Old Parsonage — Hotel in Leechburg

Delightful experience, exceptional host, excellent breakfast menu, comfortable environment

All right, I get it. How in the world does someone wind up in Leechburg PA, a little hamlet roughly midway between Pittsburg and Indiana University of PA. Well, it was a bit of happenstance. We neglected to secure a hotel reservation, didn't know it was Parents Weekend, long story short due to a late B&B cancellation and fortuitous timing we discovered The Parsonage.

Based on results, the next time we're in the area we would choose The Parsonage despite the 40 minute drive from IUP. It was that good. It's maybe 30 minutes or so drive from Pittsburg.

Our host John is a natural for this business. First a little backstory.

John, fresh from a 20 year executive stint with the Disney organization in Orlando and prior service in the Military, decided he wanted to buy a church and convert it to living quarters. Cut to the chase: He purchased both the church and the adjoining Parsonage on eBay. Yes, that eBay. In fact, literally sight unseen, though he did have pictures and did research the area before bidding.

He knew next to nothing about Leechburg, was not familiar with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, let alone li'l ole Leechburg. Now that's what I would call a sense of adventure. Over a number of years he converted the Parsonage into the Bed piece of B&B, and the church sanctuary into the Breakfast piece. Did an admirable job with both.

We arrived late evening, about 10:30 PM give or take. Our inconvenient arrival, not a problem. John met us with the keys to the building and our room, gave a brief tour, answered our questions and gave us breakfast menus to leave on the door for the morning.

The room on the parsonage second floor was well and interestingly appointed, comfortable beds and bedding, lots of room to put your 'stuff.' A little fridge, a little microwave and a TV that predates flatscreens. An adjacent hallway bath. There is only one bath and that could be a problem for some. John mentioned in fact that he was going to be adding another, likely within the next year.

We walked almost the entire town at midnight, not a lot of worries about safety. Leechburg is blessed with calm, and lacks any violent crime and practically no property crime. Time spent exploring Leechburg at that time of night = maybe 30 minutes. Town is not short on serenity.

John accommodated our wish for a 10:00AM breakfast. The Parsonage does not, as so many other B&Bs do, offer a one-size-fits-all breakfast. John's menu would do a roadside Diner proud. Scrambled eggs or omelettes with lots a goodies, waffles, pancakes, bacon, English muffins, very fine coffee - all made to individual taste and order.

John was a great conversationalist, easygoing, relaxed and friendly. A gentleman named Rick was also at breakfast and joined in. Naturally we were taken with the Parsonage backstory as well as John's other life experiences. We shared ours in conviviality and mutual respect.

Five stars and my highest...

All right, I get it. How in the world does someone wind up in Leechburg PA, a little hamlet roughly midway between Pittsburg and Indiana University of PA. Well, it was a bit of happenstance. We neglected to secure a hotel reservation, didn't know it was Parents Weekend, long story short due to a late B&B cancellation and fortuitous timing we discovered The Parsonage.||||Based on results, the next time we're in the area we would choose The Parsonage despite the 40 minute drive from IUP. It was that good. It's maybe 30 minutes or so drive from Pittsburg.||||Our host John is a natural for this business. First a little backstory.||||John, fresh from a 20 year executive stint with the Disney organization in Orlando and prior service in the Military, decided he wanted to buy a church and convert it to living quarters. Cut to the chase: He purchased both the church and the adjoining Parsonage on eBay. Yes, that eBay. In fact, literally sight unseen, though he did have pictures and did research the area before bidding.||||He knew next to nothing about Leechburg, was not familiar with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, let alone li'l ole Leechburg. Now that's what I would call a sense of adventure. Over a number of years he converted the Parsonage into the Bed piece of B&B, and the church sanctuary into the Breakfast piece. Did an admirable job with both.||||We arrived late evening, about 10:30 PM give or take. Our inconvenient arrival, not a problem. John met us with the keys to the building and our room, gave a brief tour, answered our questions and gave us breakfast menus to leave on the door for the morning. ||||The room on the parsonage second floor was well and interestingly appointed, comfortable beds and bedding, lots of room to put your 'stuff.' A little fridge, a little microwave and a TV that predates flatscreens. An adjacent hallway bath. There is only one bath and that could be a problem for some. John mentioned in fact that he was going to be adding another, likely within the next year.||||We walked almost the entire town at midnight, not a lot of worries about safety. Leechburg is blessed with calm, and lacks any violent crime and practically no property crime. Time spent exploring Leechburg at that time of night = maybe 30 minutes. Town is not short on serenity.||||John accommodated our wish for a 10:00AM breakfast. The Parsonage does not, as so many other B&Bs do, offer a one-size-fits-all breakfast. John's menu would do a roadside Diner proud. Scrambled eggs or omelettes with lots a goodies, waffles, pancakes, bacon, English muffins, very fine coffee - all made to individual taste and order. ||||John was a great conversationalist, easygoing, relaxed and friendly. A gentleman named Rick was also at breakfast and joined in. Naturally we were taken with the Parsonage backstory as well as John's other life experiences. We shared ours in conviviality and mutual respect.||||Five stars and my highest...

This is a terrible place to stay! Don’t stay here unless you want to feel like you’ve smoked 30 packs of cigarettes and walked through mud just to get to the your room from the shower. If you do stay here make sure to bring Lysol spray, Clorox wipes and some shower shoes along with you! I booked a month stay at this disgusting place due to work, and I couldn’t even stay in that room a couple of hours because my asthma was acting up due to the smoke smell that was horrrriiiiblllee. The sheets smelt like they weren’t washed just sprayed with fabreeze. Then when I tried to tell the owner that I couldn’t stay there he rejected my refund and kept my 1200 dollars (I didn’t even spend the night, had to find something at 7pm after a long day at work) like what if I didn’t have any more money to find a clean place? What upset me the most was the fact that they were so unprofessional, they didn’t want to talk on the phone I called them and they kept hanging up, they just texted me when I was explaining my issues and then they had the audacity to call me a liar and a scam because I was asking for MY MONEY BACK. Over all zero stars I WILL NEVER RECOMEND THIS PLAVE NOR STAY THERE. Truly disappointed! DO BETTER AND MAYBE FIND A BETTER MAINTENANCE MAN BECAUSE BECAUSE WHY DOESNT YOUR BATHROOM HAVE AN ACTUAL FLOOR...