Inn at Perry Cabin, A Belmond Hotel. St Michaels, MD

100   Recommended
October 9, 2018 by EXPERT

 Map | 1 Review | 100% Recommended
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Inn at Perry Cabin by Belmond
 Map | 1 Review | 100% Recommended

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Liked:
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Planning

I have looked, and relooked at the resort options within driving distance in the Mid-Atlantic probably monthly over the past 10 years.. Nothing really stands out.. It feels like there are flaws for every option… places include Salamander, Nemacolin, Glendorn, Woodloch, Inn at Little Washington, Inn at Perry Cabin.. etc etc… All these places seemed to be a bit overpriced for what they offer, or just don’t interest me…. Particularly Inn at Perry Cabin (henceforth the IPC)… the town seemed uninterested, the property itself seemed old and in need of a renovation… I seem to remember  a whole lot of floral prints, which makes sense because it was an old Laura Ashley property or something like that.. Plus the summer rates seemed to be astronomical.. I happened to see on Instagram a picture though that showed a very thoughtful renovation and a removal of the florals recently so I put it back onto my radar… Fast forward to Monday afternoon- I happened to get Tuesday and Wednesday off at last minute and since our kids were otherwise elsewhere we decided on a last minute getaway… my wife and I did much debating (Amish Dutch country, Washington DC, Annapolis, Shenadoah Valley) and finally came to a consensus of Inn at Perry Cabin.. I figured that after 10 years of living in the area, it was time to give it a shot… so I shot a text to Besvisor and within 30 minutes he had contacted the hotel and gotten us a confirmed upgrade to a Luxury Water View Suite as well as Virtuoso amenities applied to a surprisingly affordable discounted rate. Say what you want about that guy but he definitely hustles and gets things done!

Arrival/Check In

From Baltimore, it was less than a 2 hour drive to get there. The most annoying thing is the traffic up until the Bay Bridge. The IPC is located right after you pass through the town of St Michaels itself.. We pulled up the valets were waiting to take our car and our bags. We declined on our bags but did offer up our car. Of note they have a number of electric car charger spots; however, I drive a very thirsty SUV that’s like throwing $5 bills out the window… Our name was taken for the car, but never relayed to anyone. At check-in, they couldn’t find our registration card because we had literally just made the reservation 2 hours before. She found us in the computer and remarked that “it would have been nice if they had let us know”… from what I understand Besvisor had contacted the hotel to get the upgrade confirmed/amenities included so sounds like that information had not been transmitted to the front desk. So there was a bit of a wait as she had to print out the registration card/virtuoso note; which was made a bit longer by the printer being out of paper (and then it printing the 30 things in queue before our stuff). Standard ID/CC check and then off we went.. the experience took a lot longer than I really would like, but I could imagine it would be smoother if they had had our stuff prepared. The couple checking in next to us was checking in for two weeks, which definitely seemed like a long time to spend in St Michaels

Room

Our most exclusive suites and presidential in nature. Centrally located, they feature an expansive water view, fireplace and spacious bathroom with soaking tub. 

 

That’s how they describe the suite. Of note they also describe it as having a separate half bathroom (which I didn’t realize until now). I liked the room. However, it really didn’t live up to billing. Let’s start with things I liked: really enjoyed the décor.. it’s slightly masculine but really works for my aesthetic. I’m not a huge fan of color so I like things that are shades of grey, brown etc. They had a Nespresso Vertuo machine at the entry, which I had never experienced but I’ve decided I prefer the capsules. No minibar; which is fine with me but an empty fridge was convenient.. I brought a couple bottles of champagne and the refrigerator did the trick. The sitting area was quite comfortable and cozy, with a fireplace that would be nice during colder months.. The bedroom had a very very comfortable bed.. both rooms opened up to a walk out terrace that was simply furnished with a table and two chairs. It really would have been nice for them to provide a key as a means to leave the room from the terrace and lock the door… The bathroom was quite large and well equipped. The soaking tub was great.. I would say that the suite ended up being probably 3 equally sized rooms of about 250-300 square feet each.. while a comfortable suite, I would hardly call it presidential in nature.. If there was a half bath somewhere, I sure didn’t find it (and I’m the type who peeks and prods everywhere). In addition, while the view was nice, I certainly wouldn’t call it expansive in nature. So yes, I got a great deal on the top level suite here, but honestly if I was paying peak summer prices ($1600++) I would be quite disappointed. The description seems to take some liberties… Finally, and probably most importantly, the sound proofing is awful at the hotel. We could hear our upstairs neighbors walking (and I’m pretty sure they were just walking) and I know it wasn’t just us. First morning sitting outside I heard somewhere say to their upstairs neighbors hello and we can hear your kids walking…. So if I were to return, I would request a 3rd floor room…

 

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Location

It’s located right on the water, just outside of the town of St. Michael’s. Everything is within walking distance. St Michael’s is one of the cute quaint one street towns that you only really need one day to see. I’m not sure what else there is to do there.. but if you’re visiting St. Michael’s, I guess the location is convenient…

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Dining

We took breakfast each morning outside. It was a lovely setting to set by the water and enjoy coffee/breakfast. Service was a bit slow but they did all of the requisite breakfast things in an appropriate manner.. so neither amazing, nor bad.. we had one meal at the Purser’s Pub, because apparently one needs long pants to eat in their fine dining restaurant… the service was friendly and the food good, but my crab soup didn’t come out very hot so I had to send it back. No service recovery was offered…

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Activities

Bikes are readily available for use and there are tennis courts on site. We took advantage of the waterfront location to paddleboard each day, which was pretty calm and easy here. The pool area is fairly small and enclosed, which makes me wonder why they didn’t maybe make a more of a statement pool (or at least one that faces the water)… there’s a full service spa that we didn’t find time to use.. There are many many boating options if you're the boating type...

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Service/check out

The service was appropriate.. nothing really stood out. Everyone was quite friendly, and our servers always quite engaging.. I would describe the service as youthful but energetic. Turndown treats of cookies was great. Our bill was appropriate on checkout. Of note, they do levy a service percentage charge (10%) as a resort fee... which I hate.. the lack of communication at check-in also was disappoitning, considering that Besvisor had literally just contaced the hotel.. 

 

EDIT: I can't believe I forgot.. what isn't there a picture of? Let me give you a hint.. any sort of welcome amenity... I'm not sure if a welcome amenity is part of the Virtuoso standard, but I can't rememner the last time I stayed in a purported luxury hotel that didn't offer one.. 

Overall

Well, we finally made it to Inn at Perry Cabin and I finally finished this lacluster review.. which I guess is my general feeling about the hotel.. It made for a nice weekend getaway but it wasn’t anything overly special. If you’re in the Baltimore Washington Philadelphia area I would make a trip, but it’s not a place worth traveling to. We had a nice time, but don’t see the need to return anytime.. The soundproofing; rather lack there of is a huge negative to the rooms. Everything else seemed to be ok, but not quite to the standard that I would consider a true luxury hotel…

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