Allen House Victorian Inn
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About
#4 of 10 B&Bs in Amherst
Location
4.6
Rooms
4.5
Value
4.4
Cleanliness
4.6
Service
4.6
Sleep Quality
4.8
If you’re looking for a charming bed and breakfast in Amherst, look no further than Allen House Victorian Inn.
Given the close proximity to Sunset Farm (1.0 mi), guests of Allen House Victorian Inn can easily experience one of Amherst's most popular landmarks.
The rooms offer air conditioning, a seating area, and a desk, and getting online is possible, as free wifi is available, allowing you to rest and refresh with ease.
Allen House Victorian Hotel features a 24 hour front desk and baggage storage. In addition, as a valued Allen House Victorian Inn guest, you can enjoy free breakfast that is available on-site. Guests arriving by vehicle have access to free parking.
While in Amherst be sure to experience local tapas favorites at Bistro 63.
If you’re looking for things to do, you can check out Emily Dickinson Museum (0.3 mi), Amherst College (0.6 mi), or Mead Art Museum (0.1 mi), which are popular attractions amongst tourists, and they are all within walking distance.
The staff at Allen House Victorian Inn looks forward to serving you during your upcoming visit.
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Property amenities
Free parking
Free High Speed Internet (WiFi)
Wifi
Free breakfast
Baggage storage
Non-smoking hotel
24-hour front desk
Room features
Desk
Housekeeping
Seating area
Iron
Wake-up service / alarm clock
Bath / shower
Complimentary toiletries
Hair dryer
Room types
Non-smoking rooms
Family rooms
Good to know
HOTEL CLASS
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Quirky Hotels
Classic
Languages Spoken
English
Location
599 Main St, Amherst, MA 01002-2409
Getting there
Somewhat walkable
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travelers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
Grade: 59 out of 100
59
54 Restaurants
within 0.75 miles
Reviews
Traveler rating
- 126
- 29
- 8
- 7
- 5
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Detailed Reviews
My daughter and I stayed at Allen House while touring colleges and we had a wonderful stay. Our room was perfect for us and we loved learning about the history of the home and the details that went into restoring it. Breakfast daily by Ann was delicious with quality ingredients and the homemade madeleines in the evening were such a treat. Our favorite memory from our stay was our talks with Allen. What a kind and warm host. I so very much enjoyed learning about the area and all the wonderful stories he shared. From the meticulously maintained homes to the welcoming and friendly hosts, I highly recommend a stay at this beautiful inn. The sweet kitties were just the icing on top of the cake!
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Date of stay: October 2023Trip type: Traveled with family
Value
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We stayed at the Allen house that is associated with Amherst Inn. It is a lovely 18 room house with lots of neat rooms and wonderful furniture. We stayed in a room called Peach which as great solid wood furniture. Not overly cute Victorian. Very comfortable bed. Had a great night's sleep. If you hear a little traffic on Main Street ask the innkeeper to shut the window. There’s a specific way to do that that makes a big difference.
What made the stay really incredible was speaking with the innkeeper. He loves the house, which came into his family from his grandmother who was a servant in the house for 40 years! Ask him to tell you the story. He is enamored of the house and its multiple legacies.
We had a reasonable breakfast. Eggs any number of ways prepared. We liked the omelettes that we had. Homemade banana bread as well as yogurt are part of the offering.
Breakfast was at the Amherst Inn itself, which seems to have very nice rooms and is directly opposite the Emily Dickinson house.
We had a memorable and nice stay. We recommend it highly.
What made the stay really incredible was speaking with the innkeeper. He loves the house, which came into his family from his grandmother who was a servant in the house for 40 years! Ask him to tell you the story. He is enamored of the house and its multiple legacies.
We had a reasonable breakfast. Eggs any number of ways prepared. We liked the omelettes that we had. Homemade banana bread as well as yogurt are part of the offering.
Breakfast was at the Amherst Inn itself, which seems to have very nice rooms and is directly opposite the Emily Dickinson house.
We had a memorable and nice stay. We recommend it highly.
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Date of stay: August 2021
Value
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The house is a tour de force. Each room is unique and was restored with great care for details. I could not believe the beauty of the wallpapers, lace curtains and antiques. We even had towel warmers and chocolate. Hot drinks and cookies are available at all times. We had a delightful stay my daughter and I. Owners are super friendly as are their cats. The breakfast, hosted at the Amherst inn, is delicious and copious. What a gem!
