The Smith Steiner — Hotel in Carlisle

The Smith-Steiner appears to be a beautiful house. We never stayed there. I am writing this review to WARN those of you who may need to cancel your reservation. In our case, whereas virtually all hotels and bed-and-breakfasts these days allow you to not just book a stay but also cancel a stay online, I discovered that while I could book my stay online, there is no way to cancel your reservation over the internet.

Therefore, after discovering this, several weeks ago as soon as I knew we weren't able to make our trip, I called to cancel a reservation. I assumed it would be a routine matter, but it was nothing but an endless, frustrating process that culminated in an argument with a gentleman who works at the Smith-Steiner.

The first time I called, I spoke to someone who said they'd tell another person to run the cancellation; yet, I never received a cancellation confirmation. Subsequently, I tried to re-contact the Smith-Steiner a couple of additional times - first via email, then by leaving a message requesting a cancellation confirmation via email (and I included all of my contact information). I never got a call back or email - my efforts resulted in virtually no follow through at all. Just now, I made one last call, and no one answered the phone again. They left a number to reach someone if there was an immediate issue, so I called that. I reached a gentleman who was nothing but surly from the very start. Admittedly, by the time I reached him I was at my wits end. Yet, he immediately escalated the call into an argument.

All told, while it appears that people who did actually stay at the Smith-Steiner enjoyed the stay, if you anticipate that you might need cancel your stay for any reason, I am offering my experience as a warning. It may be a good deal harder to cancel your stay than you expect it to be.

UPDATE: After this extremely frustrating experience, it took an argument and very negative interaction (which I contributed to, to be fully transparent) to receive a cancellation from the Smith-Steiner, and my deposit of 25.00 seems to finally have been refunded. Yikes, what a ridiculous, and totally avoidable problem, Smith-Steiner. This could have been resolved literally weeks ago by just taking a moment to process the cancellation - and without the negative review and angry...

My husband and I stayed at the Smith Steiner the weekend we dropped off our daughter at the CPYB summer intensive. Our accommodations were amazing - and I've chosen that word intentionally. First and foremost, our beds, room and bathroom were SO VERY CLEAN and that means everything to me. You see, I have OCD, the actual anxiety disorder for which I'm medicated, not the ha-ha-ha I'm so OCD thing about which so many people like to joke. I could say so many things about the cleanliness of the room, but perhaps the most complimentary thing I can say is this: I allowed my husband to get into our bed after HE WALKED BAREFOOT ACROSS THE FLOOR. If you know, you know. ||||In addition to our cleaner-than-our-own-home's room, bed and bathroom, it was obvious everything in the room -- the bedding, the mattress, the decor, the fixtures, the bathroom title, the toiletries, even the friggin' laundry detergent -- was chosen with great care and impeccable taste. So wonderful. I was SO COMFORTABLE and that is saying something. Actually, it's saying a lot. ||||You should also know the Inn's location is just perfect. It's right across the street from Dickinson College and the Law School, in walkable distance to downtown Carlisle, and is located in Old Mooreland, a very desirable part of Carlisle (as well as a great place to go for a walk or run). ||||I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the delicious and filling breakfast Becky prepared for us. It was so delicious my husband and I went to our local grocery store as soon as we got home to buy the ingredients we're guessing Becky used. ||||One more thing -- Becky is great. She's very personable, a pleasure to talk to, and we appreciated the effort she made to remember our names as well as details from our conversations. ||||All this said, I highly recommend the Smith Steiner. Only please don't book a room out from under us the next time we're in town. ;-) ||||P. S. Becky set up a twin bed with an air mattress at the foot of our room's king bed to accommodate my daughter. I didn't anticipate that and was pleasantly surprised when we arrived. AND Becky knew my daughter wouldn't be spending the second night at the Inn because we'd already moved her into her dorm so she removed the twin bed. What a...

The Smith Steiner is exactly what we've been hoping would open up in Carlisle for years - a luxury B&B that is a real treat. We discovered it back in 2019 but hadn't been able to stay until just this past week, and it somehow still exceeded expectations with all that hype. A stay in any of the rooms includes a great breakfast, and things like beer, wine, and snacks are included as well. The bed linens and towels are also top-of-the-line. You can pretty much walk to anything you'd want with downtown Carlisle being just a couple blocks away. The host was great, even accommodating my late arrival on the day right...