This was our first Christmas that we spent away from home, so our children were initially very disappointed to arrive at the Briar Rose and not be welcomed by the presence of a Christmas tree or even a wreath at the door. The lack of holiday ornamentation was soon comprehended when we observed the underlying Buddhist philosophies of the management, staff and surroundings. This is by no means meant to be judgmental, but only to make the consumer aware of this environment.
The breakfasts were delicious and fresh, although, sometimes they were drawn out too long due to insufficient staff. Like the previous reviewer, this was the first B& B where we stayed that was run by staff, rather than the owner. This management style created problems on two separate occasions. One morning the staff member arrived at 7:30 a.m., which made breakfast or even coffee at the designated start time of 7:00 a.m. impossible. One evening, when a guest arrived to check in at 11:30 p.m., they were lucky that my son was awake to let them in, as the staff had already left for the evening and locked the outside doors.
For the most part, the rooms were comfortable, although the website makes them appear much larger than they are in reality. The heating mechanism took awhile to figure out and this was noted by other fellow dwellers in our conversations with them. The heater in the bathroom...This was our first Christmas that we spent away from home, so our children were initially very disappointed to arrive at the Briar Rose and not be welcomed by the presence of a Christmas tree or even a wreath at the door. The lack of holiday ornamentation was soon comprehended when we observed the underlying Buddhist philosophies of the management, staff and surroundings. This is by no means meant to be judgmental, but only to make the consumer aware of this environment.
The breakfasts were delicious and fresh, although, sometimes they were drawn out too long due to insufficient staff. Like the previous reviewer, this was the first B& B where we stayed that was run by staff, rather than the owner. This management style created problems on two separate occasions. One morning the staff member arrived at 7:30 a.m., which made breakfast or even coffee at the designated start time of 7:00 a.m. impossible. One evening, when a guest arrived to check in at 11:30 p.m., they were lucky that my son was awake to let them in, as the staff had already left for the evening and locked the outside doors.
For the most part, the rooms were comfortable, although the website makes them appear much larger than they are in reality. The heating mechanism took awhile to figure out and this was noted by other fellow dwellers in our conversations with them. The heater in the bathroom did not work at all. In general, the windows in the house are old and drafty. Consequently, there is much energy loss due to poor insulation. This contradicts the “green” goals of this company.
Despite these noted issues, we found the staff on the whole to be quite pleasant. One man in particular (Damon) went out of his way to make our stay a nice one. We also found the innkeeper, Jessika, to be very accommodating and welcomingMore
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