Maire, weren't you there when we had our Christmas GTG? I stayed there then. I thought it was fine, but like many old inns, a bit worn. That, and needing space to host the brunch, is why I went with an Airbnb for the group.

I really liked my room the first night at the Bookhouse at Faunbrook, and when I was leaving the cleaning person let me peak in the open rooms. There was a very lovely large corner room, The Darlington Suite. https://thebookhouseatfaunbrook.com/the-rooms/

Of course not everyone likes staying at little inns in creaky old houses, but the BA are brand new and I found it all very quiet.

The inn where I stayed in Philadelphia was lovely, not at all modernized, and the breakfast was excellent. The Air BNB 3Katz and I stayed at is right downtown in West Chester which is a fabulous location — which made it very loud in the evenings. There were white noise machines in both bedrooms which helped tremendously but there was still audible outside music. It did not bother me, but If peace and quiet are desired it would not be a good location. OTOH if they’d want a city vibe with tons of restaurants and boutique shopping and proximity to the countryside, it can’t be beat. Clean, modern, cute and surprisingly reasonable. Mtn recommended it so that tells you everything you need to know 😎It has our resident AirBNB expert’s seal of approval!

I was at Whitewing in the carriage house along with Annie and Texanjana. I'll see if they chime in but I felt my room there was well appointed with a king sized bed and roomy bathroom with a rain shower. It was a good size and if DH were with me, we'd be fine. The heating/cooling worked well in my room. I had the Jockey Room. Can't go wrong with proximity to Longwood. It's maybe a 5 minute drive. For anything out there a car is required. They have a specific check in time of 4-6 pm at Whitewing, and since I would be arriving very late, Annie was able to pick up my key. They have a fairly strict booking/cancellation policy since they are independent, so be sure to read up on that.

Oh! I was most wanting to hear about the Bookhouse at Faunbrook -- glad you were pleased, Mtn. I have been following them since before they opened. I am also interested in the sister property in Kennett Square.

Kswl.. do you mind sharing which inn and airbnb you stayed in?

I must have posted on the wrong thread ... just moving this here now (but it immediately followed Maire's post)

Thank you, Maire-cate ... I am also wondering the same. My weekend trip has been postponed due to iffy weather and an unforseen conflict with my Monday appt in the city (I will still go-- but BFF will not).

We are looking at various spots for a relaxing getaway/reading/cocktails/dining trip.

KSWL and 3Katz stayed at an Airbnb in downtown WC. I stayed there last spring with my BFF. I chose it because it has 2Br and 2ba, a corner LR, decent K. It is up a very steep flight of stairs, atop a Kilwin's. On weekends, there is noise from the bars. It is very clean and modern, in a bit of a soulless Home Goods way.

I didn't decide when or how I was getting to Longwood until a day or two before, when I decided to drive and expand my trip on either end (I was gone a whole week by the end), so at that time there was only one room left at either of the Bookhouses. I would go back, but again you have to be someone who likes old inns. It is all self check in, no real services or amenities. Steep steps and no luggage help, that kinda thing. But lots of charm!

Funky I stayed at the Cornerstone Inn in University City. It is very old and pretty worn, but that is all part of the charm. The floors and doors are very creaky, a teenager’s nightmare 😁

3Katz would have a link to the Air BNB in West Chester. I have to add that ”soulless Home Goods” is not necessarily a bad thing in a temporary accomodation, as to me it connotes ”new” and ”little used” and ”easily replaced.” My hope is that that means cleaner than a hotel!!

Steep steps are an issue -- so I appreciate that you are calling them out. BFF and I grew up in very old houses (and she still lives in one) so that's not an issue .. but I am not sure that I want to give up the amenities.

It seems a LOT of hotel options are going with the self-checkin model. SO and I loved it when Sonder was still in business. Worked out really well for us.

Good point, but for a romantic getaway, I would give up a bit of that for charm.

K- I 100% agree that soulless Home Goods is not a bad thing. I've stayed in some B and B's with some ancient, ornate, limp upholstery and bedding items and wondered, when was the last time that thing was cleaned?

