A Free Night at a Bed and Breakfast

Tonight, we are headed to Dubuque for another mini-vacation.  I know, it's kind of our spot, but we just love it there.  There are two reasons for this trip.

A) It's the 10-year anniversary of our relationship.  I had hoped to go to Chicago, but the general craziness of this summer left us without the financial means to do such a trip.  Smaller is better.

B) We have a free night at a bed and breakfast.

I scored this deal by being a considerate customer. 

About a month ago, we stayed at a bed and breakfast on another trip to Dubuque (my only sibling does lives in the area).  We'd never stayed at a B&B before so we were curious what it would be like.

Overall, we enjoyed our accommodations, but we had two issues.  Because we didn't meet our hosts (privacy being a huge bonus at this place), I sent this email:

This was our first time staying at a bed-and-breakfast and overall it was a decent experience.  We love older homes and we really appreciated how you kept a historical ambiance to the room but updated with newer amenities. The aesthetic is something we'd like to recreate!

However, we did encounter two drawbacks.  The major one is that the ceiling leaked (that's why you found towels over the register).  We lived in a Victorian years back and are forgiving of quirks, but the leak was all throughout the night and was noisy.  It didn't make for a great night of sleep despite the luscious bed.  

Secondly, the whirlpool tub is in need of a cleaning.  We love big bathtubs, so props for including it, but when we turned on the jets, we were covered in debris.  I suspect someone used rose petals in there and some got sucked into the jets.  It washed off easily, but it was a disappointment.

Thanks for taking the time to read these.  As I said, we had a decent visit and loved many details - breakfast was also good and we very much appreciated the privacy.  But with the above items, we don't feel like we got everything out of the Solon Langworthy House we were hoping for.  


Within a matter of minutes, I got a very apologetic email back from the owner expressing their dismay over the hiccups we experienced.  They even sent pictures of the ceiling being torn into for repairs!


In the end, they offered us a complimentary stay.  That certainly wasn't my intention when I emailed them - being a teacher and editor, professional feedback is just a given with me.  

But case in point - if you have dissatisfaction with service or a product, provide your feedback in a polite and respect way.  You never know what you may get in return.