The Victoria Inn & V Vacation Rentals — Hotel in Angels Camp

Where do I begin? I guess its best to just walk you thru what we experienced. Looking at the pictures on their website would lead one to believe that this is a stellar and romantic place to go with someone you love. That is certainly why my wife and I decided to spend our anniversary there. But the pictures are NOT what we found, not by a long shot. So, I took my own pictures...which I will post here for you all to consider. Arrived on a Wednesday, paid the extra fee to check in early. There is NO reserved parking and because this property is in the center of Murphys there is almost no street parking...especially now with Covid and the taking up of what would be parking places for curbside services like dining and so on. We were super lucky to get a parking spot behind the property, otherwise, we would have had to drag a large suitcase, ice chest, pillows, and a few other items down the street and up the stairs to our room. That is where the luck ended. Now I give 1 star because the receptionist was very nice, very helpful and gave us plenty of good information for our stay. The second star is just for the physical location in the town...very central and walking is a fun way to explore things. We were assigned to room 7, a king bed with a huge spa tub in the bathroom. Walking up the stairs (there is no elevator) we noticed all the stains in the red carpet. We had a moment of thinking did you see that in the website photos? The farther you travel down the hall, the more the stains are present...gross. Also at the top of the stairs, I saw a thermostat that was labeled "Rooms 5,6,7" I wondered how that would work...if the thermostat was in the hallway, which was very warm (79 degrees) how would it know when the AC had reached the cooling goal? And how could three rooms that share no common space be able to agree on whats a good temperature? And most of all, the controls were wide open for anyone to adjust them. We entered the room and my first impression was not great. Cracked tiles on the bathroom floor, spider webs all over the windows and in the sills, no screens on any of the windows, more carpet stains and chipped and scraped paint all over the place. I sat on the bed and felt like I was sitting on a park bench. HARD does not even describe it. I peeled the covers off the bed and found the mattress tag, manufactured by Simmons in San Leandro CA in the year of 2001! Not only was this mattress only 6 inches thick, but it was also 19 years old! Did I mention the room was $240 a night? Did I mention that it usually includes breakfast but they canceled that because of Covid? Even though there are two restaurants right downstairs that serve breakfast!! No discounts for the lack of breakfast and now we are sleeping on a bed that the Flinstones would have said sucked! The first night it was about midnight and the smoke alarm starting chirping loudly...this went on all night. Apparently the smoke alarm system is network monitored and there was an issue with our smoke detector. The room became so hot that I had to get up and go to that shared thermostat to see what it was set to. When I went to bed it was set to cool to 74, now it was set to 79. Again, someone in another room was probably cold, so they turned it up to match the hallway temperature...you just cannot control three rooms and make it where people are happy with that. Did I mention this room was $240 a night? I set it to 72 and went back for a good freeze as it were. I am sure the other rooms were not happy about that, but I locked the thermostat, and just as I thought, no one figured out how to unlock it.

The second night was worse. The bed had now caused a pinched nerve in my hip and shoulder. The trip home was very painful and I needed several visits to my chiropractor to relieve the pain and the pinched nerves.

I figure that since the staff were all very nice and responsive, it must be an owner issue. I feel ripped off, sore, and like we should have...

We stayed at a condo rental called The Veranda which is a 1br upstairs unit with a balcony overlooking Main Street. The view is spectacular! The style of furnishings is very nicely appointed as you can see from their photos with a Country-French Mansion feel-- chandelier over the plank dining table and pair of chairs in the living area set the ambience perfectly. (I texted some photos to a friend whose business is Interior Design and his immediate response was "WHERE IS THIS PLACE???"). The bed is extremely comfortable and bathroom has a lot of counter space; clear glass shower big enough for 2 people. (Shower with a friend and save water! hahaha). Generous walk-in closet to keep your suitcases out of the visible bedroom area, thus adding to a romantic ambiance. A few little problems, is why I did not give this 5 stars. Of the two bedside charging units, only ONE of the ports worked and the other unit didn't work at all. The little digital bedside clock was not plugged in. A few of the dinner table chairs showed some wear on the upholstery. The living space could use a big decorative clock on the wall, or on the credenza in the small 'study' area; and one more (decorative) trash can-- so you don't have to get up and walk to the kitchen or bathroom. The parking area is shared by a few small gift shops whose proprietors park freely, sometimes in the space marked for The Veranda condo unit. When we returned after a day drive, our numbered spot was taken. We had been instructed to use our numbered spot and immediately notified the off-site manager; after all it's very obvious that parking on Main Street is highly impacted! Late, the next day, the non-chalant reply came: "well, we all just sort of share parking spaces here in Murphys... " I certainly wish the V Rentals management had been open and forthcoming about the parking lot from the beginning. There were certainly ENOUGH parking spots in the parking lot for the restaurant customers, and merchants, and other Inn visitors (appears to be 2 more condo units upstairs)-- but when spots are numbered and the rules say the parking spots for Inn guests are ASSIGNED-- being from out-of-town, you can't tell when or if people will get itchy over such things and exercise the towing rights. After all, you are on private property and the street is FULL of vehicles. This was cause for some frustration that detracted from our relaxing, romantic getaway trip, especially with their time...

My husband and I were celebrating our anniversary, so, we thought a nice B&B would top it off quite nicely. The Victoria Inn is charming, and well located in central Murphys. Great restaurants, wine tasting, shops abound in this friendly town.

We have to say, however, we were quite disappointed in the accommodations and the breakfast. First, when I stay at a B&B, I expect a "breakfast", not a few items placed on a counter. The breakfast counter is difficult to get to, since it is in a crowded corner. It was better than the buffet you would get an your average low priced motel, since they did provide smoked salmon (not quite "Lox", but, meant to substitute for it), served with capers & cream cheese, the bagels came on a little late, we had to wait for them. The fruit was good, but other than that, they had a couple of store bought pastries, instant oatmeal packets, and toast & coffee. This is a shame, since there is a restaurant on the premises, and they could quite easily serve a wonderful breakfast.

The accommodations - the room was small, but lovely. They had a working bear claw bathtub in our room, separate from the bathroom. It looked charming, I probably would have used it, if they provided some nice bath salts, or other nice product for the bath. One of the shelves in the bathroom for putting your things on was not secure, and everything came crashing down on the floor. The little drawer in the stand next to the sink also came crashing down. A little attention to detail would be helpful here.

The Sweetwater room we occupied was just above the patio where people were drinking, so, it was noisy until around midnight. When people left, and we finally thought we could get some sleep, they started moving furniture in the restaurant below us. This was obviously for cleaning, but, it continued for about a half hour. I would recommend felt pads under the table legs to minimize the noise. The bed was not particularly comfortable, so, we did not get a good night's sleep.

All in all, This Inn has a lot of potential, but, was not quite up to...