My husband and I stayed at the Griswold Inn in the beautiful village of Essex, CT back in 1993. It was a lovely place, albeit somewhat noisy. The great part was that you could have your cat or dog stay with you. It was "pet-friendly" long before that issue was recognized as an important part of country-inn/bed and breakfeast amenities.

I was so disappointed when I called the Griswold this evening and asked about reservations for a week long stay there, with our wonderful cat, Rocky. The young man who answered declared: "We do NOT accept pets of ANY kind." I told him that I remembered a time not so long ago when they did, and he said, "That was before, this is now." And then he hung up the phone.

If this is what the Griswold is all about now, my husband and I, and Rocky the Cat, will certainly not be visiting the Griswold for so much as a cocktail.

I feel that the soul of the place has been lost. The food was never very good, but we stayed there because of the village itself. I'm sure there's another inn where we can take our business---and Rocky, who is now 17 years old, and a perfect gentleman.

Our one-night stay at the Griswold Inn turned into a check-out at 11:15 pm. Upon our arrival at the inn, we were greeted by a cordial gentleman who gave us our room key and pointed across the street to an upstairs, "over a toy store" suite. We are used to Select Registry properties where a warm welcome is extended with a personal touch. This did not happen. We considered the accommodations to be way below expected standards and over-priced - no tv, stained lampshade. Upon returning to our room after an evening wedding, we discovered that we had no air-conditioning/lights on this hot, humid night. We reported the problem and were sad to hear that the fuse box was in the toy store and no keys that the inn had would allow entry to the store to try to solve the issue. We asked for a refund, were told that it would be taken care of, and no receipt was offered. Upon our request, a refund receipt was given, before our long drive home in the middle of the night. The Griswold Inn is known as an Essex "institution" and we had looked forward to our stay there. Very disappointing. One last point - upon booking our room directly on the phone, the reservationist inquired how we had heard of The Griswold Inn. We had seen on the internet that it was a Select Registry inn. The reservationist informed us that it was no longer a member of the Registry, however, the most current Select Registry book has The Griswold Inn listed.

Desperate for some R & R, I booked two nights at this historic inn. It is located in Essex, "The Best Small Town in America".

To get there, simply take Amtrak from Penn Station to Old Saybrook, CT. Weekdays and Saturday, there is a public bus from the Amtrak Station in Old Saybrook to Essex. It costs $1.25. However, the buses are infrequent and unreliable.

A better choice is Car-Mac, a private car service (860/388-2842). For $20 (not including tip), it takes you directly to the Griswold Inn.

Once you check in, the beautiful Connecticut River is only a block or two away. You can sit on a bench and simply "watch the river flow". You can visit the Connecticut River Museum or ride the river aboard RiverQuest.

The Essex Steam Train was a 20-30 minute walk from the Griswold Inn. I felt safe and enjoyed seeing the many historic homes along the way.

I love the Griswold Inn, but find it hard to characterize. It provides an abundance of the simple pleasures--comfortable reading chairs, a book lined diningroom, complimentary coffee, and a shared refrigerator for guests.

The inn is quiet, but there is live music every night. You can drink or simply listen to the music. The crowd is friendly without being rowdy.

I recommend the Griswold Inn to boat lovers of all ages, to solo travelers seeking serenity, to couples looking for romance, and to families in search of a safe, wholesome setting. Oh, yeah. The food is good.

We stayed in Essex due to the fact that we come from Essex in the UK. The Griswold was recommended by a friend who had stayed there before however this was unecessary as if you want to stay in Essex you basically have to stay at the Griswold.
When we arrived we received a fantastic friendly and personal welcome. Straight away you feel good about the place. As it was quiet they gave us a free upgrade to the two best suites in the hotel. These were charming, historic rooms with gas fired stoves but if you want this sort of thing you have to sacrifice a little luxury. Don't expect a TV for example and the bed felt as if George washington once slept there.
The dining room was very olde world and atmospheric and the sea shanties seemed to be popular with the locals. the bar is busy even out of season but we still got good servive and the food was very pleasent.
my only real gripe was the fact that the locals are very noisy as they leave and they linger outside shouting to each other despite standing only a few feet apart.
Overall - a lovely place to stay and the friendliness of the staff makes up for a lot of the negative points.