By the Side of the Road Bed & Breakfast, Harrisonburg

I am not sure why some others offered less-than-stellar reviews, but I am glad I overlooked these and went ahead with our plans to stay at By The Side of the Road. My wife and I stayed there for our honeymoon. The innkeepers are friendly, the place is beautiful, and the Fitzgerald cottage, with its large hot tub and adjacent wood-burning fireplace, was a perfect place to which to retreat every night after being busy exploring VA by day. And explore we did. The great thing about this place is how it is centrally located along the Skyline Drive. From this starting point we could head North or South each day. We explored history, visited wineries, hiked in the mountains, saw lots of wildlife, visited caverns, shopped, and ate at some very nice restaurants. We plan to go back as many times as we can, whenever we need to recharge our batteries, and we plan to recommend it to all of our friends. If you understand the B&B experience and do not go expecting a 5-star hotel in NYC, you will be very happy and satisfied. Bottom line: Money well spent. We had the vacation of a lifetime.

By the Side of the Road is located on the side of a busy street in a quasi-suburban area in Harrisonburg in the middle of well-developed neighborhood (the pictures won't tell you this). The location is less than ideal if you are looking for a location that offers privacy on their grounds or a country/quiet environment. My guest and I stayed in one of the cottages. It was like renting a miniature house in our own suburban area back home, which defeats the purpose of a vacation. The cottage was well-decorated and the amenities in the cottage were nice. It stops here, though. The innkeepers made this stay less than desirable. They did not greet us when we arrived, despite being outside on their property for quite some time. In fact, out of a three day stay, we did not see them until the second day when they knocked VERY LOUDLY on the door and left the breakfast basket. We had to go and seek them out, even still they were less than friendly and seemed less than thrilled to discuss area attractions. Speaking in terms of the breakfast, the innkeepers did not pay attention to our breakfast requests that were based on specific allergies. When we asked them for other options (they serve different breakfast options every day) and reminded them of allergies, they became very confrontational and were less than accomodating... Additionally, they were not willing to clean the hot tub/large bathtub when we requested they do so. They cited their reason as...they are not a hotel. I agree. They are not a hotel, as a hotel would have been given a higher level of customer service considering the money being paid. We will not return to this B&B again, as there are other, more quality B&B's where we can spend our money and time.

My husband and I chose By the Side of the Road to celebrate our anniversary. We stayed in the only first floor room available in this beautiful old house. The room is beautifully furnished but remained very cold although we used the gas fireplace. We were assured the comfortable canopy bed had been converted to a queen size but in use it seemed a trifle small. There is a nice sized TV with DVD and cable connection, and adequate non-bed seating. The bathroom is huge and beautifully decorated but we felt it was poorly supplied. We were provided one average-quality towel set apiece and urged ( via a sign near the shower) to re-use our towels in the interest of water conservation. (This seemed contradictory in light of the fact that the inn advertises water-consuming two-person jacuzzi bathtubs in several rooms) Our two paper cups were not replaced on the second day, and when our towels were replaced we received only one washcloth. Bottled water, bag coffee, cups and a coffee machine were provided, and there is a guest refrigerator, but no courtesy soft drinks were offered. The only snacks available were some stale cupcakes on a covered plate in the commons.( The same ones were there the second day). Breakfast was beautifully presented, hot, and tasty, but less than generous, and special requests were not handled graciously. We felt it was a poor value for the money spent, but our biggest concern was security: while the room can be locked for privacy from the inside, the door cannot be locked from the outside. The inkeeper said they "trust everybody".(We don't, and we do not plan to return.)

My boyfriend and I stayed in the Fitzgerald Cottage for our 1st year anniversary together and it was amazing! The wonderfully comfortable bed, the huge soaking tub by the beautiful fireplace, the spiral staircase, EVERTHING about the cottage was perfect. Harrisonburg, VA has a cute downtown and the James Madison University Campus is very scenic and makes for a great day of walking. By the Side of the Road is a great Bed and Breakfast, run by the lovely Fitzgeralds and is an amazing place for a weekend getaway.