Victorian Rose Bed & Breakfast, Ventura

If you visit their website, all photos show what the inn looked like before they added 1000's of religious knick-knacks. I was shocked and extremely disappointed upon arrival -- the photos show a quaint and charming B&B -- not what's there now. The owners should post what their place really looks like now -- a clutter-filled mess!

I took my best friend out to celebrate her birthday. I found on the internet what sounded like a unique B&B to stay the weekend. Well, The Victorian Rose was by far the worst place I have ever stayed in my life! I have multiple B&B books at home and have had the pleasure of staying at many of them but this place was awful. When we arrived, our host showed us to our room, gave us the keys, then disappeared...forever. Never saw him again. The decor around us was very creepy. Don't get me wrong, the architecture of this lovely old church was outstanding, but...the decor looked like the Adams Family had raided a thrift store. There was so much "decor" around that there was no place to sit or relax. If you walked through the place without paying attention, you could easily knock over something with your elbow or purse. (not that it was not already broken or scratched up in the first place) Definately not a place to plop down and relax. Our room was very musty like the smell of an old attic. And, too much clutter all around. I couldn't even lay on the bed because of all the decorations on it: pillows, torn books & a plastic rose. The bathroom I must say was rather nice until I found a wad of hair and used floss on the bathroom table. And, of course, no waste basket. We did notice a lone fly lounging on the dining table next to the dead flower arrangement centerpiece. There is so much more, but you get the picture. I was just BAD and It will never recommend it!

Pretentious fools who like to nit-pick passionate individuality and personality, please stay away from me when I revisit the wonderful Victorian Rose. My wife and I have been return guests many times and are locals to boot. It's like traveling to another time and place, hanging out enjoying the fine hospitality, lodgings, fare, attention to detail, and personal attention that Richard and Nona provide. As Nona says, "My passion is for weary souls to leave this place better than they felt when they arrived." All we can say is mission accomplished. We always feel better after a night or two in this wonderful place that almost feels like visiting family. Reasonably priced, excellent accommodations and service. Now, we read that lousy review by the person who could not rest his eyes. I guess all the crappy mass-produced artwork on the walls of corporate hotels is more to his liking. Hey, I say, when you go visit Richard and Nona, just groove with their creativity and spirit and you will do fine. They will take very good care of you and you will not be sorry. This is a very cool experience. We have stayed in the Wisteria room as well as the Emperor room. The Emporer room is a little noisier (being on the street) but is very well appointed. The Wisteria room has a nice door to a second-floor patio. We like the Wisteria best because we like to smoke! Anyway, as far as all of the artifacts--we think it's very generous of the owners to make one's stay so rich with interesting things to see. Don't forget to look at the scrapbooks. Nicely located near downtown and beach. I would have to give this place five out of five stars with no reservations, and I have stayed in some amazing places. If you are lucky enough to be staying there when some good, deep, and genuine conversationalists are also staying, you will have some good times. Pretentious folks bore me. Get a life.

We went here for our anniversary a few weeks ago. When we first came in the door, I thought I had entered an antique store. A very cluttered antique store. This place is so full of stuff that there is very little room to walk. Every surface floor to ceiling is covered with antiques. We had reserved the largest room in the place with a whirlpool bath, but when we entered our room I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of knick-knacks and antiques that covered every available surface! I have never experienced anything like this before! The feeling was very much like claustrophobia. I could find no peaceful, calming place to even look! I finally went into the bathroom and spent some time literally staring at the tub (which was white) so that I could gain some peace! ha! There was an old, dusty smell in the air as well. I do not have allergies, so this did not pose a problem, but for anyone with asthma or with dust allergies this place would be a major problem. I did not feel that it was dirty, but just that the volume of antiques cannot possibly be kept spanking clean. The other major downside was that the room was right against a very busy road so that every car and loud motorcycle (and there were a lot) going by sounded like it was in the room with us. We lasted about 30 minutes in the place and my husband told the hostess that the Victorian Rose was not for us. We ended up at a great hotel nearby with a view of the ocean for less money! It was quiet and there was no clutter to deal with! Overall, if you are REALLY into antiques and you would like to spend a night or two sleeping in a real antique shop this would be lots of fun. Although I like antiques, I personally like to display a key piece here and there rather than having every free surface coated with them. If you do visit, I would recommend staying in one of the rooms with a private bath. The shared-bath entrance is directly opposite the dining room table! You don't want to wake up late for a quick shower before breakfast!