The Town's Inn — Hotel in Harpers Ferry

I write this review with conflicted emotions. The Town's Inn was a very sweet place, with very sweet employees, and a good selection of amenities. One of the manager's there was extremely friendly and personable and she made the bad parts of our trip seem just a little better. Even the housekeeper was very nice and talkative and gave us nice recommendations on where to go and places to eat.

There was a self service kitchen in the cafe area where the guests were allowed to make full use of the stoves, cookware, and all kitchen appliances free of charge. There were small groceries available for those who wanted to pay.

That being said, just as there were good parts, there were equally as bad parts. Our experience was a bit disorganized and we weren't sure who to blame it on. We had been trying to communicate with the owner that we would likely need an early check in, which she claimed she could accommodate, and yet, by the time we got there, we had to leave our bags in the room while we walked around because housekeeping hadn't finished with the room.

We also tried to take advantage of the shuttle service. While the prices varied from who we talked to, we agreed on a price and were driven to Shepherdstown (a 20-ish minute drive) to enjoy the sights and see a play we had bought tickets to. We had agreed with the owner that we would be picked up promptly at 9:30 (our play was meant to let out at 9), and that we would owe her $37. That was fine.

Our play ended early and we didn't want to bother her to pick us up early, so we hung around campus until 9:30. It was dark by then and we still didn't see her come around 9:40. Since it was a bigger campus, we figured maybe she was lost so we did a lap of the theatre and surrounding buildings and parking lots to try and find her. She was nowhere to be found. My sister, who had a phone number for her, called her twice and she didn't pick up. At this point, we were very worried considering we were in a state we had never been in with no way of getting back to our hotel (4 hour walk away). The campus was empty. We considered calling the police. Around 9:55 we finally got a hold of her, by which time she informed us that she had completely forgotten she was meant to pick us up.

Usually I can understand being forgetful. She had a lot going on (which she made sure to inform us), and was a very busy woman; comes with running a business, I suppose. But we weren't picked up until 10:30, and were extremely upset. She didn't charge us for the ride, which is why I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt, but unfortunately it didn't lessen our dissatisfaction of the entire experience.

I try to give good reviews for small businesses,, and I know how hard Karan works to make the Inn a great place to stay, but I had to make this known because if I had stayed somewhere like the Hilton or Comfort Inn, I'm sure I'd feel more comfortable making a bigger deal about it. I don't feel comfortable requesting compensation from smaller places, but in this case, I probably would have if I had to do it again.

This Inn is very cute, and if I were a regular hiker, I would likely come back, but given the circumstances and the series of unfortunate events my sister and I experienced at the Inn, I, regrettably, will not...

Our family of 5, including 3 teenage kids, stayed in the Friendship room in August of 2017 and enjoyed the room and inn very much. The owner, Karan, is extremely friendly and available for just about any conversation - advice on sights to see, discussion about the history of the inn, and her personal life story (she has traveled quite a bit and has had many interesting experiences). But, she does not impose herself on your time if that's not what you are looking for, but it is fun to ask :-). Our room, the Friendship Room was spacious and slept the 5 of us with ease. It's a very cool room with a stone fireplace and nicely done tile floor, plus the door opens out to a stone patio facing the busy High Street, yet is extremely quiet and private inside. Contrary to a prior post, the room's curtains provided ample privacy - a non-issue. Your only concerns with the Friendship room might be the small french shower, which I was fine with, and the air conditioner, which made a minor amount of noise...kind of like a dehumidifier makes. It was convenient having the small restaurant upstairs, though we only ate one meal there as we tend to go cheap on our breakfasts, but we picked up a few tidbits there as needed. Oh, and we didn't hear any footsteps overhead in the morning...maybe light footstep sounds later on, but nothing distracting. I really liked the feel of the inn, cut into the side of the mountain on one side plus the way Karan has kept it's ruggedness but added the charm that makes these types of lodging places so enjoyable. If you are coming to Harper's Ferry, I highly recommend staying at the Town's Inn. Oh, and one tidbit on cost you'll need to know - if you stay outside of town and would like to park in town, it will cost you $10, but not if you stay at the Inn. We factored this cost and the inconvenience of staying outside of Harper's Ferry and decided the small increase in expense was worth it, and we are very glad we did. (Such a different feeling waking up in town, like a sense of belonging or something)

Oh, and the other concern about "oppressive Christian" decorations - I just think someone was feeling very picky or whiny that day. Yes, there are a couple of "The Lord is my Shepherd" types of decorations (maybe, one, in the room), but it's nothing that stands out, and you have to make an effort to read them, anyway. Where's the emoji...

I rolled into HF tired, gritty, hungry & w/ out a reservation late on a Sunday afternoon in late June after having ridden 60+ miles on the C&O Canal. The place looked charming from the road side, and the second story reception was like stepping back in time to a country store. There I met Glinda, who showed me the last hostel room available on the top floor, with a shared bath on the floor below. It was clean, tidy and had A/C (which looked suspect, but worked fine). Being exhausted, I could hardly fill out the registration form so Glinda kindly led me to the front balcony, told me to take a seat, and gave me an ice cold bottle of water. As I recuperated, she filled out the registration form for me. I was concerned about safe bike storage, so she led me to the back patio where I could lock up out of street view. She also let me use the hose in the alley to rinse down the bikes (and myself, since I was too filthy for the shower). The kitchen was about to close so she asked me if I liked veggie lasagna as they had prepared a huge tray for another group and had lots of leftovers. I wolfed down 2 heaping plates for $14 cash. It was delicious! There were also freshly baked muffins (no fat, oil, nor butter!) that were equally yummy ($2 each). The shared shower room was clean, as were the towels, and had plenty of soaps/shampoos galore. The shared bathroom next door was clean & tidy, and looked to be recently remodeled/updated. The bed was comfy and sheets/pillows clean. I slept like a baby and didn’t hear any disturbances inside or out. The kitchen wasn’t staffed on Monday morning so Glinda recommended Battlegrounds Cafe across the street, which was superb! I used the kitchen after hours to clean out bike water bottles and make a cup of coffee on a Keurig machine, and the place was spotless. I had not know about the Inn’s “Hotel Hell” fame with #gordonramsey beforehand but that must’ve left a lasting impact as I encountered a very tidy, tasty, pleasurable and affordable operation. It’s quaint, cozy, and on the rustic side, but great value-for-money. I’d readily visit...