The Chiltern Inn

This is a great place for a quiet and relaxing getaway for two. The king size 4 poster bed and large jacuzzi tub was to die for and came complete with candles! The wine and cheese hour and upscale breakfast served on family china was great! The location is around the corner from the downtown area and an easy walk. I would go again.

Bad first impression: The owners had left letters for some of the guests who were arriving that day. Mine had very detailed, not-so-accommodating rules and regulations about the inn. It also included the fact that the owners could not be expected to be there to greet all guests because of the "small size" of the inn. Yes, this sounded oxymoronic to me. Shouldn't that be expected in a large inn? Then, strangely, the owners WERE there and did greet us, despite the letter. They didn't seem to have any awareness that after a 5 hour trip we might be tired and simply want to go to our room. No, instead we got a tour that consisted mostly of more rules and regulations. For example, if we wanted to use the pool, we had to give them a FIVE HOUR heads up so they could get the water up to the proper temperature! I don't know about you, but I don't want to give a FIVE hour notice to anyone about anything when I'm on vacation.But that wasn't the worst of it. Then, one of the owner's disputed the [...]price I was given, saying it was really $70+ more than the receipt I showed them. The 2nd owner AGREED WITH ME, that the price on the confirmation sheet I had was correct so then it became a domestic dispute between the two owners! They excused themselves to the next room to argue--Yes, within earshot of my traveling companion and me. It was like a late-night TV sketch. We could hear them arguing, though we couldn't make out what they were saying. Apparently, owner #1 won the battle and she reappeared, adamantly asserted that the confirmation e-mail I had was wrong and that it was $70 more. I gently questioned this one more time and then she replied, "If you aren't happy with this you are free to stay someplace else." (!!!) After we told her we had just made a 5 hour drive and that we were there to stay with friends! Needless to say, at that point, we decided to take her up on her offer to stay someplace else. We felt anything but welcome.To the owner's credit, I will say they recommended a lovely place down the road called the Bluenose Inn. We were extremely happy with the people and accommodations there. And we didn't' have to give an advance notice to use the (lovely, clean) indoor pool.I will also say that the couple who own the Chiltern Inn are probably perfectly nice people. The feeling we got was that they are simply burnt out and should no longer be in the hospitality industry. Which, again, to their credit, they possibly realize and that may be why this place is up for sale.