Jared Coffin House — Hotel in Nantucket

I wish, wish, wish I could write a better review….I’ll start with the good. We arrived on the 11:30 AM Ferry, the hotel shuttle picked us up at 11:45 AM (Driver was very nice & personable). Hotel is literally 2 minute walk from the Ferry (would have walked but we weren’t sure where hotel was). The location of this hotel is great and is right in the center of town (within walking distance of everything). We left our bags at checkout (used the hotel public restroom) and went to lunch/explore; and they called us at 1 PM and told us our room was ready. Front desk staff (ladies) were very nice. Tevin helped us with our bags (he was very nice) as there is no elevator and we were on the 3rd floor. ||Minute we walked into room I was worried. The window air conditioner had adhesive tape all around it (not a good sign). Bed looked fine and carpet looked clean and stain-free. I walk into the bathroom and literally could not find the sink. Our bathroom was basically a hallway, it was 36” wide with a sink at the end and toilet at the other end at the entry door. Old, Old, Old from the 1980’s complete with Formica laminate countertop at tiny sink. Yes, it was clean but at nearly $700 a night, I expected better. A bathroom like this should be in a $99 night hotel. To say I was disappointed was an understatement. The room looked nothing like the photos published on website.||The towels, were plush, plentiful and white. But due to the dismal bathroom I tried to spend as little time in there as possible. The bed, pillows and bedding were comfortable, the air conditioner sounded like a freight train and we could not hear the TV if we had it on….Tough in July to not have A/C. The room (top corner in back building) was super quiet and we did not hear any noise, adjacent guests or street noise. So it was very quiet with the A/C off (there was something clearly wrong with it - as it was making a grinding sound).||We went to breakfast and I grabbed a coffee only (there are bagels and some muffins and things like that), juice & coffee. The layout is odd and there are 2 rooms, but there is a desk and a staff person was working in (1) room and you sit on sofa or chair and eat on your lap in the adjacent room (or use a coffee table). Plus, there isn’t that much seating. The whole layout is odd and just not that great. Someone had gotten crumbs everywhere (like half of the room) and no cleaned it. It was dead quiet and I said to staff you should put some music on and staff said oh yes, we have music & turned it on. The ambiance just not there.||We used the public restroom (at the end of the hall) when we left our bags. There are three (3) ; two (2) were OUT-OF-ORDER and the only working one was not very clean. I used it the next day and again only (1) bathroom working and it was a bit gross. The same items were still there and it was pretty dirty (baby changing table down with toilet paper on it), so it seemed to me like it hadn’t been cleaned. Floor around toilet near wall wet (not sure if urine or toilet was leaking), just not clean. Again, is this the ambiance and atmosphere you want your establishment to project to guests?||Although, our room was clean, I felt the public areas need better cleaning and attention to detail. Green carpet runner up the stairs- filthy dirty. Needs a major overhaul, I felt like no attention to detail or poor management. Staff was nice but for $700 a night (including taxes) - one would expect some quality and not be so grossed out. I read that the building behind (where my room was at had no renovated bathrooms) - this is why no photos of bathrooms on website for those rooms. Our room looked NOTHING like the photos published on web.||In my opinion, this hotel staff needs better management of maintenance and upkeep. If you are expecting a luxury hotel - this is not it. The service level although pleasant is not at that level. All of the staff is not from the area. That said, everyone was very nice. The hotel needs a major overhaul in training as well as facility...

Disappointed

Not at all as it was presented in the pictures. We were so looking forward to the allure that was presented in the website description. An elegant, beautiful and historic inn, the first mansion on the island! With all due respect, this historic property needs a touch up and the historical commission needs to take note.

Pro’s: Location and proximity to town, shops, restaurants. Complimentary continental breakfast each morning. Bicycles and beach towels available to guests. Complimentary parking. This is a pro and a con since although complimentary, there are not enough spots to accommodate all guests. With respect, we recognize that since this is a historical property, surrounding real estate is limited. However, guests are instructed to “block-in” other cars and leave keys at front desk so that staff can shuffle cars as necessary.

Con’s: Beautiful historic home but sadly in disrepair No elevator Cleanliness in question Interior noise level high due to age of the building. Parking: as mentioned above, there are not enough spots to accommodate all guests. Guests are instructed to “block-in” other cars and leave keys so that staff can shuffle cars as necessary. On-site restaurant “Tap Room” was advertised as being available 7 days/week however when we were there we were advised that they would be closed M/Tu despite the on-site sign saying that they’d be open.

Our experience: Disappointing. Window treatments in our room were wooden shutters. These shutters had no handles therefore making opening and shutting them to be a challenge. Our east facing window had a window air conditioner unit in bottom half. This did not allow us to shut those wooden window shutters and therefore not allowing for privacy from the street nor shading from the early morning sun. Our bathroom door was not able to close. There appeared to be some previous jury-rigging with some wooden blocks which prevented it from shutting. While we understand COVID and it’s staffing impacts, we were disappointed to see the same dirt and fragments on the carpeted interior stairs and hallways during our four day stay there. We arrived two hours prior to the stated 3p check-in. Decided to see if our room was ready and if not, no problem. The front desk staff said that our room was not ready but being cleaned now and they would call us as soon as it was ready. We altered our plans accordingly, staying nearby since our room was being cleaned, as told. Two hours later, per the front desk, our room was still being cleaned and “being inspected now”. Very frustrating. We lost coveted vacation time, after all.

Overall, we were so looking forward to the elegance of staying here but the experience did not prove to this.

This establishment might carry a status name but there are too many other Inns in the local area that an give the...

Jared Coffin House, long time fixture on Nantucket was an unfortunate disappointment to me and my daughter on our visit last week. I'm afraid they rest their reputation on past accolades. As someone who is mobility challenged and uses a cane to get around, I had several phone conversations with the reservations people regarding the need for a first floor room since there are no elevators. We were booked in a "king room" with the option of either 2 twin beds or a king in the adjoining Daniel Webster house portion of the hotel. We arrived ahead of rooms being ready, left our bags at the front desk and had lunch. When we were alerted that our room #203 in the Daniel Webster House was ready, we were informed we had been placed on the second floor with twin beds. So, there we were on a holiday week with no other option and during our visit I had to slowly and carefully navigate the steep stairs. In the event of an emergency, this would have been a critically dangerous option for evacuating the building. As for the room, small for a king, the bed mattresses were like marshmallows, way too soft and not supportive. Bedding was nice, however. The throw pillows on the beds appeared to have "bodily fluids" on the covers and should be cleaned. The carpet was filthy and hadn't been cleaned properly in a long time. Bathroom was skimpy, tiny low toilet, no ventilation fan, grout in floor tiles missing and very old vanity and tub. Jared Coffin House should certainly replace vanity and tub at that price. Towels were nice and fluffy. The offered morning continental breakfast was adequate but gluten free options would have been appreciated. The best part of my visit was the service help...lovely and very accommodating to my needs. They picked us up at the ferry, provided car service to and from local restaurants with advance notice and provided needed transport of luggage up and down the stairs. General appearance of the inn, tired looking; without compromising the historical features of the spaces, fresh fabrics and paint would help make the common spaces less dreary. To note to those who are mobility challenged, Nantucket can be unfriendly with cobblestones and uneven brick walk ways...that's part of the charm. Most buildings have some stairs and Jared Coffin house has many unless you enter from the rear service entrance. Best part of the location is the close proximity to shopping in town and the ferry docks. Sadly, I will not return...