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Date of stay: February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
UPDATE as of 8/5/24 from webmaster - Open weekends only. The owners, who wish to retire, have put it on the market, hoping to sell by the end of September, but that cannot be said for sure until a buyer is found and closes on the sale. Please follow the website for updates and call them directly (no 3rd party bookings) 413-253-5000.
Meanwhile, do try to stay here as it remains a lovely and historic destination, a little "trip back in time", with Ann's wonderful hospitality.
Meanwhile, do try to stay here as it remains a lovely and historic destination, a little "trip back in time", with Ann's wonderful hospitality.
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Date of stay: August 2024Trip type: Traveled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Great location for daughter’s student orientation at UMass. Lovely New England Inn. You have to go to Amherst Inn for breakfast. Shower was cramped and rooms dusty. Owners were very friendly. There are resident cats on site! If you like old bed and breakfasts, this is for you. Exterior was in the middle of a paint job.
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Date of stay: August 2022Trip type: Traveled with family
Room Tip:Â You have to go to another nearby inn for breakfast.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This old house was chock full of artifacts from the last 2 centuries, making for a crowd of gewgaws at every turn. Whether charming or merely distracting, it was interesting to note the New England remembrances and objects. The bed was comfy, the shower was modern, the breakfast was excellent. Staff was helpful. The 2 resident cats were sometimes friendly, but there was cat hair on some sitting areas. There was no tv set accessible for occasional viewing.
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Date of stay: June 2022
Value
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This is a classic B&B experience. The owners are full of character and fun to talk to. The interior and exterior of the home are beautiful and rife with detail. Bad was super comfy and Luxe. Breakfast with me to order and was quite good. Would stay here again in a minute.
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Date of stay: March 2022
Rooms
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I spent two nights at the Allen House Inn last weekend (September 2nd and 3rd, 2005) while in Amherst for a wedding. I based my decision to stay there more or less entirely on tripadvisor reviews, which just goes to show that neglecting to note the date of these reviews is a mistake. I also neglected to check the fodors talk forums, though the sheer volume of tripadvisor users makes this site a more reliable barometer. I thought.
The Allen House is indeed an old Victorian house. If you adore dark wood and William Morris wallpaper, perhaps you can overlook its flaws.
I payed $329.10 for two nights B&B. I should add that I was requested to pay the amount in full, by check, some weeks before arriving. The check had cleared before my stay began, which left me with no recourse had anything been seriously wrong with my stay. Thankfully nothing was wrong enough to demand my money back, though as you'll see from my comments below I won't be returning.
My room, the "Oscar Wilde Room" on their website, "Peach" on the doorplate, was generously sized with a queen sized bed. Windows faced onto the side and the back of the property. The ensuite shower-room was, as one expects in period houses converted into B&Bs, the size of what had been a large closet. The sink was placed in the bedroom itself, which did not bother me and in fact was quite convenient, as it meant more natural light when getting ready for the wedding. The house is not air-conditioned but there was a ceiling fan and my room had three windows on two different walls so ventilation was adequate.
I imagine that most people looking for B&B accomodation in Amherst are either visiting one of the Colleges or dropping off their progeny at them. So you'll most likely have a car. The (off street) parking provided by the Allen House appeared to be large enough to accomdate all of their guests, and the drive into the center of town is slightly more than a mile down a single street. All very easy and convenient.
If you plan to walk from the Allen House into the center, that too is reasonable. A few caveats: it was about a fifteen-twenty minute walk in sneakers and quite pleasant in daylight. But if you (or your child) are wearing dress clothes, for a college interview say, or a wedding, don't expect to walk. I also recommend not walking after dark, as the Allen House is located far enough away down Main Street for the streetlights to have given way to a semi-rural feeling. The cars zip by and it's quite dark.
Which brings me to Allen House's flaws. The cars really do zip, there are many of them, and they combine to generate quite a bit of road noise. Even in my side facing room at the back of the house, I could hear and was aware of the traffic noise at 1am. I live on a busy street in Central London with night buses going by at all hours so this didn't disturb me. But for those of you hailing from more idyllic environs, be aware that road noise could be an issue. Especially since no air-conditioning means that in the warmer months you'll want to keep your windows open.
