century.
Additionally, the hotel continued the "Victorian" facade by not providing a telephone in the room. At $175/night for a hotel in Bisbee, AZ, we should at least get a phone, at the very least to dial 9-1-1 in an emergency (such as for medical attention for broken toes).
Finally, the coup de grace of this Victorian fiasco was the breakfast on Sunday morning. The internet advertised a "gourmet breakfast," and after a night of hearing bar revelry until 2 a.m. and 4 stubbed toes (one of which was still bleeding in the morning), I was ready for a decent meal. I would say I was shocked - but in reality, after the string of disappoints so far I guess I should say amused - when I found out that their idea of "gourmet" was water, orange juice, 2 different fruit selections, some hard-boiled eggs, and some stale scones. I guess the real "Victorian" feel of this romantic weekend getaway disaster was the realization that I was eating scones that Queen Victoria herself probably prepared.
