Antrim 1844 Country Inn, Taneytown

Let me begin by saying that my wife and I had a wondeful stay at Antrim 1844 in October 2006. I have Celiac Disease (gluten intolerance - no wheat, rye or barley), which can make for difficulty in dining out. We mentioned this when making our 2006 reservation, was assured they could accomodate us and they lived up to their promise. There were gluten-free hors d'oeuvres for us at the cocktail hour, several enticing options at dinner and a GF dessert. At breakfast the next morning, they had eggs, bacon, a GF potato dish and fruit for me. We were very happy and planned to return some day. We finally returned in July 2010. We again mentioned Celiac Disease when making our reservation and were told there again would be no problem. We were misinformed. There was nothing I could eat at either the afternoon tea or the cocktail hour. Dinner choices were limited and the GF dessert option was an unadorned dish of fruit. The wake up tray had fruit and muffins on the same plate, meaning that I could not eat the fruit. Breakfast the next morning was runny eggs and rare bacon. The potato dish was contaminated by bread crumbs and some pale sauce. We expressed our disappointment in an email and management telephoned my wife to apologize and promised they would make amends if we returned. We gave them another chance this weekend. The food options were even worse this time. Again, nothing I could eat at either tea or the cocktail hour. We had a 7:30 dinner resevation and were taken down to the restaurant at about 8:10. Having been seated, we mentioned my gluten issue to several servers and it took some time to eatablish that of the 6 appetizers and 6 entrees, I could avail myself of two each, either a fruit and cheese plate (something I've usually seen as a dessert option at some restaurants) or butternut squash soup, w/o croutons, entree a vegan option or filet mignon. Everything else contained gluten in some form. The salmon, for example, was imprisoned in a puff pastry, although the menu did not mention this. Service was exceedingly slow and our entrees arrived at almost 10:00. When it was time for dessert, my wife received a tray with several pastry items and I received a martini glass of fruit, perhaps from the appetizer I had declined to order. At this point, I asked my wife if she would mindif I made a bit of a demonstration. She said I could do whatever I thought appropriate, so I left the table and the building, swiftly walked to a gas station/convenience store about a block away and returned with a single-serving container of Ben & Jerry's ice cream - a GF variety, of course, Peanut Brittle. I proceeded to place this on an Antrim plate and consume it with an Antrim spoon. One of the servers, not fully comprehending, said "Oh, you did find some dessert. Great!". Saturday morning our wake up tray arrived with fruit alone - one improvement over last time. We went to breakfast and again my options were runny eggs and rare bacon, with the addition of a cup of fruit.. (Antrim seems to prefer melon in daylight and berries after sunset.) The other hot items were French Toast and a potato concoction with bread crumbs. The appearance surprised me. I was not aware that Betty Crocker had launched a Potato Helper line. My wife also had a croisant and reported that the butter atour table tasted rancid. Some notes about the room. We stayed in the Lee Suite at the Carriage House. The Jacuzzi, for which we paid extra, did not work. The toilet was running poorly to begin with and became stopped up after we returned from dinner, after 11:00. The walls are thin and we could hear someone else's radio and all night were treated to the snores of another guest, except for when they were drowned by the traffic noise. The sitting room is drafty at this time of year and the bedroom was very hot and stuffy. There is one thermostat for the entire building, leaving guests no control over the climate of their room.

We were going to have our wedding here. Turns out what was in our contract was not what we were shown or promised. An inside wedding turned out to be an outside wedding. It was to begin at 7pm with no photography after 7pm - so a wedding without pictures. Also the honeymoon suite that was promised in their wedding package was not the one we got in our contract. We were very dissappointed after we thought we had a wedding location for 3 months. When I called Keith, the event planner, to question the contract he became very defensive so we just walked away. He was most unhelpful in our planning process. We were going to get married here and then use this place for our anniversary celebrations, but after the attitude and the contractual details we received after months of contacting Antrim 1844, NO WAY!

Although at first appearance the Antrim looks nice, but first impressions can be deceiving. The room in which we stayed had a thick layer of dust on the tops of the curtains, the water pressure was non existant and when I needed help from the front desk I was met with rude and curt responses. It is over priced for what it pretends to be...

My husband and I were married in December and celebrated our reception at Antrim 1844. Our menu was superb and our guests were entirely impressed! Chef Gettier had many wonderful ideas and personally helped us select the courses. The servers did a fabulous job setting up the ballroom, and I was very thankful for their kind and patient assistance with my elderly grandparents during the event too. Service was impeccable. Keith, our coordinator, was top-notch from the first day we met with him through the end of the reception. The vendors Keith recommended to us were fabulous and well worth every penny spent. The complimentary bridal suite, complete with champagne and roses, was the perfect way to end our perfect day.

Very happy with my total experience at this gorgeous restaurant in a country setting. Food and service were great.Also for the price, it was a very memorable experience.

From its reputation and for the prices charged, we were expecting a superior experience in dining and service. Were we wrong! We were greeted as we stood in the foyer with, "What would you like to drink?" We had not even been seated. We had to ask where we should go from the foyer. We were told to go into one of the holding rooms only to find there were no tables on which to place hors d'oeuvres or drinks. When we asked about someplace to put our drinks, we were brushed off. We ended up putting our drinks on the floor. It got worse from there. The appetizers were inedible. The salad was warm. The scallop main course contained TWO scallops in some kind of polenta molded into cup form. There was no improvement with dessert. Unbelievably bad from start to finish. We should have left after our inhospitable exchange in the foyer.

We loved everything about Antrim 1844. The fine dining was most memorable. We very much want to return as soon as possible. Antrim 1844 would be a wonderful place for corporate meetings. The grounds are inviting and very relaxing. The staff is top notch in everyway. An experience to keep returning many times each year.