Bee and Thistle Inn, Old Lyme

I could hot have asked for a better weekend getaway for my wife and I to celebrate our 14th wedding anniversary! The staff was cordial, kind and friendly and helpful. The spa treatments were wonderful. The rooms romantic, spacious and clean and quite comfortable. The food and drink was fantastic. Simply put, the food was fantastic. The surrounding museums and shops were fun. The Bee and Thistle Inn is an experience my wife and I will always cherish!

I had the opportunity to visit the Bee and Thistle with a friend and was so pleased with my experience. We had spa treatments and visited the Florence Griswold Museum. The weather just happened to cooperate and we were able to take a long walk around the gorgeous town. The Inn was so pleasant and warm, and we had a chance to unwind and relax. The food was delicious and we felt so well taken care of. What a nice change from our hectic lives! We are already planning a return trip with a few more friends. Thank you!

My husband and I needed to get away and we chose the Bee and Thistle after seeing it on-line as being romantic. We were more than pleased! The rooms were absolutely beautiful and the food delicious. After two days there we felt like a young couple in love. Thank you to the staff. You made our stay heavenly and we can't wait to come back.

The Bee & Thistle Inn located in Old Lyme CT is a truly romantic experience. You can walk anywhere from this spot, and the grounds and rooms are impeccably maintained. The dinners were superbly prepared (thank you Kris!) and the hostess (Linnea) and staff were truly interested in making your stay both at the Inn and in the area one to be remembered. We were humbled as first time visitors to learn that another guest had been at the Inn over a dozen times! That's a sign of a great Inn. You cannot be disappointed here!

Dear (Yahoo Travel) While I respect the value of a forum such as yours on which people can express their feelings about experiences they have had at different establishments, I have some serious concerns about its use. I can appreciate its benefit both as a tool to guide travelers in their quest to find the best places to spend their hard-earned dollars at any time - and especially in the current economic circumstances - and also to give owners a heads-up on how to improve their businesses. Unfortunately, for a variety of psychological reasons, there are people who write on these sites deliberately to hurt others and I feel I have been a victim of this practice on your site. I have been in the hospitality business for 30 years and am dedicated to ensuring my guests have the best possible experience in any venue in which I have ever been involved. I recognize, however, that this is also a very challenging job and occasionally things do go wrong. Sometimes people feel dissatisfied for some reason and therefore unhappy. If someone has a negative experience anywhere under my responsibility and brings it to my attention, I will do anything in my power to make amends. When someone posts a review on your site, however, that attacks me, my staff and my establishment without first contacting me with their issues, I believe that is not only unfair but incredibly and immediately damaging to my business, which has been built up over many years. On a personal level, I can deal with mean comments (I know that you need to have a tough skin in this business) but what theses anonymous “reviewers” may not understand is the harm that they are doing to the overall business and, in turn, to my loyal employees and numerous vendors with whom I have been working for many years. Both these groups depend on the Inn for their livelihoods and it breaks my heart to think what might happen to them if the Inn were to close on account of the nasty, unsubstantiated ramblings by a handful of writers on your site. In this economy, hiding behind anonymity while damaging my business and my reputation is malicious cowardice at its worst. You are providing the vehicle for these spineless cyber-bullies to pursue their craft and I therefore hope you will now do me the courtesy of calling me to discuss how we can together deal with the unsatisfactory situation I am facing. The Bee & Thistle Inn and Spa has been voted Best American, Best Service and Best Hotel Dining in Connecticut Magazine. Thank you for your prompt response. Sincerely, Linnea Rufo Innkeeper, The Bee and Thistle Inn and Spa, Old Lyme Voted “Most Romantic” by readers of Connecticut Magazine every year .

I was amazed by the attitude of the hostess, Linnea. Given that she is also the owner along with her husband, one would think she would go out of her way to be pleasant and welcoming. However, she is quite the opposite and quite rude. After visiting this restaurant several times my friends and I vowed never to return.

Had planned on having dinner for a large party but was so insulted by the way that the Innkeeper, Linnea, talked to me that I decided to pass. I can pay a lot less for abuse if I was into that. Old is nice but this place was tired.

I agree with the other comments about staff being rude. They were very non-attentive. We had the most expensive room, and the only thing good about it was a fireplace. Other then that, it was pretty bland. Heat (in January) was either way too hot or too cold, and cannot be controled from inside the room. Dining was equally as bad. Portions were small for the price, and they brought a plate with one (read ONE) potato chip with three caviar and a tiny dollup of sour cream on a plate as some kind of pre-dinner snack. What a joke. Waitreess was no where to be found, and the bus boy was actually more attentive. The hostess walked around singing to each table like we were at a cabaret show. Poor service, bland food, inferior accomidations. Why does this place come up as "most romantic"??? Total rip off, and when I mentoned all this to the staff upon checking out, no one seemed to care. Way too expensive for these types of games. Save your money and go to a Days Inn and have dinner at MacDonalds.

The food is mediocre at best. Selection limited to three uninspired common entres. The meat was charred as were the vegetables, the mashed potatoes were like wallpaper paste. Recommend you go some where else. Felt sorry for the staff. We have been trying to get to this place for quite a while. It had been voted "Most Romantic" for many years. We shall not return!

The majority of the staff was rude, the food was not that great, especially for the price. Can find a much better place to stay the weekend next time, and save money.