The Prince Hotel — Hotel in Tunkhannock

2.0 star rating 2/11/2010 If you must stay in Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania, then I recommend few places more than the Prince Hotel. The previous reviewer made the astute observation that you will either be charmed by the kitschy decor or frightened by it.

The Prince Hotel (formerly Wall's Hotel) was built in 1844 by Henry Stark. In the early days each guests' room had its own wood-burning fireplace and below on the ground floor was the comfortable kitchen dining room. The present owners have uncovered two of the fireplaces which heated them main dining room and one fireplace which heated the main sitting room. Today these areas host breakfast amidst the updated business center, reception area, and gift shop-ish nook. The main portico consists of six stone pillars that are nine feet high, sixteen inches square and weigh between 1.5 and 2 tons each.

A number of famous guest have stayed at the hotel including Henry Ford (who has a room named after him), Evangeline Booth, and a number of state Governors.

In 1943 the hotel was extensively remodeled with bathrooms installed in nearly all the rooms (and apparently haven't been updated since then). You will be able to also note that most of the woodwork including the staircase was done by hand.

The present hotel owners, Milton and Lois Van Horn have worked diligently to keep the establishment interesting and accurate to itself original design.

All of this hometown-style management and upkeep does come with several caveats that the traveler should be aware of:

Firstly, if you are looking for a Hilton hotel this is not the place. There are few if any modern amenities. No wi-fi in the rooms, no ipod docks next to the beds, and no 800 thread count sheets. The rooms are heated by radiator so if you are a light sleeper this may disturb you. The owners lock the main door from the inside at 10 PM and there is a "night-man" on duty after that; so after 10PM you're pretty much in for the night. Secondly, the owners are also kinda nosy. They want to know where you're from, what you do for a living, why you are in town, and they take great offense if you do not oblige their questioning. They also do not like people taking pictures of the inside of the hotel for fear that someone may be casing their hotel to heist their flea market treasures. Lastly, check-out and cleaning services. Check out is promptly at 11:00 AM. No questions. We packed some of our bags in the car at 10:30, had breakfast at the hotel, and went to retrieve the last of our bags at 11:15. Mrs. Van Horn chastised us for not having completely vacated the room. When going back to the room, we noticed that the blankets had merely been pulled back, and the waste basket emptied no other cleaning had been done....other than my luggage had been tampered with (read:opened). I asked the cleaning staff if they had seen my phone charger but they said they had not...there seems to a lack of integrity amongst the staff. I was again asked for my address "in case it showed up." Yet again, an attempt at nosiness.

Overall, I was impressed by the decor, spookiness, and the rate ($54/night), but disappointed by the intrusiveness of the staff. So if you have a need to be nagged by a grandmotherly figure while being possibly haunted by some long dead lumberjack then this is the place for you. If not, there's always Scranton...just 30...

Parked in parking lot out back, wasnt sure which door to go in, when guests were coming out the back and told us we can go that way. Walked down the hallway to the lobby which was an array of decorations, and on the front desk a sign says to call the number to check in. So, if you dont have a cell phone or if its dead you're out of luck. I called, and the man said he'd be right down and asked if I had reservations (which I did). Took him about 5 minutes and he gave me 2 rooms to "check out to see what I liked better" .... I specifically wanted a suite with a jetted tub. Went into room 109 it was small, dark, jetted tub had a string of green lights above it, I chuckled to myself about it being "mood lighting" ... and then I saw a dirty towel laying on the floor. NOPE.

Go to next room 101. It was off by itself on the other side of hallway, which I liked. Right off of the porch. It's actually a double room. The living area is listed as a fireplace, but there is NO way to burn anything in it (safely anyways). The air conditioner in that room is broken, but it did stay cool from the other rooms air. The TV did work. The furniture looks like its from salvation army, but its do able. Walked inside the bathroom. We were only stocked with 2 towels, 0 washcloths and 1 hand towel. Bring your own shampoo, because they leave the USED hotel ones for you. Grose! Theres a few holes in the walls, paint is chipping, cable and out lets are coming out of the wall, no smoke detectors. Good things: like I said, the man was nice. The shower is nice, the jetted tub is nice, again the '70's type mood lighting, this time behind plastic tiles. The bed is super soft, and comfy. The bed linen is nice. The TV works. The fridge works

If your expecting 3 - 5 stars, not it. 2 at best. Not worth what you pay, for this room. But you'll definitely have memories to...

Ok so I was travelling solo and just needed a stopover for the night. Checked TA and saw this little place and the reviews seemed good for the low cost so I figured I'd see what a $55 a night hotel with pretty good reviews got me. The hotel itself is a historic building that they have upgraded on the inside to a modern look. It has a bar and restaurant that seems about 90% finished, just not open yet, a work in progress. My room was not big by any means but clean with a comfy bed sufficient for a solo traveler and looked newly renovated. Flat screen with cable, wifi, air conditioner and small work desk. The bathroom was a stand up shower and had ample hot water with good pressure. There was also a small balcony for guests to use with some ornate iron work dating back to much earlier times that one could sit out on and look down on the main street. I have to say that this being the lowest I've ever paid for a room I was apprehensive but being up for an adventure and alone I went for it. In the end I feel they have a great price point for what you get and I would have paid more for the room. The man and woman that seemed to run it were very nice and happy to make sure your stay was nice. I will definitely stay here again when in the area and maybe check out the larger suites they offer next time. PS Once I parked my bike I didn't have to drive for anything else, 1 block to a CVS, 3 or 4 decent food options some with bars, 2 banks within a block, ice cream shop and there is an old art deco theater directly across the street with current releases showing and about a block to the riverfront. More than worth the price they charge...