The Thistle Inn

Do not stay here. The "Inn" is in disrepair. No innkeeper or staff are on the premises. It's all locks and codes. There is zero atmosphere at the Thistle Inn. Pulling into the parking area we were shocked our GPS brought us to this haggard looking house. It's a sad house with no upkeep especially the exterior. The walkway is in disrepair, the exterior needs a lot of repair and paint. When you enter the house you see folding chairs stored next to the staircase. No decor or any welcoming sign for the guests. The steps and rise of the old staircase are pretty steep and downright dangerous. It feels like one has entered a shabby old house on the bad side of town. However, the room was clean, very small. The bathroom was larger and this too was very clean. The mattress felt firm but since we ended up not staying there I can't speak about the comfort. The TV had two remotes and it was difficult to watch any programs having to manage both remotes. We were in Boothbay Harbor to tour the Botanical Garden light show. After we did this we decided it was not worth staying at this inn. We felt it was substandard. It is attached to a restaurant it is not affiliated with. Information in the room stated we should park across the street in marked spaces. We saw two parking lots both across two streets as this is on a corner. Both parking lots were unmarked for cars so we decided to leave our car parked in front of the house. I think that is parking for the restaurant. We drove the 2 hours back home and decided to stop patronizing these small inns especially those with no employees around.

Room was clean . Bed was comfortable ( sofa less so). Microwave and coffee maker and fridge working. Tv had a public broadcasting channel which was the best we Brits had found so far. Main gripe was communication-we were supposed to receive an email with access codes 72 hours before arrival -nil received . We emailed/ contacted the hotel direct/ WhatsApped -no reply from any of them. . Our agent eventually tracked someone down and we received the codes. We did try and contact management while we were there about a small issue-no reply. While we managed to sort it this time if the issue had been more pressing it would have been v frustrating -an acknowledgment of our contact would have been appropriate.

We stayed in the crows nest. It was a beautiful apartment with lots of room. The email directions on where and how to enter were unclear an it took me 15 minutes of running around in the rain to figure it out. There were supposed to be instructions on WiFi, parking etc next to the door but there were none. We needed heat and none turned on in the living area. I was able to figure out the mini split in the bedroom. I called the number given in the email several times but there was a recording and no call back. Another guest gave me another # to call the second day He came and fixed the gas fireplace. Too much of an adventure. The Thistle Inn needs to get it's act together. The place was lovely but.....

We came in during the wee hours, and they gave us codes for the front door and the room door. Easy, and comfortable sleep - easy walk into the harbor area. I imagine our stay was much quieter during the night than places down along the waterfront.