Architects Inn -- George Champlin Mason

What People are saying

Run.

Jessie Pon 12/07/2017 02:57

We booked online. Tried to contact property and was reverted to Brian's cell phone. He refused to confirm our reservation and when questioned about his previous shady reviews he legitimately told us to cancel our reservation. We were uneasy based on the fact that we booked under "Tykha" which DOESN'T EXIST in Newport. It's aka the Architects Inn or Woodbine Cottage or some murder mystery nonsense corporation. Fine. But when we asked Brian to send us confirmation of our room and the dates requested he refused. We have since cancelled our reservation and our credit card. Horrible people. And please feel free Nick and Brian to write a scathing response. You messed up. Not us.

Phoney Baloney Proprietors

leftbeaconhillon 01/02/2017 19:59

The owners of this bed and breakfast are terrible! They are angry individuals!! Do not waste your time and money with this place!! False representation's to the extreme!!
They have basement rooms that they do not show you on there website....It is a scam....Nick is rude and aggressive.....

Fall Weekday Stay

bW6450QBon 12/12/2016 22:15

My wife and I stayed at Architect's Inn while making our way through various New England locations, staying mostly at Bed & Breakfast type venues along the way. This particular stay ranks squarely in the middle quartile of those venues. The location is quite central, well within walking distance to many of the historic sites of Newport and various dining establishments. The home is nicely appointed with comfy beds, keeping with the tradition that it is an old dame of a house. Those attributes make up for the better parts of our stay. My experience with Bed & Breakfasts' generally is great and friendly customer service. This was not the case here. Upon arrival, we entered the house to a seemingly surprised proprietor unable to find our reservation (this despite confirming with their own text based system hours beforehand). He was terse, and as noted by my wife, it seemed like we were inconveniencing him for paying to stay at his place of business. No conversation about Newport or the amenities of the house save for a quick warning about the lock on the front door. Check-out showed a similar disinterested interaction. Reading material in the room had history of the house, destinations around town, etc. and also a section on visitor reviews, particularly remarking on negative ones. It lamented that one should leave no review at all if one were to leave a negative review. It read as an admonishment from that of a school-teacher. Frankly, it was in poor taste. A proprietor’s purpose is to earn a good review and except criticism when they do not. Overall, you’ll enjoy the home and the location, but do not expect the same chummy (or even interested) interactions you’ll find at other Bed & Breakfast venues.

One the Fence

Ralph11Paris_Franceon 18/11/2016 11:48

I got an unusual, response from the proprietor, which did not address my disappointment, but instead a different approach was taken. Therefore, I felt it important to further clarify my evaluation of the property. It is my intent to help people in choosing lodging that meets their needs and expectation, so they walk away happy. Constructive reviews also help a property understand a shortcoming, so they can improve their offering, and it helps prevent recurrence, which upholds good standing.

This updated review gives a fuller explanation to our experience.

We spent four midweek nights at the Architect’s Inn. It is perfectly located if you want to be away from the business of the downtown while still being in walking distance to what is happening and the beach or Cliff Walk. We stayed in a higher-end room that was quite large, yet cozy and comfortable ($315/night).

I initiated contacted with the B & B by phone to clarify the lodging/pricing listed on their website. It was also to insure that we could stay at the property we desired, Architect’s Inn, since they do have rooms in another location. The room was then booked directly through Architect’s Inn website for the listed Breakfast Included Rate, which understandably is more expensive than the room rates listed Without Breakfast.

We never received turndown service or a full breakfast or pampering, which as according to the owner and their promotional materials, we should have. We did not receive anything near that and that is the reason for our dissatisfaction. Our four night stay, which we book on the Architect’s Inn website, was paid in full on the morning of our departure by credit card to the property owner.

I sit on the fence with this property because it does have some great things going for it, but they are overshadowed by a lack of personality and what one would expect from a bed and breakfast at this price level. The magical or passionate hospitality that one finds in a bed and breakfast is missing and the property did not live up to reviews.

