Riverside Cafe & Lodging — Restaurant in Town of Colchester

My wife and I reserved a cabin at the Riverside for 3 nights (Fri-Sun) for my 65th birthday. Upon arriving, we checked in at the restaurant where the owner, Tammy, greeted me – or I should say deadpanned me – and asked for my card. (The dog outside the restaurant gave us a friendlier greeting.) She told me we would be staying in cabin 6 and so we drove over to the cabin and began unpacking the car. However, as soon as we reached the front door of the cabin our olfactory senses were assaulted by a putrid stench that can only be described as AWFUL!!!. Wondering what it could be, we thought it was perhaps a septic system issue. I immediately went back to the restaurant to ask Tammy about it. When I told her about the AWFUL smell her first response was that it couldn’t be a septic issue. But, beyond that, offered no suggestions or seemed inclined to investigate further. So, I said, “okay, well whatever it is it smells AWFUL and I would appreciate it if you could have someone check it out.”|So without a word, Tammy retreated to the kitchen and a short time later, out came a guy (I believe his name was “Chris”) who grudgingly followed me over to the cabin without saying word. I went into the cabin for a minute and when I came out found Chris holding a plastic garbage bag. When I asked him what he had in there he told me it was dead fawn, which is kind of sad but I thought well at least that should take care of the AWFUL smell. But I was wrong. After moving some of our things into the cabin, we noticed the AWFUL smell had not abated. Upon further investigation, I saw that Chris had not finished the job and there were still bits and pieces of the fawn’s decaying carcass scattered about the rear of the cabin. Back over to the restaurant I go …|This time, Tammy was no where to be found so I ended up speaking with a waitress (name unknown) who, after I explained the situation, went into the kitchen to get Chris. When I told Chris the AWFUL smell had not been diminished by his initial efforts, he said “it will probably take some time for it to dissipate.” I said that I thought more needed to be done as there were still remnants of the decaying body behind the cabin and suggested they be removed and that the ground be splashed with bleach or something. While seemingly acknowledging the meaning of my words, he turned and returned to the kitchen without a word. After waiting a bit for him to emerge, I decided to return to the cabin to continue unpacking the car while waiting for Chris to return to finish the job he started. |Minutes passed – lots of them – and still no Chris. So, back over to the restaurant I go … And now I’m starting to feel ignored. And no one likes to be ignored. (Especially on their birthday!) Anyway, I again asked the waitress if I could speak to Tammy. When Tammy came out of the kitchen, I explained that the AWFUL smell had not gone away and that we would like to be moved to another cabin. She told us all of the other cabins were occupied but that she could put us in one of the motel rooms. Pretty much willing to do anything to escape the AWFUL stench, I asked to see the room. She told me to take a look at room 9 and that the door was open. So off I go to room 9. But when I get to room 9 the door is LOCKED! So ... back over to the restaurant I go …|Spoke to the waitress who said "Oh, we made a mistake. It’s room 8, not 9." So off I go to room 8. When I look in the room it’s your basic motel room with minifridge (not even sure it has a microwave). Anyway, it has two small twin beds and carpeting that has seen better days. We, of course, brought food which we wouldn’t be able cook in the room and the refrigerator was too small to accommodate everything we had. So, back over to the restaurant I go ….|We again spoke to the waitress who this time said they were preparing to serve dinner at the restaurant and there’s nothing more they could do. I said I really didn’t care and wanted the AWFUL stench remedied immediately. |In the meantime, my wife and I had been trying to find other accommodations in the area but because it was a Friday evening in the summer, nothing was available. So we’re now we’re stuck there for the night with the AWFUL stench! We had to keep all the windows closed and couldn’t even sit outside on the porch to enjoy the fresh country air!