The Inn at Sugar Hill — Restaurant in Hamilton Township

I would not be writing this particular review if we had not been personally and aggressively confronted by the manager at our check-out while on our way to a family funeral. When we refused to “discuss” our concerns with her at that specific moment, she became more incensed and antagonistic.||||We secured reservations at the Inn at Sugar Hill in Mays Landing because we needed a place to stay overnight to be local to the funeral site. We told the manager that we were arriving from out of state and may be a late check-in. She stated that she closes-up at 9:00 PM. Armed with that information we decided to have family member, who would arrive earlier, secure our room keys for us. That evening with a “Northeaster” raging, we abandoned our earlier plans, and proceeded directly to the Inn, arriving at 7:25 PM. Since others had our room keys, we thought we could at least get out of the raging rain and wind and sit in a parlor to await their return. However, upon our arrival, we found the entire Inn was dark and locked! In the dark and torrential rain we finally located, by flashlight, an emergency number posted on the building. By this time we were soaked to the bone! The response from the manager on our 7:41 PM “emergency call” was that she left early because of the horrible weather and already was more than 15 minutes away – what did we expect her to do since she had already given the set of room keys to a family member? ||What did we expect!?? We expected the Inn to be opened until 9:00 as told. We assumed, as guests, that the manager would return to let us into the Inn and so we at least could wait inside for those with our room keys. We expected the minimal hospitality that we assumed would be extended us as paying guests. ||||The Inn at Sugar Hill, billed as a “Bed and Breakfast,” is in a lovely location. Part of the Inn is a restaurant, and during the pandemic, we understand dining has been limited to outside. The parlor and communal rooms on first floor were locked and used for storage. The guest rooms were clean and small as to be expected in an older converted home. However, the guest rooms need some touch-ups (like replacing torn and peeling wallpaper, new fire detectors (the yellowed color usually indicates the fire detector is old, and obsolete) and better carbon monoxide detectors appropriately placed). The “breakfast” part of our B&B consisted of individually wrapped Hostess brand muffins and slices of poundcake, and Keuric coffee. This should be unacceptable given that there is an operational commercial kitchen in the building! Since there is no manager staying on the premises, what happens in case of an emergency like fire, accident, or illness? And, did we say our room was $200+ per night (taxes included).||||In reviews of this Inn I have found recent accounts from others who have complained about the management and being locked out prior to the “officially stated” closing. So, again, in response to the question of what did we expect--We expected the inn’s management to maintain the stated operational hours, management that knows how to care for customers and create a welcoming environment for guests, management that responds in a calm and responsible way to customer concerns, and management that can respond appropriately to emergencies. We also expected a manager of an Inn to have another set of keys, or at very least a master key! We expected courtesy and professionalism from an enterprise that is based on hospitality -- and that was not what we received. ||||Lastly, given the limited access to the larger Inn, and the lack of an appropriate breakfast, The Inn at Sugar Hill should be advertised as “Guest Rooms Only” not a B&B. What a horrible and...

I would not be writing this particular review if we had not been personally and aggressively confronted by the manager at our check-out while on our way to a family funeral. When we refused to “discuss” our concerns with her at that specific moment, she became more incensed and antagonistic.||||We secured reservations at the Inn at Sugar Hill in Mays Landing because we needed a place to stay overnight to be local to the funeral site. We told the manager that we were arriving from out of state and may be a late check-in. She stated that she closes-up at 9:00 PM. Armed with that information we decided to have family member, who would arrive earlier, secure our room keys for us. That evening with a “Northeaster” raging, we abandoned our earlier plans, and proceeded directly to the Inn, arriving at 7:25 PM. Since others had our room keys, we thought we could at least get out of the raging rain and wind and sit in a parlor to await their return. However, upon our arrival, we found the entire Inn was dark and locked! In the dark and torrential rain we finally located, by flashlight, an emergency number posted on the building. By this time we were soaked to the bone! The response from the manager on our 7:41 PM “emergency call” was that she left early because of the horrible weather and already was more than 15 minutes away – what did we expect her to do since she had already given the set of room keys to a family member? ||What did we expect!?? We expected the Inn to be opened until 9:00 as told. We assumed, as guests, that the manager would return to let us into the Inn and so we at least could wait inside for those with our room keys. We expected the minimal hospitality that we assumed would be extended us as paying guests. ||||The Inn at Sugar Hill, billed as a “Bed and Breakfast,” is in a lovely location. Part of the Inn is a restaurant, and during the pandemic, we understand dining has been limited to outside. The parlor and communal rooms on first floor were locked and used for storage. The guest rooms were clean and small as to be expected in an older converted home. However, the guest rooms need some touch-ups (like replacing torn and peeling wallpaper, new fire detectors (the yellowed color usually indicates the fire detector is old, and obsolete) and better carbon monoxide detectors appropriately placed). The “breakfast” part of our B&B consisted of individually wrapped Hostess brand muffins and slices of poundcake, and Keuric coffee. This should be unacceptable given that there is an operational commercial kitchen in the building! Since there is no manager staying on the premises, what happens in case of an emergency like fire, accident, or illness? And, did we say our room was $200+ per night (taxes included).||||In reviews of this Inn I have found recent accounts from others who have complained about the management and being locked out prior to the “officially stated” closing. So, again, in response to the question of what did we expect--We expected the inn’s management to maintain the stated operational hours, management that knows how to care for customers and create a welcoming environment for guests, management that responds in a calm and responsible way to customer concerns, and management that can respond appropriately to emergencies. We also expected a manager of an Inn to have another set of keys, or at very least a master key! We expected courtesy and professionalism from an enterprise that is based on hospitality -- and that was not what we received. ||||Lastly, given the limited access to the larger Inn, and the lack of an appropriate breakfast, The Inn at Sugar Hill should be advertised as “Guest Rooms Only” not a B&B. What a horrible and...

Sad for the "new" owners that probably invested a great deal to keep the place running. We went for what we thought would be a Beautiful place to spend a memorable Christmas Eve Dinner before going to midnight mass. I talked my brother into traveling over an hour to the location only to find out that so much was going wrong, that it would be very difficult for us to enjoy our dinners or consider returning. When we arrived we questioned why the establishment was not open for indoor dining in the summer time and we were told they did not have the staff available to run both the outside deck and the inside dining room. That is why we planned this special dinner for Christmas Eve, because we had visited in the summer and it was closed. We were then told by the server that the Executive Chef had injured himself and he was not cooking, and we could tell by the quality of the food and the amount of time it took for it come out of the kitchen. As we were eating a steak that was approx. $72.00 with very little flavor and accompanied by mash potatoes that were hard as a rock and mac and cheese that was served lukewarm at best, we heard the sound of water coming out of the ceiling in the entrance foyer, which we happened to be seated right next to. Since my bother has a prosthesis, we were very concerned for his safety. We quickly paid the bill in full and tried to get him out the rear door because the front one was blocked with all the items that were placed there to catch the water. That did not work because the steps were too steep. By this time the fire department had been called because there was a concern that the water mixing with the electricity may spark a fire. We had to walk my brother passed the water cascading down from the ceiling into another dining room and then finally reaching an alternative door to exit the building. While I certainly understand things can happen, especially in an older building such as this, we found it very curious that no one on the staff or the owners knew how to turn the water off in the building to stop the flow that was streaming down from the ceiling for over 20 minutes. I don't think we will be returning any time soon, but we both agreed that we would go to church tonight and pray for the owners, because clearly they were trying their best, but missed the mark and came up short on so...