I stayed at the Kennett Sq Bookhouse in December, it is charming but quirky —we were fine with the quirks. Our 2 bedroom had 1 bathroom with a clawfoot tub, a tiny kitchenette with coffeemaker, and a lounge up another flight. Stairs were fairly steep, and the rooms are painted in saturated colors giving a moody atmosphere that might feel dim to some (my traveling companion always keeps her home lighting at twilight level so it felt perfect to her).

@Funkyart, what did you particularly like about Sonder? I thought they did a pretty good job and in effect created a brand within a brand. It was kind of a mixed bag though because often they seemed to have a whole building and that could be noisy.

We stayed at the General Warren Inne! It made sense for us, so that neither of us was driving on unfamiliar roads Saturday night. It is old, and a bit creaky, the stairs are steep and a bit wonky going to the third floor. But, we enjoyed it. Comfortable, the innkeeper Patrick and the staff were very nice and accommodating, and our dinner Friday was delicious. It seems to be a very popular dining spot!

We were, in fact, the only guests Friday night. The AC had gone out on our third floor, and those guests opted to go elsewhere. Saturday night the inn was fully occupied, and just as quiet as Friday!

As to the AC, Patrick had called us Friday afternoon with the situation and options. We decided that the temperatures were cooling, and if they had fans we would prefer to stay there. That is what happened, and we were quite comfortable with open windows, hearing the birds in the morning.

We had studied the website, deciding which rooms we liked but also figuring out where they were in the hotel, and reserved William Penn accordingly. See the link below:

The rooms at General Warren Inne

The drawback: breakfast isn’t until 8am. It consists of coffee and juice, muffins and scones, and yogurt with fruit, all served. But on Saturday morning, when we lamented that to Jessica, she said she would pack up a couple of muffins or scones for our early Sunday departure. Oh, no coffee maker in the room, but the hospitality office has a Keurig and wine, and there is a shared refrigerator (with baggies and a sharpie to label your items! )

We found it all quite delightful and amiable. DH tends to prefer a chain when traveling (points! and no surprises) so this was a treat for me.

Mtn, I have only stayed at 2 Sonder properties ... they weren't "special" but the locations were perfect and they allowed us to easily come and go on our city visits. They both had all the hookups/outlets we expected to support our tech needs (Inns, B&Bs don't always) and we loved having a w/d in room. The properties were quiet and private enough we were comfortable watching movies, playing music and whatever else we wanted to do without disturbing others.

If I were to have a complaint -- it was nice to have a kitchen but it wasnt really setup for much more than coffee and light meals. The equipment was very limited. I didnt mind for our 2 trips because they were in summer ... I wasn't planning to cook much.

I think it depends on the type of travel. For business - definitely you want "no surprise" travel first and foremost.

As a gift to celebrate an anniversary though, think you want either luxury or charm or both!

If it were me, I would look into this property: https://www.fairvilleinn.com/ 

I think @gardener123 stayed there. I didn't get a chance to ask her about her stay, but the website is very nice.

Or go all the way into Wilmingont and stay at the Dupont, but that is 25 min from LG

I stayed at the Inn at Whitewing Farm. 5 min from Longwood and lovely setting. Apparently it was a former DuPont farm and the family is working to update the place slowly. My room was fine, and it was updated and the bathroom was very nice. It had a fridge and coffeemaker in the room. But I understand IndigoRose's DD stayed at a different building. It was tricky to get to and not updated. She said it smelled moldy and of air freshener to cover which triggered her allergies. She also had to leave early in the a.m. and they made no accommodation for her early breakfast. (I had to shepherd her with the key as she arrived late.) I was disappointed that the breakfast was only from 9-10. I would've preferred earlier hours. The afternoon snacks left something to be desired too, given the price. However, the location made it worthwhile.

Thank you everyone for your comments. My apologies to Funky - I originally posted this on the Tulipmania 'Lookbook '- but realized that it might not get noticed so I opted to start a new thread.

Mtn - I was at the Christmas get together but I may have missed that part of the conversation - just looked at my photos and that was Dec 2019!