The room itself was clean: no obvious dust, no bugs. But it was musty. I'm realizing in hindsight how truly musty it must have been to drive me to the following: firstly, rather than hang my dress in the musty smelling wardrobe, I hung it on the bathroom door. Secondly, and even more upsetting, my sheets smelled really stale. I do not accuse the housekeeping staff at the Allen House of not changing the sheets. When I pulled down the covers from the bed on my first night the sheets were taut, so they had not been slept in. But the bed smelt so stale, as though no one had slept in it/aired it in months. I actually placed the tank top I'd been wearing all day on the drive up over my pillowcase and slept with my head on that, rather than press my face into the bedding. I did not complain to the owner however, since it was quite late when I finally got to bed that night. I probably should have, but that's my mistake and not a reflection on the staff. The towels smelled fine, which leads me to believe the problem is with the actual pillows and mattress, not the bed linens themselves.
I hesitate to criticise breakfast at the Allen House because I've only really stayed in B&Bs here in the UK. I'm not familiar with the standard for US B&B breakfasts. However I am American and I *know* that we can do breakfast like nowhere else. So why was I so disappointed? There were no choices. No eggs cooked to order, no water glass with the place settings (and no jug of water on the table either), no breakfast cereals hot or cold. No newspapers to peruse. There was a small goblet full of fresh fruit each morning though, which was nice. I have no idea what I would have eaten had it not been late summer, since a plate of sausages and some pancakes were the only food offered and I eat neither of those things. If the proprietors of the Allen House had put as much effort and thought into the food as they did the table settings, I'd have given them another orange dot.
The Allen House Inn is not a travesty. It is a neat looking house and conveniently located if you have a car. There was a nice little porch upstairs for sitting outside in good (read summer) weather if you have a couple of hours to kill. But don't go expecting B&B brilliance. Right now I'd summarise my stay as mediocre at best: the sight of William Morris wallpaper just wasn't enough to overcome the less enticing tastes and smells.
The Allen House is indeed an old Victorian house. If you adore dark wood and William Morris wallpaper, perhaps you can overlook its flaws.
I payed $329.10 for two nights B&B. I should add that I was requested to pay the amount in full, by check, some weeks before arriving. The check had cleared before my stay began, which left me with no recourse had anything been seriously wrong with my stay. Thankfully nothing was wrong enough to demand my money back, though as you'll see from my comments below I won't be returning.
My room, the "Oscar Wilde Room" on their website, "Peach" on the doorplate, was generously sized with a queen sized bed. Windows faced onto the side and the back of the property. The ensuite shower-room was, as one expects in period houses converted into B&Bs, the size of what had been a large closet. The sink was placed in the bedroom itself, which did not bother me and in fact was quite convenient, as it meant more natural light when getting ready for the wedding. The house is not air-conditioned but there was a ceiling fan and my room had three windows on two different walls so ventilation was adequate.
I imagine that most people looking for B&B accomodation in Amherst are either visiting one of the Colleges or dropping off their progeny at them. So you'll most likely have a car. The (off street) parking provided by the Allen House appeared to be large enough to accomdate all of their guests, and the drive into the center of town is slightly more than a mile down a single street. All very easy and convenient.
If you plan to walk from the Allen House into the center, that too is reasonable. A few caveats: it was about a fifteen-twenty minute walk in sneakers and quite pleasant in daylight. But if you (or your child) are wearing dress clothes, for a college interview say, or a wedding, don't expect to walk. I also recommend not walking after dark, as the Allen House is located far enough away down Main Street for the streetlights to have given way to a semi-rural feeling. The cars zip by and it's quite dark.
Which brings me to Allen House's flaws. The cars really do zip, there are many of them, and they combine to generate quite a bit of road noise. Even in my side facing room at the back of the house, I could hear and was aware of the traffic noise at 1am. I live on a busy street in Central London with night buses going by at all hours so this didn't disturb me. But for those of you hailing from more idyllic environs, be aware that road noise could be an issue. Especially since no air-conditioning means that in the warmer months you'll want to keep your windows open.
