Christopher's Bed & Breakfast, Bellevue

To state the positive first -- there was lots of hot water. The bed (if you ignore how bad it squeaked) was comfortable. The bedside lights were excellent. There is an assortment of snacks and a chilled water dispenser available at all times. Because we were the only guests, we were able to keep the thermostat at our comfort level -- a definite plus as the weather was very changeable. Basically, though, we cannot recommend Christopher's -- we think the positive comments you may find elsewhere must have come from an earlier period, because things have certainly gone down hill. (One clue was that ALL the restaurant menus, event brochures etc. were not months but 1-3 YEARS out of date, and the host provided little cards asking that we submit a review to a site where they haven't been listed for a couple of years.) First of all, when we arrived, we went to the front door and rang the bell. We were issued into the spacious entry hall you see on their website, where there were a variety of cards and brochures as resources. Well, look closely at this lovely hall, as it is the last time you will see it. Within minutes, we were told we had entered "the residence," and quickly ushered down a hall into the "B&B" part. The door to that lovely foyer was closed and we didn't see it again. This is a converted church, and the stained glass windows are indeed lovely. However, if you are the least bit claustrophobic, this is not the place for you. Neither in your room nor in the (tiny) common area is there a single window that lets in daylight. It could be noon or 8 pm for all you can tell. Towels -- well, there were lots. In fact, the entire dresser was full of the host's extra bedding and towels, so that we had no place to put our clothing, which was an inconvenience given that we were on an extended trip. More substantively -- the B&B is advertised as non-smoking, but we regularly smelled fresh cigarette smoke coming from "the residence." Very unpleasant. The host has little scent dispensers plugged in in every room (to mask the smoke?) -- because we are allergic to this type of scent, we removed them, but because this was of limited help because of there being no access to fresh air. The host goes out to work, so except on weekends your communication with her is by notes. Self-serve breakfast is set out the night before, with milk and juice in the fridge. On the weekend, things brighten up, because she serves a hot breakfast, but it is available only at 9 a.m. And -- OH YES, mustn't forget -- without telling us she would do this, the host put the full charge for our room through on our credit card five days BEFORE we were scheduled to arrive. I had to ask for a receipt, and by the time I got it it was obviously too late to make any complaint. Christopher's was a disappointment. Their website overstates what they have to offer. We recommend you look elsewhere.