Friday, January 5, 2007
Walden Country Inn and Stables, Aurora Ohio
The Walden Country Inn and Stables is a unique place. This must have been a labor of love for the architect. The design is so interesting, so unexpected. You feel cozy and taken care of and special just because of the way the building feels. The rooms are spacious and luxurious.
We stayed in A loft suite (about twelve hundred square feet!) and really enjoyed it. Even the private stairway had flair. You have a fireplace. The huge bath is across from the bed instead of in the bathroom, which also has a shower. If you want to spend a romantic getaway in a room that lends itself to blissful relaxation go stay at Walden.
Don't order room service from their on site restaurant, however. It takes forever to get your tepid food. As a bonus I got the nastiest case of food poisoning in my life. Waking up the morning of checkout with projectile vomiting is not in their brochure, but it was an unexpected part of our stay. They claim to have movies for rent, but when you pick up the list in the room and call down and ask for a title they are put out. They don't really have those movies for rent, they go and get them from a local rental place. I also don't recommend paying big bucks to ride their horses. One of our horses was entirely spooked by the mud in the trail and decided to run into trees and be otherwise impossible. We all had to return (the two of us and our "guide") after just a few terrible minutes (we didn't get through 5 minutes of our hour long ride) and they still charged us at full rate for the both of us.
Remember I told you the building is awesome, and worth the stay. The staff was mediocre - and I'm being generous. For the room alone, go. Eat and entertain yourself elsewhere.
see their brochure here:
http://www.waldenco.com/brochure/walden.swf
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I am so surprised to hear your review. My fiance & I travel nearly every three months, and we are extremely selective about where we stay.
ReplyDeleteWe stayed at the Walden in late 2006, and our best memories involve the service. The staff nearly hand fed us the entire time we were there. We almost wanted to laugh at how "proper" they were! We have NEVER had that type of service before and we generally pay 2x's the price.
We did do the hoarse trail, and although the weather was pretty miserable, it was a great activity.
Our trip was prior to the Spa opening, therefore 2 massage therapist (whom were contracted) came to our room, and we recieved wonderful service from them as well.
Again I am just shocked that you had such a miserable time, because even when we used the Theatre it was a great evening. Although the only movies they had to choose from were 10years+.
Also, anyone planning a stay, make sure to purchase a packing that includes the full service breakfasts! So delicious, anything you can think of will be brought to you fresh- as much as you would like.
I truly loved the Walden, and in fact I ran into this post because I am taking my mother their to experience it in the a few weeks.
All Best,
- Misty Swendryck
I am so glad to see this comment, even if I am seeing it three years after it was left!
ReplyDeleteI think the place is under new management now. I was contacted by someone who said he was the manager and wanted us to come again so we could have a good stay. I was impressed that he cared. When I called I had to leave a message and he never returned my call.
Any place can have an off day, or just miss the fact that for a certain guest everything that could go wrong did go wrong.