Ten Properties in 20 Days

It is always fun to be on the other side of the hospitality equation. We recently had an opportunity to sample ten different properties during a 20 day road trip throughout the Eastern and Southeastern US. By design, we stayed at a mix of five star properties and smaller boutique inns.

My favorite part of planning a trip is agonizing over the lodging, and then driving up to the property and seeing where your hours of research landed - either a fantastic find or a big miss. Sometimes the most gorgeous luxury properties are the most disappointing once you walk through the door and are greeted by a pretentious staff member. Sometimes the properties with less impressive curb appeal have the most helpful front desk staff that you can overlook a few little snags in the carpet, literally. 

These are the top takeaways from our travels:

1. Hospitality matters. From the front desk to the housekeeping staff to the manager, everyone matters and when someone is unhappy with their job, it is apparent. A smile and friendly greeting go a long way toward making a guest comfortable and valued. 

2. Basics are important. A clean room, a modern bathroom, a comfortable bed and nice linens are the bedrock of any positive overnight stay. Top notch amenities are nice touch, but if you do not have the basics down, it does not make the difference. 

3. Knowledgeable staff is key. Asking for directions, wanting to know the best place for tacos, looking for a local flea market- the staff should know these things and not shrug their shoulders and say they are new to the area. Inexcusable! 

4. Breakfast is a wildcard. A lot of properties are now serving complementary breakfast, and in my opinion, many should not. I would rather pay extra for a delicious homemade breakfast than settle for some boxed eggs and stale bagels. Also, I am a sucker for a full on, no holds barred, first class breakfast buffet- think silver chafing dishes and an omelet station. 

5. Tipping should not be expected. This may be an unpopular opinion, but tipping is out of hand. Hopefully the staff is paid a living wage and is not reliant on tips for income. When on vacation, I do not want to constantly have to worry about carrying cash to hand out in case someone helps me lift a suitcase or brings me an extra coffee pod or calls me a shuttle. 

6. Ask questions before you arrive. If you want a quiet room, ask for it. If you want a room that has a fan, ask for it. If you want twenty pillows on your bed, ask for it. Once these requests are in your reservation, the front desk can adequately plan for your visit and has time to accommodate your requests. Also, it is a good idea to follow up on requests a couple days before your arrival to ensure a smooth check in. 

We love sampling different properties: It gives us a chance to come back to the Inn and recognize what we get right and what we could improve upon. It also gave us a chance to appreciate and recognize our amazing staff, who always put on a smile each day and provide our guests with top notch service!

When did Authentic become Trendy?

The word authentic gets thrown around a LOT. It seems to be a favorite among travel bloggers and influencers who are encouraging their readers to travel authentically. What does that even mean? When did it become trendy to be authentic? 

If you consider constantly examining what matters most to our guests as being authentic, then count us in! When you pull back the curtain and take a deep dive, what truly matters most is a comfortable bed in a clean room that is aesthetically pleasing. If it's that easy, then why do so many properties get it wrong? Mostly because they over promise and under deliver.

Here at the Inn we try to be brutally honest. The structure dates back to 1736 which means the floorboards are wonky and angles don't always meet at 90 degrees. Ceilings and doorways are low in certain areas and doors tend to creak occasionally. We call that charm, and besides demolishing the place, there is little we can do about it. 

What we can control, we do. We make sure our beds are comfortable and our bathrooms are spotless. We make sure our greetings and interactions are warm and friendly without being overbearing. We make sure that we offer several options for breakfast and that our guests dietary requirements are met. We make sure our furniture throughout is well maintained and cozy. We make sure our guests are safe by carefully maintaining the structures and strictly adhering to the latest health and fire codes.

So, when you come to the Inn, you can expect us to give you our best effort to make your stay as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. We aren't sure if that makes us authentic or trendy, but hopefully it makes you want to come back! 

Inn at Glencairn #3 in CN Traveler Readers' Choice Awards for Mid-Atlantic Region!

We are so excited to be a recipient of the Conde Nast Traveler Readers Choice Award! Being ranked in the top 10 for properties in the Mid-Atlantic is such an honor. We are beyond grateful to our past and present guests who recognized us by voting.

Lydia, our amazing Innkeeper, and our housekeeping crew deserve the accolades. They are constantly striving to improve the guest experience and have been so resilient and dedicated over the past few years.  So, a big thank you to our guests and to our staff. We are beyond grateful to receive this award for the last three years!

Check out the list of winners for the mid-Atlantic below.

