Colonial Gardens — Hotel in Williamsburg

Let me first start this review by noting I’ve stayed in bed and breakfasts before and have never had a bizarre experience like this…

We stayed here for my sister’s wedding a few weeks ago and unfortunately were highly disappointed in our stay. Aside from the owner hovering us like crazy and seemingly watching our every move, she was also rude and kept changing her own rules to fit her mood. We were told that the bridal party could get ready in the living room starting at 6 am, which we did, but she 1) was mad that we moved furniture to accommodate our crew despite us reassuring her and following through with our promise to put it back 2) literally came into the room hovering us to see what we were doing at least a dozen times 3) literally got angry at our hair stylist team for using hairspray in the room, beyond other weird incidents like her daughters coming to clean the house while we were there (her daughters were great, though) and her physically coming into the room the bride stayed in (literally just walked into the room while we were in there) lecturing us in a very condescending manner about furniture getting moved slightly despite us telling her we were putting it back to how it was when we were done. (Maybe don’t host a B & B if you don’t want guests to be comfortable???)

Our mother paid an absurd cost for a “bridal party breakfast and mimosas” and what we received was $5 Trader Joe’s croissants (I’m not kidding, she openly admitted to my mom none of it was homemade and it was Trader Joe’s croissants and biscuits) and mimosas that tasted like they had no champagne in it. We are in no way food brats, but given that it’s a bed and breakfast, we were undoubtedly expecting an at least halfway home cooked meal… I mean we could’ve set up Trader Joe’s biscuits to save our mom an astronomical charge and it probably wouldn’t have been set up an hour late since she “didn’t expect us to actually get up on time”.

But all of this is yet to get to the biggest kicker of this lady and this place… the night of the wedding we returned at about 12:30 am and we had the wedding cake with us and 2 small pans of food from the wedding. We rented the whole house so we knew between the 4 mini fridges in the rooms we paid to stay in, we’d be able to fit the food with no issues… this lady literally stayed up and waited for us to return and immediately stopped us when we came in saying we weren’t allowed to have any food there. She wouldn’t let us put it in any of fridges and proceeded to tell us that we aren’t allowed to have any food in our rooms at all because “Mennonite’s stayed there and ate in their rooms and then they got cocktroaches”. I’m sorry, WHAT!? So we asked if she had a master fridge we could put it in, she said no and that we had to throw it all away. We tried to leave it on the dining room table while we could call someone to pick it up, she refused to let us hold it there because she was “setting up for our breakfast the next morning”…. At 12:30 in the middle of the night and she was empty handed??? It felt a lot more like she was keeping tabs on us and trying to watch us. And unfortunately we had to literally put the wedding cake and food in our cars overnight and pray it would stay cold enough to not go back (which of course some of it did). Of course, we were frustrated by this point so we told her we will not be eating breakfast in the morning (despite us already paying for it) because we were uncomfortable and her response was her literally storming away back pouting because we told her this late at night.

Last but not least, this lady tried repeatedly to watch my sister’s dog while we were gone after my sister told her no multiple times and she had what sounded like a very mean dog that barked all day and night. Oh and I can’t forget to mention that you can only flush a toilet once every 30 minutes.

This place could be very cute and cozy if someone with legit B & B experience ran it. Needless to say, if you want no privacy, to feel watched and hovered and not be able to eat, then go for...