|To put this in perspective, we had left the City around noon and due to an accident on Route 17 didn’t get up there until about 4:30. Just when we thought, “we finally made it and can relax,” we’re welcomed by the AWFUL stench and the “don’t give a damn” attitudes of Tammy and her staff. |Finally, the waitress came over to our cabin to offer a belated and insincere apology and said there was nothing more they could do but would give us a refund if that’s what we wanted. She said that the fawn was probably hit on the road and ended up under the cabin. And that this sort of thing (with dead animals) happens all the time “up here.” (As if, because I live in the City, I didn’t understand that dead animals smell.) I noted that however the fawn came to be there was not relevant and the only issue was how to get rid of it and the AWFUL smell. She said it was a family business and they had no one available to take care of the problem at the moment and mentioned that Chris was actually the chef at the restaurant (hope he washed his hands good before returning to the kitchen). |Thankfully, at that point, my wife intervened and suggested that they take care of the problem first thing in the morning; which the waitress halfheartedly agreed to do. I was tired, angry and frustrated so I decided to let it go at that.|We then finished unloading the car and went over to the bar at the restaurant for a cocktail. People at the bar were friendly and we enjoyed our drinks - despite the “don’t give a damn” attitude of the barmaid (who, when I thanked for my drink noting it was my birthday, she simply turned and walked away). With some trepidation we also had dinner at the restaurant being too tired to venture further afield for food. The salad was very good but my pork chop was bleh and my wife’s past dish was “okay.” The wait staff was efficient if not effusive.|To be fair, the next day we noticed that they had taken further measures to remediate the smell (though we still had to keep the windows closed) and we noticed it less and less as the weekend progressed. |Overall, I am giving the Riverside one star. Three stars for the bar/restaurant as a place to drink/eat. And ZERO stars for the lodging! I get that they had no control over the fawn dying under the cabin. However, it was completely within their control to do something about it. The “don’t give a damn” attitude of Tammy and her staff was unacceptable and we will NEVER stay...

My wife and I reserved a cabin at the Riverside for 3 nights (Fri-Sun) for my 65th birthday. Upon arriving, we checked in at the restaurant where the owner, Tammy, greeted me – or I should say deadpanned me – and asked for my card. (The dog outside the restaurant gave us a friendlier greeting.) She told me we would be staying in cabin 6 and so we drove over to the cabin and began unpacking the car. However, as soon as we reached the front door of the cabin our olfactory senses were assaulted by a putrid stench that can only be described as AWFUL!!!. Wondering what it could be, we thought it was perhaps a septic system issue. I immediately went back to the restaurant to ask Tammy about it. When I told her about the AWFUL smell her first response was that it couldn’t be a septic issue. But, beyond that, offered no suggestions or seemed inclined to investigate further. So, I said, “okay, well whatever it is it smells AWFUL and I would appreciate it if you could have someone check it out.”|So without a word, Tammy retreated to the kitchen and a short time later, out came a guy (I believe his name was “Chris”) who grudgingly followed me over to the cabin without saying word. I went into the cabin for a minute and when I came out found Chris holding a plastic garbage bag. When I asked him what he had in there he told me it was dead fawn, which is kind of sad but I thought well at least that should take care of the AWFUL smell. But I was wrong. After moving some of our things into the cabin, we noticed the AWFUL smell had not abated. Upon further investigation, I saw that Chris had not finished the job and there were still bits and pieces of the fawn’s decaying carcass scattered about the rear of the cabin. Back over to the restaurant I go …|This time, Tammy was no where to be found so I ended up speaking with a waitress (name unknown) who, after I explained the situation, went into the kitchen to get Chris. When I told Chris the AWFUL smell had not been diminished by his initial efforts, he said “it will probably take some time for it to dissipate.” I said that I thought more needed to be done as there were still remnants of the decaying body behind the cabin and suggested they be removed and that the ground be splashed with bleach or something. While seemingly acknowledging the meaning of my words, he turned and returned to the kitchen without a word. After waiting a bit for him to emerge, I decided to return to the cabin to continue unpacking the car while waiting for Chris to return to finish the job he started. |Minutes passed – lots of them – and still no Chris. So, back over to the restaurant I go … And now I’m starting to feel ignored. And no one likes to be ignored. (Especially on their birthday!) Anyway, I again asked the waitress if I could speak to Tammy. When Tammy came out of the kitchen, I explained that the AWFUL smell had not gone away and that we would like to be moved to another cabin. She told us all of the other cabins were occupied but that she could put us in one of the motel rooms. Pretty much willing to do anything to escape the AWFUL stench, I asked to see the room. She told me to take a look at room 9 and that the door was open. So off I go to room 9. But when I get to room 9 the door is LOCKED! So ... back over to the restaurant I go …|Spoke to the waitress who said "Oh, we made a mistake. It’s room 8, not 9." So off I go to room 8. When I look in the room it’s your basic motel room with minifridge (not even sure it has a microwave). Anyway, it has two small twin beds and carpeting that has seen better days. We, of course, brought food which we wouldn’t be able cook in the room and the refrigerator was too small to accommodate everything we had. So, back over to the restaurant I go ….