Lindenwald Haus, Elmira

If you equate shabbiness and filth with charm, then this is your place. House itself has a promising history, was built for civil war widows, however, that story is just not worth the stay. I stayed for two nights. I was in the “Clemens” room which was $150 per night. For that amount I got: Filth – lots of cobwebs under the dresser, dust on the furniture, windowsills, and floor, dust bunny on the lamp cord, and filthy curtains (see pictures). Cheapness – the house is ill-maintained. There was a broken shade on the window that housed the air conditioner, toilet that did not work (owner said he worked on it but it still did not work - after flushing six times there was still floaters left in the bowl after his fix), rotting wood on porch, and the female owner made a big deal about putting notices under our doors and also informing us in person to turn off the air conditioners when we left. Also noticed that the jets in the jacuzzi tub were uneven which may signify that the house is sinking. Noisy room – This is in an industrial area and the rooms are not sound-proofed so all night long one hears trucks driving through. All night long... However, the owners must have sound-proofing because they didn’t notice my frantic knocking at 10:30 PM on their door. (see Pests) Tacky décor - Was a nursing home at one time, leftover astroturf-like carpet in the hallway and too many pictures of the owners, their wedding… So-so breakfast – Liked the daily eggs over medium, yogurt parfait and pancakes were good, but muffins from Wegmann’s (a supermarket)? At $150 a night for a B&B, expect a little more home-made goodness. Poor customer service - at 10:30 PM while reading in my room, a bat came flying at me!!! I went running down the hall, knocked frantically many times on the owners’ door which woke up my work colleague whose room was farther away from theirs. They didn’t budge. Good thing there wasn’t a medical emergency. The next morning at breakfast, the male just chuckled about the bat. They had two in the house the week before. - Although they must know the rooms are not sound-proofed, they were vacuuming the hallway at 5:30 AM. - They turn off the elevator. I had to go ask the owners to turn it on so I could get my suitcase out because it was too bulky to get down the narrow staircase. They didn't even remember we were checking out. Pests – the afore-mentioned bat and the spider in the bathtub, however I blame myself for the spider. I probably disturbed the spider when I went after a bottle which rolled under my dresser. I normally love B&B’s. My husband and I have stayed in a couple here in Florida just for a weekend away. Those owners really put a lot in their B&B’s. However, I strongly recommend avoiding this B&B, it is extremely subpar.