Hubby and I stayed at the Mansion Inn last fall, for nine nights, and found it very comfortable. Owner Bruce runs his business/home seriously, but he's a big-hearted man, who made our stay so much nicer than just a place to sleep, with nice breakfasts, and by sharing local history stories, local eatery and Connecticut attraction info, even car repair contacts, printing boarding passes. Fellow guests were fun. We were gone adventuring most of our days, and by the way, Manchester is a nice town on its own, but also a great spot from which to visit Boston, Vermont, Mystic Seaport, etc. Then we tried to quietly sneak in late at night. Not sure how quiet we were.
Just returned from visit #2, with my daughter, in the aftermath of the Oct. blizzard and electricity outages. The Mansion Inn had power, and a room. Same nice experience as before. Thank you Bruce! I really enjoyed our time at the Mansion Inn, and hope to visit again.

The Inn was chosen based on ratings and reviews. Bruce Hamstra, owner-operator, appears to have fallen on some lean times as the property is ill-kempt, in need of maintenance and updating both outside and inside. The property/structure is overgrown with vines and the landscaping needs much attention. The experience was disappointing in that such a lovely property has been allowed to deteriorate to such a state. Bruce is direct, somewhat bossy, and not the congenial host one would expect to find in this line of work. His idea of "clean" and ours are at different levels. We tried to overlook the lack of attention to detail and endure the stay rather than enjoy it. Some things were okay but overall disappointing. There must be better choices than the one we made and it will be our first and last visit to this particular location. We ventured to another B&B after leaving the Mansion Inn and the experience was much better with a clean and well-maintained property, warm hospitality from owners and fellow-guests, great food and atmosphere. Stay here at your own risk.

My husband and I stayed here since we live a little too far from the UConn campus in Storrs to be there as early as required for my morning graduation. The Ivy Room was furnished with antique photos, lots of books, a comfortable love seat and recliner as well as queen bed. Breakfast by Bruce was delicious sweet potato pancakes in a lovely dining room. We enjoyed our short stay here.

We arrived late and as instructed earlier, found a note on the front door telling us how to enter. We did so, and checked into our room. At around 9pm, the innkeeper knocked on our door, and when we asked who was there - we were told; you are staying in my house. My husband answered the door - we apparently didn't finish reading the note that asked us to write on a board downstairs if we had a "dietary restrictions" for breakfast. While I found the innkeepers manners to be abrupt; I can understand the intention.
We arrived for breakfast and met Bruce. He seems like a fairly educated, well intentioned innkeeper who has too much on his plate running this facility.
The breakfast was fine and flavorful each of the two days that we stayed. He introduced us to the other visitors at the table and sat down and participated in the conversation.
The room we stayed in "The Tulip Room" was clean and the mattresses were fairly new. The room could have benefitted from a better cleaning job - particularly behind the headboards, and some of the items that are displayed around the room. The Tulip Room has a private bathroom across the hall from it. The bathroom is in dire need of some sprucing up. The wall paper is peeling off at the seams, the floral decorations on the bathroom mirror were falling off and fairly dusty, as is the basket on the floor that is holding the toilet paper and magazines. The magazines are incredibly outdated, and the length of time they are there makes me wonder about how "clean" they are sitting next to the toilet paper. The floor was in need of a good scrubbing. The bath mat in the tub needs to be replaced.
Another thing I thought odd was the entrance to the facility. The entrance leads right into the innkeepers office - that is fairly over run with paperwork. We felt like we were intruding in someone's home - which Bruce made clear to us when he knocked on our door the first evening.
While we had a lovely time staying at this inn, I would re-think coming here again. I just feel that there are better run bed and breakfasts out there.