Elkhorn Inn & Theater — Hotel in Welch

Pros- The front porch is a great place for watching trains, many all day and all night. A crossroads is nearby so there is a lot of whistle-blowing. This is a train watchers dream, since the trains are less than one hundred feet from the inn. ||The bed was comfortable, though I wish it had been a queen since there were two of us. The room was not big enough for a queen, so we sacrificed a queen bed for a private bathroom. Free Wifi was strong, much improved over a previous visit.||||Cons- Inn is only feet from a heavily traveled road, so there is a lot of truck traffic and road noise, which annoys me, even though train traffic does not. ||The room was not clean. All surfaces needed dusting- dresser, bookcase, window sills. The rug and floor needed vacuuming. By the second day, I decided that I needed to keep my shoes on in the room as my socks were getting brown. The walls were quite dirty and needed painting or at least vacuumed clean. I realize that old sculpted plaster collects dust, but you have to deal with what you have when you buy a place like this. ||Also the bathroom was not clean. Bath mats did not appear clean or swept. If they were clean, they should be thrown out because of their appearance. The bathtub had to be cleaned before we used it the first time. The soaps and shampoo are drying to the skin---take your own. ||Breakfast is coffee, juice, banana, cereal and store-bought muffin. Prepackaged food is probably better however, since the cat likes to sleep on the dining table.||Lastly and most obvious, when you walk in the door you smell dirty DOGS. An inn should not smell unpleasant. Did their dogs need baths? The room where the dogs stay needs some serious attention to cleaning. The door was left open once and I was aghast! ||We are not high maintenance, but come on, people are paying for this! The owners need to get a cleaning service to deep clean the whole inn if they are unable to do it themselves. The outside needs serious repair also. Bricks, gutters, windows need repair, paint. This was our second visit and nothing had changed since the first visit, years ago. The charm is hidden under all the dust, clutter, odors and years of neglect. ||||You have to drive a ways for a place to eat and scenery. If you want a clean, comfortable place to stay, drive to another part of the state, as nothing else is around here. We have enjoyed our time there simply for the trains. I would not accept this as a place to stay if it were not unique to the...

The highlight and appeal of this hotel is the location next to the railroad tracks. Trains pass by from 2 directions, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is fun to watch and listen to the trains, they are VERY CLOSE. Sit on the porch and watch the trains. If you would be both by the noise, this place is not for you. If you are looking for luxury accommodations, this place is definitely nor for you.|The hosts refurbished this building about 15 years ago. Furnishings are very antique like, very old. Rooms are quaint and cozy, but old and very quirky. Mattresses could be replaced. The entire place could use some refreshing. It reminds me of Grandma's house, just as it was 40 years ago when it needed updating and hasn't changed a bit since then!! The bedrooms do not have TVs, you have to go to the TV room which badly needs new furniture and rugs. The wicker furniture in there is falling apart with flattened cushions and threadbare rugs. The room does have a monitor to tell you when a train is coming. When its red, a train is coming.|Breakfast is included if you choose the dusty cereal boxes and instant tea boxes on the old table by the window. If you want something better, expect to pay!|The outside is nice, but the landscaping is getting overrun with weeds. There is a hot tub, but it is not working and is very dirty anyway.|So the highlight of this place is again, the Trains. They are loud. The screech and squeal. The blow the train whistle. It's exciting! But It WILL wake you up all night. I was in the bathroom on the other side of the hotel putting on mascara when the load train whistle blew and made me jump, getting mascara on my forehead! (Ok, stop laughing).|So conclusion, go ahead and stay and cross it off your bucket list! Just be prepared for what it...

I was traveling around WV and picked this because it was a convenient stopping point and looked interesting. It was even better than I expected.||||I was running late, but when I tried to call, I found myself in an area with no service. At my next stop, I found a voicemail asking about my plans and expressing concern about whether the booking date was mistaken or something had happened. Initially, I took this as a polite attempt to ask how much I was going to inconvenience them, but when I called back, I started to realize it was actual concern for me. When I arrived, Dan showed me to my room, then poured me a glass of wine. We ended up having a very enjoyable discussion with Elisse joining later. I was made to feel very much at home.||||I stayed in the Yellow Room. It's pleasantly decorated with a large bathroom adjoining. The entire house is decorated quite nicely, including artwork from Elisse's gallery when she lived in NYC. I wish (as I'd originally envisioned) that I'd had more time to sit and enjoy the inn.||||One other note: be very careful of your GPS in the area. Coming from Welch, my GPS decided I should take a "shortcut" across the mountain. This was Airport Rd, which is a narrow, twisty, unlined road. I suspect it would have even been fairly interesting during the daytime if I wasn't already running late. My GPS also told me to go past the inn, across the creek, and to pull up somewhere behind the inn. Fortunately, based on the pictures, I recognized the inn at stopped there. Elisse tells me that they've had other visitors coming from the Bluefield side who have been given locations that stop significantly short of the actual location of the inn. From either side, get on 52 and keep going until you...