The Castle Inn — Hotel in Circleville

We enjoy staying in old historic places converted to B&Bs. So as we were traveling west from Maryland to Minnesota, I found this place online as (I thought) a good overnight stop. I was impressed with the website but unfortunately did not read any reviews from those that had stayed here. I may have not booked it, but we did stay so I can now provide my own opinion of that experience when my wife and I stayed on July 7, 2022. ||||To start off, I talked to the owner on the phone 2 days prior and she said, "oh we are not busy at all on Thursdays, you will have a choice of several rooms either on the 2nd floor or the 3rd floor". She also said, "if it is hot outside, I will give you a 2nd floor room as the 3rd floor does not have AC". I said, "we can decide which room we want when we arrive". She agreed. On the morning of July 7 when we were within 2 hours away, she texted me and wrote, "I forgot this is 7/7 (July 7), I have three wedding here today". How does one forget they have a wedding scheduled, let alone 3 of them? She said we could check in after 5PM. We arrived at 5:10PM (we were anxious to get out of the heat of the day) and there were quite a few people milling about outside smoking and more inside with a photographer and all his gear set up all over. The Inn parking is extremely limited, basically tight for 4 cars, but there were at least 8 cars parked everywhere. We left our car on the street. We went to the lobby desk area and there was no one there. I texted the owner and she arrived 15 minutes later scolding us for entering the building, as she wanted to meet us outside, but we were never told that. Finally, she handed us the keys to a 3rd floor room (after she said previously we could select our choice of rooms) and it was a very hot day and the 3rd floor room without AC. She said, "oh there is a fan in the room that should make it okay". Our 3rd floor room had a jacuzzi, but we found pieces of broken glass in the tub, on the ledge and on the carpet. No way would we get inside it, since it obviously was not cleaned. The toilet was in a small closet-like room but the sink and shower were in the middle of the room. There was a large attic access in the ceiling that was falling apart and with mold on it, I thought bats could probably enter our room, thankfully none appeared. The TV in our room would not work, so I went down to the 2nd floor where there were some DVDs. I was in my bare feet and felt the stairs were all soaking wet. The stairs are covered in flaking debris and probably haven't been cleaned or vacuumed in quite a long time. I texted the owner about the TV and about 2 hours later a guy came up to get the TV working, he did, but we were already watching a DVD movie. The TV reception was very poor anyway. This old mansion is in a sad state of needing repair. Rainwater leaking into the main floor, 2nd floor and 3rd floor stairwell. Ceiling damage in several areas. Outside the bricks are falling off in a few places and birds are nesting inside. I feel sorry for the owner, as she reported to us repeatedly that she is recovering from cancer. She said she cannot go up the stairs any more. She has a housekeeper who is even older that her who wants to retire. Obviously, not doing the work she was hired for. The owner has a new maintenance guy (since the previous one just left) on the job one day. He does seem to have some problems. He said he would be available in the morning but never showed up. Breakfast was okay (scrambled eggs, potatoes and sausage) and served family style. There were two other couples staying, and I found out at breakfast from them that there are only 3 (maybe 4) rooms available because the other 2 or 3 were badly in need of repair. Supposedly free WiFi here but the owner admitted it does not work.||I believe the owner purchased the house directly across the street and that is where she lives. At breakfast the owner sat with us and again began to lament her battle with cancer. I'm sorry, but we had heard it enough and had to get out of there. I think the owner means well, but it is way too much for her to manage. We were misled when booking this place. She needs to sell and let someone else restore the place to its former grandeur and glory. The history of this place is very interesting and sadly the only good part...

My husband and I celebrated our 37th wedding anniversary at the Castle Inn with a murder mystery, a Romantic Toast, a private Dinner, and a private breakfast. Our romantic dinner was BEAUTIFUL!! Trish and her husband David, the Innkeepers, did a lovely job decorating our table with rose petals and candles. We played our own music and such a lovely evening. Our meal was beef tips over potatoes and we were very pleased with it. Our innkeepers went over and above to make our weekend stay an unhurried, organized, relaxing, and memorable experience. We hope to go back. The castle is in a bit of a rough shape, but the service, kindness, and attentiveness of these two is better than a five star hotel. Seriously. I took so many pictures! Even with the needed repairs, the castle is beautiful, and conveniently located in town. The garden and pond are both beautiful and comfortable and secluded with a place for a fire. Our room was VERY NICE. We loved everything about it. Our jetted tub for two was as advertised and we enjoyed the heck out of it! The murder mystery was a lot of fun!! Again, David, our innkeeper, was right there to help when needed. It was a very fun evening. I’d recommend the organizers of the murder mystery itself, to perhaps, put up “tips for 1920 NO CELL PHONES—( they weren’t around in 1920 Don’t bring up players of past mysteries; I was very confused at one point and had no idea what one fellow was referring to. It threw me off for a minute. We had been given a cast of characters and their spouses, which I memorized. But when we began playing two of the cast members were paired with the wrong spouses. I was calling the sister by the name of the woman who was the wife of Ruttledge, only to have her correct me, mid game, that her name was Irene. I stumbled a bit in my character, but sort of tried to explain why a maid of 25 years would not recognize the woman who had grown up in the house! These were my only regrets for the weekend. I wish the game had been smoother and that our cast of characters would have reflected the proper names for the night. That aside, the rest of the time, and Victoria and Cornelius were great!! The were perfect and made the evening so enjoyable for my husband and I. I would highly recommend the Castle Inn murder mystery. I hope there will be new mysteries that we can take part in!! Thank you for a wonderful and memorable experience,...

If I could this 0 stars I would. We left within an hour. The walls and ceiling are falling apart with lethal pieces of lead paint and asbestos all over the ground. The fabric bed frame was stained, as were the sheets. I wouldnt even sit down. There were sheets hanging on the walls covering mold and other horrific damage. The carpet was also horribly stained. Tiles were falling down in the bathroom. Lights were barely hanging by a thread and most bulbs weren’t working or were physically damaged. Not to mention the bullet hole through the window. When we called for a refund, the owner stated she would give us a rain check to stay a different night. When told we lived 5 hours away and the place was unsafe, she became argumentative and rude, eventually hanging up. She stated “it’s their busiest time on weekends” which I understand, however, we were the only people there and even the housekeeper informed us of that. We also understand and love and appreciate old homes, we live in one ourselves which we renovated! However, it is very unfortunate that this once beautiful place needs to be condemned due to its dangerous conditions and absolutely sickening that someone is willing to put people in harms way AND CHARGE...