The room itself was clean: no obvious dust, no bugs. But it was musty. I'm realizing in hindsight how truly musty it must have been to drive me to the following: firstly, rather than hang my dress in the musty smelling wardrobe, I hung it on the bathroom door. Secondly, and even more upsetting, my sheets smelled really stale. I do not accuse the housekeeping staff at the Allen House of not changing the sheets. When I pulled down the covers from the bed on my first night the sheets were taut, so they had not been slept in. But the bed smelt so stale, as though no one had slept in it/aired it in months. I actually placed the tank top I'd been wearing all day on the drive up over my pillowcase and slept with my head on that, rather than press my face into the bedding. I did not complain to the owner however, since it was quite late when I finally got to bed that night. I probably should have, but that's my mistake and not a reflection on the staff. The towels smelled fine, which leads me to believe the problem is with the actual pillows and mattress, not the bed linens themselves.
I hesitate to criticise breakfast at the Allen House because I've only really stayed in B&Bs here in the UK. I'm not familiar with the standard for US B&B breakfasts. However I am American and I *know* that we can do breakfast like nowhere else. So why was I so disappointed? There were no choices. No eggs cooked to order, no water glass with the place settings (and no jug of water on the table either), no breakfast cereals hot or cold. No newspapers to peruse. There was a small goblet full of fresh fruit each morning though, which was nice. I have no idea what I would have eaten had it not been late summer, since a plate of sausages and some pancakes were the only food offered and I eat neither of those things. If the proprietors of the Allen House had put as much effort and thought into the food as they did the table settings, I'd have given them another orange dot.
The Allen House Inn is not a travesty. It is a neat looking house and conveniently located if you have a car. There was a nice little porch upstairs for sitting outside in good (read summer) weather if you have a couple of hours to kill. But don't go expecting B&B brilliance. Right now I'd summarise my stay as mediocre at best: the sight of William Morris wallpaper just wasn't enough to overcome the less enticing tastes and smells.
Read more
Date of stay: September 2005
Value
Rooms
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The room had not been dusted for a long time; someone else's flip flops were under the bed; breakfast pancakes were stone cold; they ran out of milk in the middle of breakfast. Beds and towels were clean, but that's about all that recommends the place.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The house was very nice, but the rooms were a little musty. The room was very well decorated and the bed was very comfortable. Breakfast was subpar; the pancackes and sausages reminded me of items from those microwavable breakfasts I used to consume as a child (so much so that I am half convinced that's what they were). However, for Amherst, these are nice accomidations given what else is out there. Debbie and Allen were very nice and the rates were affordable.
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Date of stay: November 2005
Value
Rooms
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Our room had a minute shower room. It was so small it reminded me of facilities on as ferry boat!
"Check out all of the open rooms to see some beautiful furnishings and architecture."Read full review
"Amherst Village is a close walk-the Lord Jeffrey is great for dinner (or just drinks - they have a great bar area with an outdoor fire pit)"Read full review
"Ask, in selecting a room, how the bathroom is configured. For example, do you want a shower or jacuzzi tub. So many distinctive rooms."Read full review
ALSO KNOWN AS
allen house victorian hotel amherst
LOCATION
United StatesMassachusettsHampshire CountyAmherst
NUMBER OF ROOMS
7
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Frequently Asked Questions about Allen House Victorian Inn
Which popular attractions are close to Allen House Victorian Inn?
Nearby attractions include Emily Dickinson Museum (0.3 miles), Amherst College Museum of Natural History (0.4 miles), and Amherst Cinema Arts Center (0.6 miles).
What are some of the property amenities at Allen House Victorian Inn?
Some of the more popular amenities offered include free wifi, free breakfast, and free parking.
What food & drink options are available at Allen House Victorian Inn?
Guests can enjoy free breakfast during their stay.
Is parking available at Allen House Victorian Inn?
Yes, free parking is available to guests.
What are some restaurants close to Allen House Victorian Inn?
Conveniently located restaurants include Johnny's Tavern, Pita Pockets, and Antonio's Pizza By The Slice.
Is Allen House Victorian Inn located near the city center?
Yes, it is 0.5 miles away from the center of Amherst.
Are there any historical sites close to Allen House Victorian Inn?
Many travelers enjoy visiting Emily Dickinson Museum (0.3 miles).