DDIL stayed at one of the Bookhouse hotels 2 years ago and loved it. She and her BF got together for a long weekend to relax, drink wine, talk and read without kids. Her BF is the one who opened Forage Bookstore in Kennett.

My initial thought was Whitewing and I'm glad to hear that it worked out for some of you - but if I pick that one I'll definitely save this thread so that I request one of the better rooms. Maybe Kitchenwitch will add her thoughts - she had The Tack Room. Whitewing will allow you to check in earlier than the posted time but that has an additional charge.

bpath - Great review and interesting that your room didn't have a coffeemaker. That certainly isn't a deal breaker as long as they can get their morning coffee in the hospitality area.

Thank you again. I know there are many other places in the area but I feel more comfortable with one that someone here has stayed at.

Fairville Inn has been on my radar for awhile (they were a part of an organization I worked with in a prior job) ... it looks just lovely and I think they've done a recent upgrade. I think it looks perfect for an anniversary weekend.

Marie as you know I stayed at Whitewing in the Tack Room. The Inn itself is a beautiful old farm and the grounds seem to be well-maintained. My room was small but the King size bed was very comfortable. I had a Keurig with pods and a small fridge. The bathroom was very nice with marble tile in the big shower. The only problem was that the AC wasn’t working in my room and also Rubyclaire’s next to me in an old stable building and it was rather hot when I first arrived on Friday. The owners had a technician on site quickly who said the main unit was shot and when we returned from dinner there were AC units in the room windows. My air conditioner was so loud though that I had trouble sleeping.but these things happen. The tech was there again the next day and the central AC never did work but by Saturday night it was cool enough to not be uncomfortable. I’m sure it’s repaired by now. That weekend was the first hot weather of the season so they were likely caught unawares and they did what they could. The guests that stayed in the Carriage House had no complaints.

Breakfast was good and I heard that they have small catered dinners in the wine cellar that sound pretty special. There’s a swimming pool that would be nice to have for a summer getaway. Kennet Square and Longwood were less than a 10 minute drive and getting anywhere is on beautiful winding country roads.

It's cool and rainy here in the Northeast today and we sure got lucky with the weather last weekend!

You truly did luck out with the weather last week. I'm sitting at home now next to the fireplace and drinking hot chocolate after spending the morning watching my grand daughters play soccer - in 50 degree temps and rain. Fortunately the afternoon flag football has been canceled.

But that really is disappointing to hear about the AC units. It's true that these things happen and it is encouraging to learn that the owners were quick to respond. It does put a little damper on a stay. It would have been a nice touch if they offered to send up one of their special 'enhancements' - cookies and milk, a glass of wine with cheese.

We had the mini split systems in our rooms which seemed to be new, so they were working and quiet.

Our ”enhancement” was a generous discount!

Mtn is correct, I enjoyed a wonderful stay at the Fairville Inn, Carriage House 3, and plan to stay again the next time I'm in the area.

Three breakfast selections were included—homemade waffles with blueberry-lemon compote, spinach feta omelet, or fancy oatmeal. The staff is amazing (owners live nearby) and were kind enough to spot me a side of warm compote for my GF toast.

The Fairville Inn is 5-15 minutes from Longwood Gardens, Mt. Cuba, Winterthur, and Kennett Square. Also 5 minutes from Margie's Cuisine, a counter service Colombian restaurant that is a destination (as is the neighboring antique shop) in and of itself.

Sorry you missed the GTG, @maire_cate. I was looking forward to connecting. You noted Fairville's spa, but if they have one, I missed it.

All in all, a perfect weekend with great company. Looking forward to the next round! :)

bpath - a discount is always a welcome adjustment.

gardner123- you are correct - there isn't a spa. Thanks for noting that. I couldn't open Mtn's link and when I googled a different Fairfield came up. I deleted my comment above. Thank you. I'm still feeling a little sorry for myself that I missed the weekend.

How nice that everyone seemed to have a positive experience and that provides several options.

I may not be able to pull off a complete surprise since I'll have to tell DS enough to make sure the date works.

Thanks again for such helpful reviews!