A Cambridge House Inn At Porter — Hotel in Cambridge

I rarely give low stars. Here is a detailed explanation.

This is 2.5 stars, not 2, to be more fair.

The staff did not explain why, but breakfast is no longer served here.

Edit: I read the other reviews, its because of the pandemic, but the staff could have said so.

The "Inn" sign out front needs to be taken down, repaired or replaced. At least they had the awning so you could see that you made it.

The parking situation needs improvement. Limited parking, and not guaranteed, and the staff did not share a location for alternative overnight parking.

The air conditioner filter was filthy, so I washed it myself.

The bars of soap were only useful for washing the air conditioner filter. I'm glad I brought my own for use on my skin.

The shower vent on the ceiling looked like it hasn't been dusted.

The sink and the tiles need to be scrubbed with bleach, especially in the corners.

The side of the sink had holes in it, some were covered with blue painting tape.

The towels smelled dirty, and they were rough and thin. Even the fresh ones that we requested were the same.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but if you have a lot of drapery such as curtains, they should be washed at least once every two months or so, but it doesn't seem like that's happening.

I know there's a lot of curtains, but it is very difficult to relax and sleep with all of that dust, dirt and dead skin cells.

The bedroom chairs are beautiful, but both are begging to be re-upholstered or repaired.

I booked over two months in advance, and the staff told us when we checked in that we saved over two hundred dollars.

That's insane.

I'm grateful that I booked in advance, because this would NOT have been worth it if I had the Halloween Mark Up.

The staff was not as polite as I was hoping. He was okay, but I didn't feel comfortable sharing anything with him.

At one point, I very calmly and politely asked the staff about if a manager was going to be in attendance during the weekend. He would not tell me if a manager was going to be around at all.

Here are all of the good things that earned the review the two stars because I feel wrong sharing only bad things.

There are nice accommodations such as tea, coffee, refrigerator, tea pot, WIFI, etc.

The establishment felt safe, quiet and peaceful.

There were outlets and a nice desk.

You can tell that they vacuumed the floor because of the carpet.

The bed itself was beautiful. The mattress was OK.

The bed sheets were pretty clean.

Our room had the electric fireplace, but it wasn't obvious how to use it, so we left it alone.

OVER ALL,

For approx $200 a night for two nights approx $400 total, we were not expecting a five star hotel, but there were enough things that were deal-breaker for us to give this review two stars.

I understand that we had the pandemic and the many difficulties of a small business. My family has been in the service business for so many years, and I can tell you, it is pretty good, but there is a lot of room for improvement in terms of basic health and service parameters.

The staff could have been a lot nicer, more helpful, and communicative.

Regardless, we are grateful that we had the weekend to spend in Massachusetts. Thank...

Having looked at some of the negative reviews of Cambridge House, it seems that maybe some people didn't know what they were getting into. Look, the fact of the matter is that this is an old house that been converted, in some ways a little awkwardly, into a B&B, and we had a great stay here. ||||The rooms are quaint, and the decorations are a bit over the top -- our room had an elevated canopy bed that required a small set of movable stairs to climb in -- but we thought that it was great. The bed was comfy, the room was quiet. Cambridge House is also in a cool part of town, a few minutes walk from a ton of great restaurants and bars, and Davis Square, with its open-air market, is right around the corner. It's also right across the street from a super cool organic food market/nursery that is not only convenient (check out the pre-made foods, deli, etc.), but also just an interesting place to spend an hour exploring. The staff at Cambridge House was nothing but helpful, and definitely went the extra mile -- they helped us print a packing label, let us borrow tape and office supplies, and then let us drop our package in their outgoing mail, let us store food in the staff fridge, and were just super amenable and cool. ||||The only problems we had at all were infrastructural -- the internet was slow to the point of being non-existent, the room was a little warm without the windows open, and the breakfast (photo incl.) was a little light on options, including GF options for Ladyfriend. That said, we would definitely stay here again. The price is right (especially for Boston), the staff is great, and the...

NO BREAKFAST available. This listing and street sign still say "B&B". False advertising!|I had one of the best rooms in the main house, with lovely furniture and atmos, but an uncomfortable mattress.|Beautiful, original double dining/lounge downstairs with free pod coffee, tea, etc and tiny kitchen available 24hrs. With fridge in room, it's easy to keep and prep your own food. They give you a spiel about great food at the 7/11 store, and somehow do not mention that there is an amazing gourmet food market inside the Pemberton Farms garden store directly across the road. No sign outside PF store either - travellers generally would not go into a garden store methinks, so I only discovered this gourmet food hall on my last day.|House has a grand staircase, beautiful old woodwork and a big stained-glass window. I loved the house so much I spent most of one day just hanging out there.|Seems to be a family-run business; they could probs do with some professional advice from a hotel consultant. Efficient but not at all friendly or welcoming, esp the guy who signed me in.|With a bit of effort - tidying away nests of cords to the TV, maybe mounting TV on wall to remove some excess furniture, installing permanent (quiet) inverter air cons/ heaters rather than the window aircon that allows in road noise, they could make this into quite an upmarket joint. I would suggest tidying up the neglected front yard (where guests can sit). A Feng Shui expert could advise on some improvements too.|Davis Square is wonderful and very close. Porter and Harvard squares lack...