General Francis Marion Hotel — Hotel in Marion

What a wonderful boutique hotel. We got a last minute deal on a room at this historic gem! You get off the highway and drive a little ways to get to a historic looking main type street. The hotel is beautiful! It is a top VA hotel and also a top National Geographic hotel. It is restored beautifully with tons of original historic details. The area seemed very safe. There is plenty of parking behind it for free and also a city pay parking garage right behind the free parking. Most of the parking out front is pay during the day and free at night. From the original stairways, original woodwork throughout, arches, original front desk, original but rewired lights, and more, the historic details will make you feel you are back in time. The marble flooring is beautiful. Don't miss the picture of the rooster in the marble, which secretly signified the establishment was not dry or no alcohol during the prohibition. The ballroom was breathtaking. The front desk clerk Indie (named after Bindie Irwin) was friendly, professional, engaging, and interesting. After you arrive, you can see why she loves working there, with the diverse and interesting group of travelers and locals she sees daily. I have pretty bad allergies and had not one sneeze or hint of allergy the whole time. Everything was clean, smelled good, and was dust free. I say that because I've stayed in multiple historic hotels over the years and they can tend to be full of dust and musty, with weird smells. Not this hotel, it was beautiful. The room had a microwave and frig, comfy bed, comfy pillows, and was beautiful also. The York Peppermint Patty chocolates and thank you notes were really great touches. Even the bathrooms were beautiful. You truly felt like a time traveler. Thankfully comfortable modern amenities were also included in the restoration. It was the perfect blend of history and comfort. Our room was really nice and cool in the heat. There was a nice elevator. The breakfast said continental but was far from simple. It provided a good and filling breakfast with lots of choices. The hotel was very clean. The service was excellent. The Swamp Fox Restaurant is attached and serves American fare plus food from simple to fancy daily. Prices were good and service was excellent. Check out the unique lighting in the front window if you go. They had a Cheers pub type bar table that was really cute. Drinks were wonderful. They served the usuals plus some interesting not to be missed local favorites. The staff were friendly and professional. We loved our stay. We definitely want to go back again. There are only 32 hotel rooms, it is considered a boutique hotel. Don't miss the upstairs outside hotel balcony where you can sit with drinks or coffee and look down at the street and out into the local area. It was very private but also very pretty. We have to go...

My wife and I booked a room in advanced and the hotel held the room with a credit card (normal procedure). When we got there we were able to check in a little early, which was great because there is so much to see and do around town. We absolutely loved the renovated finishes and the historical background. However, when it came time to sleep our room was a little too warm to fall asleep. The room is NOT user temperature controlled. The front desk controls each rooms temperature. We asked if they could turn the temperature down, which they did by a few degrees. We did not feel any air moving and the temperature seemed to stay the same. We could not open the windows as they seemed to be permanently locked in. The bed was way to springy and the pillows were too fluffy. Needless to say we were not going to be able to sleep. So, we decided to pack up and drive back home (4 1/2 hours away) at 2am. When checking out I was offered a refund which I accepted. Since I paid cash when I checked in (instead of using the card I held the room with), the person at the front desk refunded the full amount in cash. Our entire next day was ruined and we were unable to finish sightseeing as we had planned. Days later we noticed that our credit card had been charged the rate we originally paid in cash with. I called to find out what happened and was referred to the manager (Bob Lincoln). I had to wait for his call back. When he finally called me he told me that his auditor has no record of us paying cash or a cash refund was ever given. He told me that he'd have to look into it and get back to me. I told him that I had been given a cash refund as I had paid in cash the time I checked in. He also told me that he has been working in the industry for 30 years and never heard anyone have complaints like mine. After reviewing everything again and being patient with him he finally said he would refund my card. He told me that it should show up immediately. Soon after I hung up he called back and left a message stating since it was already after 2pm the refund may show tomorrow. I honestly have never had poor customer service like this before. The poor service only came from Bob. Everything else was great. My wife and I had a great time during the day and had dinner at Macados! I just wish we could have stayed the night. I have never seen a hotel room that I could not control the temperature. Again, the hotel itself was unique but the ending service from Bob and being charged again put a sour taste in my mouth. I hope the next person does not get the same...

Pricing is competitive to a Marriott in Harrisonburg which is a larger city/college town. This area is very rural/small.

If you are older or have difficulty walking please know that getting into the facility is difficult. If you are dropped at the front door you have numerous stairs in the lobby before you get to elevator. If you park in back and walk around you have several sets of stairs and uneven payment. This “alley” area would benefit from a power wash!!! No hair dryer in room, you have to ask at front desk. We had a small queen size room that was like ice! The temp was around 60 when we arrived. Adjusting this was fun as there are no numbers on the thermostat but the front desk guided this. The room had an average size television with many channel options. The bed was clean and comfortable. The rugs were very old and I don’t think cleaning will help. Definitely replace! We had a small refrigerator and a small microwave. I never saw an ice machine and the only “vending” appeared to be a soda cooler in the lobby. Oddly, there were no outlets near nightstands for charging technology. I had to plug my phone onto a side wall and lay it in the floor to charge. This place has a lot of potential but they need to invest in updating things like the curtains and rigs and cleaning the alleyway. Parking was limited and the spaces were small- be careful. There was a little make shift patios on back of the building at the parking lot that could really be cute with a basic in real, flowers, some lighting… There were a few guys in the parking lot working on cars, spray painting a motor cycle… that was interesting. One of the dane guys was at breakfast the next day with another gentleman. Maybe they work here ??? Our room was on the front of the building and it was relatively quite but there were a few loud cars that would rev it up as they came through town. Breakfast was several types of bars, Swiss miss packets, fresh coffee, oatmeal packets, Otis spunkmeyer muffins, bagels placed in sandwich bags and a waffle maker. It was basically a Sam’s Club run. If you are a breakfast person you will prefer going out for breakfast. I personally am not big on breakfast. The bathroom was great! It was large, clean, well lit and good water pressure. If they would do some updates I would definitely stay again but wouldn’t take anyone who has difficulty walking due to the stairs. The building has so much potential but is extremely dated.

3 stars because it was comfortable once I adjusted the temp and I slept well but...