We chose The Red Lion Inn for its location and historic charm. While the location near the Norman Rockwell Museum is excellent, everything else about our stay was unexpectedly disappointing — and I hope this review helps others avoid the same experience.
The first surprise: the “village rooms” are not in the historic inn. They are in off-property houses around town. We were placed in the Stevens House, a regular residential home converted into rooms, located a 7-minute walk from the inn. This was never clearly disclosed during booking. Only after checking in did I see a vague note on their website about rooms “within a 2-minute walk.” That is simply not true.
The house itself is in poor condition and far from charming — worn, outdated, and in need of serious upkeep (see pictures). The side street was narrow, icy, dark, and slippery, making it difficult to access the main inn or any amenities. In other words, we did not stay in the historic Red Lion Inn we thought we were booking.
The price: We paid $738 for two nights (early December), before taxes and fees. There is even a $20-per-night “preservation fee” that does not show up in the upfront total. For this price, we received a single room in a run-down house — something that would have been acceptable only at a $100/night motel, not at a luxury historic property. For comparison, we could have rented a spacious 2-bedroom Airbnb in Stockbridge for half the price.
The experience:
The front desk was unwelcoming and dismissive on multiple occasions — upon check-in and when we asked about breakfast.
This is not a B&B. When we arrived for breakfast at 9:30 AM, there was a 40-minute wait, even with vouchers. It turned out our nearly $800 reservation did not include breakfast at all. This was a relief because we did not have to wait for 40 minutes and we got a nice breakfast next door.
Overall, this stay felt nothing like the historic, charming inn we expected. Instead, we were placed in a neighborhood house, far from amenities, with a poor-quality room and unfriendly service at the main inn (no front desk in the house itself) — all at a premium price. At several points we wondered whether we had been scammed or simply unlucky.
I hope this helps others make an informed decision. If you want the true historic inn experience, be very careful with the room type and ask explicitly whether your room is in the main inn itself. Otherwise, you may end up paying luxury prices for a very expensive — and disappointing — stay.