The toiletries in the bathroom, three small mismatched bottles of shampoo, conditioner and lotion, as if they came from various hotel visits from someone’s travel; they were purposely arranged on the sink, but they were used. It was especially odd since they promote having specialty products. The soap bar was a lovely glycerin soap that was new but we had to fetch it from the hallway since there was none in our bathroom and no one was around to ask. The bath towels were of very poor quality and did not keep in-line with the property’s standing.

Our room was not made-up after the first night’s stay. Nor was the bedroom floor vacuumed during our stay. Since it is a beach town, even by removing ones shoes as requested when entering the house, sand still finds it way into the bedroom and should be addressed.

These situations are worth a mention, so people understand the level of service, and are not disappointed like we were after researching and choosing this property based on that investigation.

We were also confused about the breakfast, one of the reason we choose this B & B. Reviews, as well as a travel site, mention “a large gourmet breakfast”, “Organic”, “Chef”. It even states it in their welcome book that I read on our departure morning to see what time we needed to checkout. The breakfast was far from what was described. It was the poorest, cheapest breakfast I have ever experienced at a B & B. Denote: an option we paid up for.

There was no thought or even elegance to match the accommodations. There was nothing gourmet about the breakfast and we felt ill treated as a client. Coffee, tea and juice were placed on a table with a toaster, and still in its plastic wrapper, was industrial, grocery-brand, sliced-sandwich-bread. There were two ramekins of jam, a few industrially made muffins, and a few pieces of fruit, but not enough for all the guests. A bowl with a few cold hard-boiled eggs sat there but you had no idea of their freshness.

The point being the few eggs sat in a bowl, not chilled, outside on the table in the heat, leading one to question their freshness. We never saw a guest take one and it looked like the same ones every morning.

The best part of the breakfast, it is served outside, and it is quite pleasant and relaxing. There are also nice public areas in the property with an abundance of promotional travel material to read through.

Nick is a pleasant, kind man, and it is a lovely home, but if you are looking for service or niceties then this is not the place for you. But if you only desire a comfortable room, in comfortable relaxing surroundings, that is conveniently located yet secluded, then I would say it hits that mark if the rest is unimportant. But you could probably find that and much more for the same price elsewhere.

A property owner could check first to make sure that they do not dig a deeper hole when reasoning a response.

One can apologize for shortcomings and understand that you did let down guests by not living up to the standard you promote. I reviewed fairly the property and our experience. Obviously something has changed in their offering. There is a real disconnect between then and now, and it shows.

Small things make a huge difference in hospitality and it is the property’s responsibility whether an experience goes towards the positive or the negative.

Perfect setting for our Murder Mystery!

Jackie Bon 14/11/2016 01:27

My husband and I just stayed here for a murder mystery weekend. We both had an enjoyable experience from start to finish. First, let me say that we booked straight from the Architect Inn website. From the start we were made aware of the cost, time frames and "rules" that others have complained about, but I saw no issues. I mean, I don't wear shoes in my own house, what's the big deal? Anyway, both innkeepers were nice, courteous, and accommodating. The only "issue" we had was finding the inn, but a quick call to Nick and he gave us the correct address (my bad for not checking it beforehand, Google was incorrect).

The home itself was gorgeous, perfectly fit from the time period it was built, which makes total sense. The murder mystery we came for was also set in the 1800s and this was the perfect setting. Our room was 2nd floor, decent size, bed, loveseat/couch, tv, beautiful antique furniture... the "bathroom" was three separate closets that had been converted into a toilet room, sink room, and shower room which gave the whole room character.

The food was amazing. My husband and I both eat almost anything, so the mystery meal was appealing to us. Also, if you didn't like something or had allergies etc, all you need to do is let them know ahead of time, which they do ask before you stay anyway. Our murder group was something like 16-18 people? So seeing 2 or 3 different plates around the table was cool, everything presented well, and everyone enjoyed the food (us too, of course).

Everything was included for the murder mystery package, and it was soooo worth it! We thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience... we would definitely come back again!