Eleven Gables Inn and Cottage

Reviews 3

A

Anonymous User

Having never been to a bed and breakfast, we wasnt sure what to expect. We are used to hotels so we may be a little off base here. When we arrived, it was a little difficult to find the entrance and it we thought there was very limited parking on the somewhat busy street out front. We circled the block a couple of times before we found where we had to go and asked somebody as they were getting into their car if this was the correct place. Our luck, he was leaving, so we were able to park in front of the inn. We were also informed by this patron that we needed to ring the bell at the door to enter (there wasnt a sign at the door that would tell us we needed to ring the bell.) It wouldve been nice to be informed about parking, as well as ringing the bell, before we arrived. Turns out there was plenty of parking in the back. We walked in and it was no doubt quite charming and very quaint. Just what one would expect for a bed-and-breakfast. We were then lead up to our room. We were taken aback by how small it was. We had to walk up stairs to get to our room. Had we been elderly or disabled we would not have been able to do this, and would have been out of luck, having already paid for our room with no refund policy and no place else to stay in Lake Geneva. As far as being elderly, there were a few dips in the flooring in our room and we both tripped several times, both in the dips and on the rug that kept bunching up, even though we tried to move it ourselves. The bathroom was very small. There was no place to hang any towels and minimal surface space. Not even a hook on the door. The tub/shower was so small that I could not help touching the shower curtain throughout my shower which made me feel a little grossed out, not being sure how well it was cleaned. The bathroom had a second (locked from the inside) entrance that led directly into the hallway. This wouldnt have been an issue except there was a big enough gap under the door, that we felt whatever noises were made inside that bathroom were easily heard outside in the hallway. The room itself, although very pretty, had very poor lighting, no drawers, or storage space of any kind except for an armoire that had one wire hanger inside. There was a lamp table, a wobbly bedside table and another small table in the room. We ended up literally living out of our suitcases for the weekend. We appreciate that the furniture was old and charming, but it was rickety and when we used one of the posts of the four poster bed for support the post actually came out in our hand. We were afraid to lean against the armoire for support because that also seemed wobbly. We walked out onto the balcony which has a beautiful view of the lake right across the street. The deck seemed to be in bad shape and the wood looked like it needed a lot of treatment. We werent quite sure how much weight this balcony could support. We were told ahead of time that no breakfast would be served, which is a shame, considering this is a bed-and-breakfast, but we knew to expect that. We were also told that there was Internet, but found it to be incredibly weak and at many times we could not get it. We werent sure whether they made up your room at a bed and breakfast and brought fresh towels in the morning, so we did not make up our bed. We came back into the room later and found the room was exactly as we had left it. All in all we thought that this was a bit expensive for the lack of amenities, but then again, having never been to a bed and breakfast, we didnt know what to expect.

AL

Allex Thomas

This was our first stay in the Cottages on the lake. Previously, we were in the room with a lake view and King suite, which was two room suite with a king bed and dressing room. The cottage is like the Suite an very private with two rooms, since we brought our Nuffie along this time we stayed here. It has a refrigerator and mico with a real deer head above the fireplace. Even with the hot weather we chilled out for two days we stayed. The innkeeper Peter really seem to put great effort in ensuring the comfort and satisfaction of our stay. They showed us were the lake path begins in front of the property so we could walk the dogs in the morning, and told us about the Miracle fence and property and the story of the Stone House. It is well worth the trip. We took our cure of the dog and went along for a long walk on the path then jumped in the lake when we got back to the inn. The cottage is a short distance, three blocks, to the main shopping and dinning areas of downtown Lake Geneva while being secluded away from traffic noise. There are to immediate building or business surrounding the cottage which adds to the peacefulness of the area as well. The cottage isnt the "poshest" place we stayed, in comparison to the suite at the inn. It doesnt need to be. It is exactly what we look for: clean, comfortable place to chill out for the weekend at a good rate. It will be our "go to" place when we plan our next trip to Wisconsin, well definitely be back. The owners were kind enough to show us the ice house after the grumpy kids checked out and it was real cool with sky view windows above the beds. I should point out the grounds were very dark at night so were were able to play movies on our portable projector outside on the deck and see the stars. Being located in a very upscale neighborhood the outside was very quite. No honing of horns or dumpsters being unloaded in the early a.m. The kids will love the many custom nooks and hideaways in the ice house if we bring them next summer. The private pier they have is great, we spent the whole weekend swimming and noodling. The water temperature was like a bath some regulars told us it was like that all this summer with the heat wave. They no longer serve breakfast due to lack of demand but provide a healthy smack and coffee in the morning of Greek yogurt, fruit, and organic milk and granola. IF you want to eat pig it is best to go downtown there are some awesome restaurants three blocks away. They did provide an outdoor charcoal grill and table so we didnt have to eat out much. All in all is was a jolly good time.

A

Anonymous User

BEWARE OF THIS INN: I would NOT recommend this place to anyone thinking of bringing their dog for a trip due to the B&B owner’s aggressive dog. My husband and I recently stayed here with our dog, and it was our second visit to the B&B. The first visit was two years ago, and our dog loved being up there and being able to swim off the pier, which is a fantastic feature of the inn. However, on this visit, we took our dog down to the pier to swim, and a few minutes later, Gary brought his dog (a new one since our last visit - some kind of red hound dog) down to the pier. We were throwing a tennis ball into the water with our dog, and his dog immediately went after ours because apparently she is possessive about balls. His dog attacked our dog, biting her and causing blood in three different places. If it wasn’t for my husband and me pulling the dog off of our dog, I’m not quite what would have happened. Gary just stood there and dismissed the entire incident, even after seeing the blood and hearing my dog whimpering in pain. What we found most distressing about the incident was Gary’s complete nonchalance about the situation, and lack of a sincere apology. Once his dog got off our dog, he tied his dog up at the top of the dock, but we were unable to get our dog out of there without his dog trying to go after ours again. We returned to our room to clean up our dog’s wounds, and he decided to bring his dog over (despite the fact that his dog clearly had a problem with ours). He saw her wounds and dismissed them again. For the record, my dog goes to daycare on a weekly basis and plays at public parks all the time – I understand that dogs get into barking matches, but when it escalates to blood, I have a problem with that. As paying guests at the B&B, I would expect that the owner to provide a sincere apology over the situation. It seemed that he was aware of his dog’s tendencies over balls, and yet, he chose to take his dog off leash after he saw us playing with our dog – which was the entire reason we chose this specific B&B. For anyone planning on staying there with your own dog – I’d think twice. Gary clearly doesn’t know how to handle his dog and I would hate for anyone to have a similar situation. It’s a shame, because it truly used to be a wonderful place.

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