Martha’s Bed and Breakfast — Hotel in Lincoln

So here's the thing: this is an absolutely gorgeous B&B. No expense has been spared in the renovation of this historic house and the rooms and spaces are, without qualification, stunning. If this review was purely based on appearance and comfort, it would be five stars. The owner cares so much about the property and making your stay an awesome experience. And I think for the right guest, that will be the case!

However, it would help if Martha's had a different approach to customer service. Right now, I believe the strategy and focus is to provide the highest quality environment & amenities, with the expectation that that will naturally lead to customer satisfaction. However, a smooth, welcoming customer experience process is also paramount.

In my case, I booked one room, the Dorothy, over the phone after discussing options available. I received an email confirmation for just that one room. When I went to check in a week later, there were two reservations under my name. After a tense exchange where the owner expressed his reluctance to lose a night of revenue, he did eventually remove the charges for the second room we didn't need and hadn't booked. It was a high-stress road to get to that point, however, as a traveler on a student budget that didn't accommodate for twice the anticipated price.

The Dorothy room was designed in a totally gorgeous and immaculately-restored retro style, comfortable, and perfectly furnished. Every detail was special, down to the doors, lightswitches, you name it! Such a unique and comfy room, and very quiet.

The breakfast spread was visually stunning (seriously, fit for a king, it was the most luxurious table setting I've ever seen) and delicious (and I hope the owner can convince the mayor/city council to approve hot breakfast in B&B's, because he's already doing a first-rate job with only continental options). The only downside was that only one staff had been set aside to set the table and bring the food out, which meant breakfast was served about half an hour later than originally announced. Totally fine for the other folks staying there longer, but put me back on the road later than expected.

Tips for success staying here:

*I would recommend booking online so you have more control over your room selection/s, rather than booking by phone.

*There is an emphasis in conversations with Martha's personnel on providing a high-end experience. As someone wearing Target flip-flops, I felt out of place. If you are a closer fit to the profile Martha's is meant for, this may be an excellent stay for you. If you're a budget traveler, this probably isn't the best fit.

*If you are on a tighter travel schedule, this may not be the best option. If you plan to stay here for a few days at a relaxed pace, this spot would probably be a divine haven!

I have the highest hopes for Martha's. The staff and owner clearly care and invest so much in making this a unique house and quality experience. I think the current issue is that the owner & staff are just being pulled in too many directions at once to provide the full service they want to right now. Once they are further established, I'm sure they will...

NOT FAMILY FRIENDLY! If you have children, I suggest continuing your search for a place to stay. Their website states that they “warmly welcome families” and that’s simply not true. As a new mom traveling with an infant for the first time, I felt very unwelcome at Martha’s bed and breakfast. The host, Todd, had an attitude surrounding my 3 month old baby’s milk. We were not allowed in the kitchen to access the fridge, there are no fridges in the room and I was told I couldn’t bring a small cooler into our room. After explaining to Todd that we had no other option to safely store my breastmilk, he reluctantly agreed to let us bring the cooler into our room, but I was left feeling like I was doing something wrong by feeding my baby. He did allow me to store two frozen bags of milk in the freezer, but I was told to call him 15 minutes before I needed the milk and he would fetch it for me. While a kind gesture, any parent understands that infant feeding schedules are inconsistent. To make my crying baby wait 15 minutes for the milk to arrive, and then another 30 to thaw is unimaginable. We stayed with a wedding party who had the entire house rented out. Todd told us with a child, we were only allowed to stay on the third floor. Hauling our bassinet, cooler, bouncy chair, baby carrier and other items up all those stairs was quite challenging and certainly not family friendly. The second and third flights of stairs are narrow and slick. Not safe for little ones.

There are camera everywhere, and it left everyone in our party feeling very uneasy. I was on edge the entire weekend feeling like I was being watched, and we couldn’t...

I stayed here due to the proximity to Bryan West hospital. Todd was very accommodating and friendly. A true "host". The house is gorgeous and so big. Really beautiful. I stayed on the 3rd floor in the Dorothy room. It was large and the bathroom is nicely done. The only things it could have used would be a bedside lamp and another table or chair in the room to be able to spread out a bit more. The room is large, just needed more surfaces. Todd did say a loveseat is coming for that room and that will help. The towels and linens were truly amazing. There are two other rooms on that floor I believe and I could hear once guest coughing all night, but I turned on the bathroom fan and some white noise on my phone and that fixed it. ||They are not permitted yet for a hot breakfast, but let me say that they took their cold breakfast all the way to gourmet. The table was set super fancy, even with little bells to ring. The young man doing service was fantastic as well. It was breads and cheese and sliced meet, fruit, etc. but the presentation was five star. Once they are able to serve a full hot breakfast I can only imagine how great it will be. ||Todd was accommodating of my late checkout request since my room wasn't reserved and I appreciated that so much. I stayed two nights and will definitely stay again. The neighborhood is safe and it only a quick one mile walk to Bryan West. I didn't get to spend as much time in the house or on the porches as I would have liked due to being there for a family member who was hospitalized, but there are lots of great places to read and relax in the house. ||Lovely...