Riverview Mansion Hotel — Hotel in Golconda

This charming little hotel has really stayed with me. My husband and I stayed for 6 nights in mid September in the Lewis and Clark suite. We were warmly greeted by Beth, the proprietress, perhaps the hardest working woman in Southern Il. The hotel is decorated in proper Victorian style; everywhere your eye lands, there is something to see. Our room was both lavish and cozy, beds were comfortable, linens very nice. There was a small tv, fridge and microwave in a cute little console. There's not a lot of space in which to store personal belongings, this bothered my husband because he didn't like the thought of our stuff interfering with the decor of our room. ||The Riverview Mansion bills itself as a hotel, but think of it more like an Inn. Meaning, there is no daily maid service, your room is considered private during your stay. However, Beth is very attentive to our needs and we were always stocked with fresh towels etc. There is also no ice machine, but there is a very well stocked grocery store a few blocks away and the mini fridge kept the ice frozen, handy for all of our day trips. ||The Riverview was a great jumping off place for all of our adventures, near to Garden of the Gods, and Cave in Rock park, and a couple of other little riverside towns. Farther afield, we also went to the Cypress Swamp, and the town of Makanda, and Giant City state park. ||It was blistering hot and humid during our stay but our room was always cool and comfy. The main floor living room and dining room are available for guests to use, there are books literally everywhere in this home. The front porch became my favorite place to read in the shady mornings. Breakfast was laid out for us every morning and it was always delicious. ||The house is QUIET. Beth and Tony have 4 children, my husband and I are late sleepers, and yet we never once heard the family getting ready for the day and leaving for school. On our final night we finally met the children, what a nice bunch of kids. On that night, we also ate at the Levee Lounge, and really enjoyed that. This is a charming little place and I hope I get to go back...

The riverview inn is a unique and dark historic home filled with interesting antiques and electric decor. It was a good location for hiking in the Shawnee forest and checking out some of the local attractions such as breweries in Paducah and the Superman Museum in metropolis. We were greeted with a gift bag with snacks, a bottle of wine, and bath stuff like Loofahs, hairbrush, etc.

The Victorian style room was large with an attached bathroom. There was a mini fridge and a coffee maker in the room . The mini fridge was stocked with breakfast foods (packaged pastries, yogurts, bananas). It had a weird smell to it, previous guests must had left some old food in the freezer part that I threw out, after that it was fine. There is wifi in the home that is somewhat spotty but I did have cell phone service in the town of Golconda which was nice (not the case in some of the surrounding areas).

There is a little bar downstairs with a large beer and wine selection. The owner will cook food for you and serve it to you down there on weekends or will bring it to your room. Like most of the food in the area the food was good, mostly fried, and portions were huge. There may have been another guest at the time we were staying but I didn’t run in to any other guests or customers. There is also a local spot (Divers down) that is open late-ish.

The owner Beth was very nice and responsive to our needs, she offered that we can call her 24/7 with any concerns. She lives with her family and pets in the back part of and top part the home-they were very quiet. I met her friendly and cute tiny dog a few times running around the outside.

The price was a bit high ($200+ per night) and there may be more affordable options in the area but overall I had a very pleasant stay and recommend it for those who are looking for a different and...

TRAVELER BEWARE!!!! We booked our stay with this hotel for six nights based on the beautiful web pictures. I never received a confirmation or copy of the charges to my card. I assumed they had a hold on my card for one night as is standard, but I found out later they charged the entire amount.

Was I ever surprised when I arrived.

This is a rundown establishment. I had a room with electrical cords plugged into electrical cords, plugged into electrical cords. There was no heat except for a small plastic fake fireplace. I had it running full blast all night and when I went to plug in my tablet, the plug was very hot! Fire hazard!!!

It gets better.

Their idea of tv is to have Roku on a small monitor. CBS news was the only thing playing on a continuous loop.

The bathroom was dirty and as I came out a huge spider was crawling across the floor.

The linen closet was filled with old and dirty linens. I didn’t want to crawl into the bed so I slept on top. When I laid down, paint was peeling off the ceiling!! It looked like the original paint so I wasn’t sure if it was lead based or asbestos filled. I just slept on my side in case some cane down in the middle of the night.

I left as early as possible the next morning and asked For a refund of three nights. They said their policy did not allow that. Never saw their policy! They offered me a gift certificate for another stay! Are you kidding me???

I’ve disputed the credit card. Harvest for all five nights that I didn’t stay there. Fire and health hazards are not...