We booked and paid in full for the use of the entire Colonial Gardens B & B in early November for our daughter's outdoor wedding in December (when you marry a Navy man things are done more on the military's schedule). Our daughter has a dog and it was made clear from the beginning he would be a part of the weekend. Owner had no issues with it as long as he stayed off the furniture in the living room area downstairs which he did yet she repeatedly blamed the dog for issues in areas he wasn't even in. Some family members arrived on Thursday, Dec. 15 and the house was not decorated for either Christmas or a wedding and containers of decorative items were out all over the living area. Saturday, the day of the wedding, was tense from the outset and not due to bridal nerves. The owner originally included all family for breakfast and late Friday night said no one could come if they weren't physically staying there. Mind you, there were only 13 guests total, 5 staying elsewhere. One of the groom's brothers worked overnight in Maryland and drove straight to the venue only to arrive at the B & B late morning to be rather rudely told to find somewhere else to go and not come back until 2:30 for the 3 p.m. wedding instead of asking us who he was and if we minded his presence. The owner was clearly anxious and had unpleasant interactions with both of my daughters, the photographer, and me that were not indicative of an experienced bed and breakfast host. It was unfortunately cooler than normal that day and the reception was to be held on the small front porch with little room to mingle and with no one allowed inside the B & B while dinner was being prepared. The owner finally allowed us inside after many complained of being cold. Dinner was nearly two hours late with no updates or reasons given then was only a mediocre meal. The owner finally told us Sunday morning about having oven problems Saturday. We wish she would have said something at the time instead of leaving us all wondering. The downstairs guest room also served as the public restroom on Saturday yet was never cleaned, straightened up, etc. ahead of the wedding even though we were told it would be. We had no clean towels for guests or for our own personal use Sunday morning. Parking is very limited. The yard was not cleaned up for the outdoor ceremony which included lots of dog poop. There was supposed to be a "crew" to help the owner the day of the wedding with moving furniture, etc. but it was primarily my husband and other family members who did so along with the photographer. The sound system was not good and we could not hear anything clearly, music or the officiant, until we moved and stood closely around the couple. ||||All told, little of what was discussed and agreed upon in the initial proposal and conversations came to fruition. Clear communication was sporadic at best and often changed. The owner seemed stressed and frazzled from the beginning while going overboard to present as welcoming and friendly. The home and setting is beautiful, my daughter's bouquet was made by the owner and was amazing, and the officiant did a wonderful job but sadly, the rest of the experience left a lot...

Was here for my nieces wedding. To start, the wedding itself was supposed to start at 1130 am. We were told to arrive an hour prior, only to be met by a woman who was in pajamas telling us we were not allowed into the house, and we had to sit outside. My mother is disbaled, the bride's grandfather (who traveled for over 16 hours) myself, my Aunt and Uncle and the officiant had to sit outside in the sun. (No cover at tgat time of day, the sun was blaring on entire house). We had to park next door at a bank, and walk in the street facing traffic to get to the "venue". No offer of drinks, or food. The pajama/houseclothes clad woman came out to put grocery store flowers on a table, rip tags off of new "decorations" and set up a table, the whole time spending time flirting with the grandfather of the bride. At 11:40, we finally were told to sit by the family inside, and waited patiently for music to start...it didnt. The bride had to put music from her phone on? Where was this "event planner" she told us about??

After the wedding, the couple had to take photos somewhere else, so we were asked to visit around Williamsburg, to come back at 430 for the start of dinner. (It was on the invite)

As we were leaving, we seen the "refreshments" Unsweetened tea and charcuterie cups with nuts, meats and olives....3 people in the wedding party are highly allergic to nuts. We took a cup, a swig, and left. (Host said they had to "clean up" after us???)

At 430 we returned to the rest of the party (about 20ish people) milling around the yard. Everything from the morning was still outside? No drinks, no refreshments and again, we were told we weren't allowed in the house. What did my neice pay for? At 530, we expected to go inside, but was told the meats werent done, so we had to wait. At 6. We still werent inside. I have horrible knees and cannot stamd for long periods, as well as many others there. At 640 we were finally allowed in. My family sat on a couch? And in a room with other tables, someone came out with a butter dish, and set it on a table then left. 715 hits, and we were given water. No music on our side, nothing. Just sit and talkto whoever is near you. The bridal party gets served, then randomly throughout. I received my dish at 725, while my dad didnt get his plate until 745. (We sat next to each other) I had to go get utensils for my sisters kid, and was greeted by a dog in the kitchen, the host serving food barefoot, and us waiting nearly 3 hours past the time on the invite to eat? I will say my nieces wedding was beautiful, but these experieces will cloud her memory of her wedding day. I am so sad for my neice that this is what we will remember of her time here. Shame on the lady that chose mixed matched chairs, dead flowers/branches on the wedding arch, and the blatant disregard for anyone's safety. We had to walk, in the dark back to the cars, because god forbid someone who didn't stay the night parked more than 10 minutes in the driveway. Stay a B&B. Your reviews on those are good. Please stop offering...