The Mimslyn Motor Inn, Luray

We found this hotel while on the road. We did not have reservations and were passing thru. We spoke to someone who was staying at the Days Inn and recommended to not stay there. We also bypassed the Best Western (right across the street) due to ratings here. I am glad we got to stop here. This is a Historic Hotel that is outstanding for the price. All of the staff was great. They were friendly, informative and very helpful. We ate at the restaurant in the Hotel for dinner. It was like a 4 star for the price of a 3 star. They had thinks like Sheppard’s pie, French onion soup and other specialties. The breakfast buffet was only $10 a person and was outstanding with about anything you could want. The rooms were spotless and have antique style furniture. The rooms are smaller but it is an older hotel so that is to be expected. It was all updated very nice. If passing by this is worth the trip off the I-81 for the few miles just to stay here. I can't say anything about the spa but is that really how you rate a hotel when you didin't even stay there.

Each year on our birthdays, my wife and I "surprise" each other with some sort of trip to some unlikely place. It's gotten to be a bit of a custom, and we've been to a lot of places and seen a lot of things. We've been dog sledding, swimming with the Manatees, and other sundry adventures. Our trips always includes a couples massage (the highlight of our trip), followed by a pedicure for my wife - one of her favorite things. This year I took my wife to see the Luray Caverns in Virginia, something she'd never seen before. In booking the trip, I happened across the Minslyn Inn's website, and noticed that they offered massages and pedicures. It looked like a nice place, so I called the Inn and booked a couples massage as well as my wife's pedicure. Since the Mimslyn had no rooms available for the weekend, we had to choose another hotel for our actual stay. I booked the massage/pedicure two weeks in advance of our trip, so on morning of the the actual day, I phoned to confirm the appointment. The woman on the phone was a bit dismissive, but she did in fact verify the appointment. At 3:30pm that afternoon, we arrived at the Inn for our massage, only to find that 1) they only had one masseuse on duty, and 2) they had someone booked immediately after us, so she could only take one of us. To top it off, 3) they had no one do do my wife's pedicure. I sent my wife in for her massage, then made my way to the front desk. The clerk apologized, but made no sincere attempt to rectify the problem, nor did he offer any options. I found this totally unacceptable, especially given the supposed caliber of this hotel. My wife and I have stayed at hotels ranging from the Hay Adams in DC, to a simple Clarion Inn in northern Ontario, and no one has ever fouled up anything this simple, ever. To add insult to injury, we were charged the full price for the one massage, with no offers of any sort of compensation for our inconvenience. The Minslyn is a gorgeous hotel, but if you book any luxury items, you'd be well advised to double or triple check your reservation, as well as have a contingency plan ready. Better yet, save yourself the hassle and pick one of the many other options in Luray.

We went for Valentine's day dinner-and-dancing package. The dining experience was very good. However, we never got to dance because management chose to handle their over-booking mistake by turning the ballroom into a dining room. We were not allowed to dance at all. Management was very uncaring once we had paid for the package. We chose to leave rather than continue to get answers like, " So what do you expect me to do about it!" When we left, the lobby was crowded with irate couples. I just don't feel comfortable trusting Mimslyn with another special occasion.

We live in Luray, so cannot comment on the accommodations, but we have eaten at the Mimslyn Inn. Both Circa 31 and Speakeasy serve delicious food with great service. Speakeasy has a casual atmosphere with a very nice bar. Circa 31 is more formal, but dressing up is not required to eat there. The hotel was recently renovated and they have done a very good job with the restaurants and lobby.