I'm afraid, that after travelling in the US virtually every year for the last 20 years and having staying in many B&B's, this establishment did not to come up to the standard I expected for the price.
Initial impressions are not that good. A badly cracked driveway, poorly tended gardens and some shabby paint. We were however given a warm welcome by Bill when we arrived early and shown our room (the Magnolia room). When we returned later, his wife Sherri showed us around. We were informed that the previous occupants were a little rough and had broken one of the blinds, unfortunately we immediately noticed that the door to our veranda would not lock properly (1 floor up, but hardly secure). We were promised that this would be fixed, but it was never looked at in the 2 days we were there. The veranda itself was rusty and needed some work. The bathroom was dark and there was no light in the shower. The next day, we couldn't get the blinds to go up at all and had to ask Bill to look at it (they are so old, we resorted to being rough the next day)
Looking through the door of a couple of other rooms, we decided that the Magnolia was a bad choice. I guess we should have asked to be moved...
The public areas of this B&B are very well presented however.
The "gourmet" breakfast was anything but. It was tasty enough but there was no choice whatsoever. Be down at 9:00 and eat what is served seems to be the rule (strawberries and crème fraiche with a hot dish of eggs in a cheese sauce on day one followed by strawberries and quiche (nice, but for breakfast?) on day 2). No choice of cereal, no toast, muffins, bagels etc. At least there was a choice of juice. Every B&B I have stayed in has provided a choice - not this one though.
I'm prepared to give this place the benefit of the doubt as the lady of the house is (was) pregnant. They did not seem to have any additional help and I think they found it hard work. With some modernisation, some paint and an improved choice at breakfast, this place would be fine. Right now its over priced.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
I do not recommend this hotel for:
Young singles, An amazing honeymoon, People with disabilities, Great pool scene
I selected this hotel as a top choice for:
Great food / Wine, Other
Management Response
SpringBayouInn, owner
(Management representative)
Dec 10, 2006
We were very disappointed to hear that Douglas did not like our B&B as he did not say anything to us of the sort when he stayed. This couple arrived at 12:00 noon for a confirmed check in scheduled between 4-6pm. As we had just checked another couple out of the room at 11:00, it was not ready. Instead of turning them away, we cordially showed them where their room was, gave them the keys and invited them to put their luggage in the closet, if they desire. We asked that they give us time to clean the room as we had a full house 7 room turn over that day, and return after the scheduled check in time of 4pm. They returned at 2pm and we again greeted them, quickly finished up the last of the vacuuming and let them have the room early. The owner's pregnancy had no effect on this couple's stay and, in fact, we had them in their room 2 hours early despite this fact!
As for their concern about the private balcony door, the door locks from the inside with a key, but when you turn the knob from the inside, it reopens, appearing to "not lock". It's on the 2nd floor with no way to access it from the ground level, so it is secure. We did double check this when they were out, per their request. There was one roll up blind that was broken, which we advised them upon checkin but the other roll up blinds were working fine when we double checked them the next day?
The most astonishing statement in this review was that our breakfasts were not gourmet ! We have never, in the 12 years in the business, had a complaint on them and do offer alternatives if requested, which we were not. They were prepared by our innkeeper, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu culinary school, an origional recipe dish of sherried eggs on a bed of spinich & artichokes with home made bran muffins, fruit and chicken sausage the first day. The second day they were served a large piece of potatoe bacon quiche (again an origional recipe), ham, home made coffee cake and fruit. The majority of the customers we have experienced from the UK enjoy "savory" dishes rather than "sweet" dishes and we purposely chose to serve these "savory" dishes with them in mind.
The Magnolia Room is twice as large as most bed and breakfast rooms and is our best renter and most people are thrilled and request the room time and time again. Nor do they complain about the price. Again, we wish we would have been notified of their displeasure while they stayed.
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