|We again spoke to the waitress who this time said they were preparing to serve dinner at the restaurant and there’s nothing more they could do. I said I really didn’t care and wanted the AWFUL stench remedied immediately. |In the meantime, my wife and I had been trying to find other accommodations in the area but because it was a Friday evening in the summer, nothing was available. So we’re now we’re stuck there for the night with the AWFUL stench! We had to keep all the windows closed and couldn’t even sit outside on the porch to enjoy the fresh country air!|To put this in perspective, we had left the City around noon and due to an accident on Route 17 didn’t get up there until about 4:30. Just when we thought, “we finally made it and can relax,” we’re welcomed by the AWFUL stench and the “don’t give a damn” attitudes of Tammy and her staff. |Finally, the waitress came over to our cabin to offer a belated and insincere apology and said there was nothing more they could do but would give us a refund if that’s what we wanted. She said that the fawn was probably hit on the road and ended up under the cabin. And that this sort of thing (with dead animals) happens all the time “up here.” (As if, because I live in the City, I didn’t understand that dead animals smell.) I noted that however the fawn came to be there was not relevant and the only issue was how to get rid of it and the AWFUL smell. She said it was a family business and they had no one available to take care of the problem at the moment and mentioned that Chris was actually the chef at the restaurant (hope he washed his hands good before returning to the kitchen). |Thankfully, at that point, my wife intervened and suggested that they take care of the problem first thing in the morning; which the waitress halfheartedly agreed to do. I was tired, angry and frustrated so I decided to let it go at that.|We then finished unloading the car and went over to the bar at the restaurant for a cocktail. People at the bar were friendly and we enjoyed our drinks - despite the “don’t give a damn” attitude of the barmaid (who, when I thanked for my drink noting it was my birthday, she simply turned and walked away). With some trepidation we also had dinner at the restaurant being too tired to venture further afield for food. The salad was very good but my pork chop was bleh and my wife’s past dish was “okay.” The wait staff was efficient if not effusive.|To be fair, the next day we noticed that they had taken further measures to remediate the smell (though we still had to keep the windows closed) and we noticed it less and less as the weekend progressed. |Overall, I am giving the Riverside one star. Three stars for the bar/restaurant as a place to drink/eat. And ZERO stars for the lodging! I get that they had no control over the fawn dying under the cabin. However, it was completely within their control to do something about it. The “don’t give a damn” attitude of Tammy and her staff was unacceptable and we will NEVER stay...

We have stayed at the Riverside Cafe and Lodge several times. Some of the rooms are nicer than others. There are some problems inherent to all the rooms. They are outdated, stuffy, the ACs are old and loud, and the door locks are only the button on the door handle type. On our most recent stay, we had the best room we've had to date. While it had all the usual problems we encounter here, this room was particularly clean and the furniture was in the good shape. One problem we don't normally see was that one bed had sheets, a blanket, and a bedspread while the second bed had only sheets and the bedspread, no blanket. The property is lovely with the river being just behind the Cafe, Lodge, and cabins. Despite allowing pets, we have never had a room that smelled like pets were in residence. They provide soaps, shampoos, and shower gels. There was a small flat screen TV in the room. Internet access is free but very slow. Check-in is located inside of the restaurant by the bar. While we have met some very friendly employees, some are definitely not. It is hit or miss. We have never stayed in a cabin so we cannot review those. Having stayed in another hotel in the area, this seems to be on par with the...