Blackbird Inn - A Four Sisters Inn

What a disappointment!!! We had stayed at Bed and Breakfasts before and this one I would not come back. The positive: central location. The negatives: We stayed in room 3 on the first floor. The room's carpet is very old, a dark brown that needs to be replaced for a clean looking carpet. The room is big but it felt old, dark and totally outdated. I know they are going for an antique vibe, but this felt and dated. We had an outside terrace that was totally covered in dust. The bathroom was big, but OLD, the tub was very dated and when I decided to take a shower, the water pressure was horrible. I tried everything...just a trickle of water from both shower heads...not good. We tried to sleep, but the walls are so thin you hear everything...my husband had to call someone to complaint about another guest talking so loud that they woke us up at 4 am!!! Next was breakfast, you had to choose a slot time to have the Frittata. We chose 8:30. When we got to the breakfast area (the living room that had 3 small tables) we found several ugly looking military style trays with Saran Wrap on top of the food. We picked ours (they had numbers) to discover that everything was cold, the fritatta was cold and dried up. Same with the English Mouffin. The fruit was acceptable. When I went to see if they could change it for a fresh one...no luck. The reception was empty and one girl was running the whole operation. She disappeared after bringing the trays. To make things better, there was NOWHERE to seat. We had to seat at the sofa...all the tables were taken. Most people took their trays to eat in their rooms. How could you offer breakfast and not have enough tables for your guests? We did not eat the breakfast...we had coffee and tea. After you finished the "breakfast"everyone took their trays, and cleaned them to place them in a closet. The food was terrible, there was nowhere to seat and you had to clean up after yourself???!!!This felt like a school cafeteria kind of place...not a Bed and Breakfast. Next day, when we saw on the board what was being offered for breakfast, we texted the lady to put the cheese on the side because of lactose intolerance. They answered that any changes had to be made the night before....well, we did not know what the options were until that morning. My husband was able to make the change, but they made us wait an extra hour for breakfast. We rushed that morning to get a table and eat like humans, and we had to wait. The level of non service is totally unacceptable. I would not come back to this place. Stay away, it is a complete rip of!!!!

Avoid - fraudulent business practices. I was charged $115 on my card without a word shortly after checking in. After inquiring, I was told the charge was an additional fee for having a 3rd guest in their suite. Except I had specified 3 guests at time of booking, and staff admitted that the official website does not include or acknowledge the fee at checkout. The wildest part is no one cared to tell me at check in - they just charged me and hoped I’d never question it. Really sneaky stuff. I will be disputing with my credit card, as they have refused to refund me a fee that was never disclosed. This was on top of other strangely unwelcoming behavior from staff that I’ve never encountered at a hotel or b&b. From the beginning, the brunette woman at the front desk was unfriendly and made me feel like an imposition. I had been up since 4 am traveling and was at the property before 3 pm check in. I asked politely about the possibility of early check in and was told it wasn’t until 3 without the slightest indication they’d try to accommodate. Fine. But I was also denied access to a bathroom as a paying guest who had been on the move for hours. When I finally checked in, they dictated their myriad rules to me like a child who had already done something wrong. I was also given the wrong room at check in and had to go through a whole back and forth to get it resolved. When the same brunette staff member finally admitted I had been given the wrong key by her coworker, instead of apologizing she said, “Maybe if you had told her the room number….” Really? The defensiveness was so unprofessional and childish. TLDR: the property itself was fine, but combative staff and shady fees make it absolutely not worth it. My other friends stayed at Churchill Manor and loved it.

This location and the space are beautiful. However, our overall experience was immediately sullied by whoever manages the texts for this operation. The texts started kind but immediately devolved into militance over basic things like breakfast scheduling. Our flights had been delayed by a snowstorm and we had a grueling trip in. After fighting airports and arriving without our luggage by 3am, we awoke to a text saying that our breakfast had been thrown out after we had not presented ourselves for breakfast promptly at 8:30am. When I explained the delays and the grueling nature of the travel, the text response was that i should have communicated that we would not be showing up for breakfast. These sorts of texts continued throughout our trip and ended up with an actual Face to face altercation over arriving for breakfast on time. The altercation occurred after they had asked us on a sheet of paper what time we wanted breakfast but then assumed we wanted the earlier breakfast, to which we had arrived one minute late to the time we indicated. It seems they have a breakdown in their own communication as well. Do not go to this place to relax on vacation. This felt like a prison. It caused me undue stress after a stressful travel situation and put me on high alert every time personnel sent us a message. I imagine most everyone there is pleasant and kind and this was one person who really needs anxiety medication but nonetheless as long as they are working there and in charge of breakfast and texts, do not use your money or time unless you’re looking for a bit of masochism.

I was excited to stay at the Blackbird inn but needed to cancel. When I attempted to cancel, exactly 7 days prior to arrival (per their reservation policy) the employee who answered the phone told me he was unable to cancel & told me I would have to email the manager, which I did. I called back later in the day & expressed to the same employee that I was concerned about being charged if the manager didn't get back to me that day. He put me on hold & said he was able to cancel the reservation. I received and email confirmation which $0 charge for the room. When I reviewed my credit card statement, they charged me anyway! When I called the inn, the woman who answered told me that I cancelled outside the window even though it was exactly 7 days prior. If that was the case, why didn't the 1st employee tell me that I was outside the window when I expressed concern about being charged? I would have kept the reservation if I knew, however inconvenient. Not only was this woman not helpful, but she was incredibly rude to a customer who was clearly upset. I wanted to speak to the owner & was told I could not. When I asked the employee for her name, she HUNG UP ON ME. I was hoping that this inn would become one of our new favorite getaways but not with such horrible customer service.

This is a beautiful bed and breakfast. The location is walkable to “downtown”. Napa with amazing shops and restaurants. The front porch is a great place to sit and enjoy a glass of wine. Highly recommend!