1. Sagamore Pendry Baltimore

2. Kimpton Hotel Monaco Pittsburgh

3. Inn at Glencairn

4. Asbury Ocean Club

5. The Ivy Hotel

6. The Reeds at Shelter Haven

7. The Asbury Hotel

8. The Rittenhouse

9. Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia

10. Hotel du Pont

Puzzles, puzzles, and more puzzles!

You may have noticed Lydia's penchant for puzzles during your last visit to the Inn.  She is an admitted puzzle "addict" and was fully immersed into the craze during the pandemic!  Her favorite spot to piece them together was the dining room table. During the slow days of the pandemic this was ideal until the random guest would show up!

After a few too many interruptions from the brave, infrequent guest and a need for the dining room table, Lydia finally treated herself to a really cool puzzle board (holding up to 1000 pieces and large enough for a 21" x 27" puzzle) that now sits in the Office.  Guests of all ages give her a hand on these puzzles while they visit, and she completes each one.

Flash forward to today: Lydia now has about 40 puzzles that she has completed and we are running out of shelf space at the Inn. 

PLEASE help us!!!!! 

Bring Lydia a new puzzle (that you have completed) and feel free to take one (or two) home from our office shelf. Forgot your puzzle, that's OK, just remember one the next time you visit. And, if you are a serious puzzle fanatic (or know one), Lydia is happy to share information on her puzzle board!  

The Slow Tourism Movement at the Inn at Glencairn

The pandemic has forced us to reevaluate our priorities. We were all forced to take a moment (maybe a year or two) of introspection and take stock of our existence. Some of us enjoyed having an excuse to work from home, or spend nightly dinners with our children and spouses, or put the brakes on our hectic lives. Travel and hospitality has followed suit. Travelers are wanting each and every experience to count because, you never know when you might be in lock down again. Guests are looking for an enriching experience, not just a mediocre bed and a run of the mill hotel to pass through. The buzzword is "slow tourism." Remember the slow food movement? Welcome to the slow tourism movement.

We at the Inn have been practicing slow tourism since we opened back in 2004. Walking through our doors transports guests back to a simpler time. As soon as you step in you realize this is not a cookie cutter hotel. Not everyone comes to us with their eyes wide open. Our favorite guests are the ones who walk through the door and have a skeptical look on their face. Maybe they were there because a spouse made the reservation, maybe a well-meaning travel agent assumed we were the Ritz because of our high ratings on TripAdvisor and Expedia, maybe a relative purchased a gift certificate as a gift. Not everyone walks in expecting a B&B in an 18th century farmhouse.

We recently had a guest who was "put up" at the Inn while giving a talk at a local institution. She was somewhat taken aback by the skeleton key. We know because she posted about it on facebook! What followed in the comments are priceless, ranging from, "18th century dungeon door key" to "do they require payment in schillings" to (my personal favorite) "is Narnia on the other side?" Well, on the other side was a well appointed four poster bed with a fluffy down comforter and silky softs sheets, a comfortable sitting area overlooking our back gardens, and a modern spotless bathroom with fluffy towels and handmade soaps. After one night, we had a convert and perhaps our biggest fan to date. She posted about the fabulous homemade breakfast featuring eggs benedict over baked prosciutto and arugula served with fresh jams, granola and a chocolate truffle along with a grapefruit dish that was so good "I wanted to cry!" When she left, she had a bagful of homemade granola and jams and our homemade laundry detergent.

When you walk into the Inn, you might be taken aback that it does not look like a hotel, it might have a few bumps and bruises because it is nearly 300 years old. We work tirelessly to keep everything maintained impeccably and our recent renovation brought the structure into the 21st century, but at its heart, the Inn is quite simply "an old farmhouse" and we celebrate it as such. So, make a reservation and come see what "slow tourism" is all about. You will not be disappointed.

Inn at Glencairn receives the 2020 TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice Award!

Inn at Glencairn receives 2020 Travelers’ Choice Award from TripAdvisor

We are thrilled to receive the 2020 TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Award! The award has replaced the former Certificate of Excellence, so this is the sixth continuous year the Inn has received this award. As our guests know, we take our job seriously, and we strive to give each guest a wonderful, authentic stay. Thank you to the nearly 400 guests who took the time to sit down and give us their honest feedback. We continued to maintain our pace of hitting the mark with 98% of our reviews in the Excellent to Good category! Kudos to our Innkeeper, Lydia, who is often mentioned by name and whose breakfasts are nearing legendary status. 2020 has been a tough one, to say the least, but it is the kind words of our guests that keep us going!