English Inn

I and members of my family have stayed at The English Inn frequently this year and we have nothing but good things to say about it: reasonably priced, excellent rooms, welcoming and helpful staff, and a free buffet breakfast that is the rival of any restaurant. This is truly one of Charlottesville’s best-​kept secrets.

This is a true old time inn. It is not fancy but it is very clean and comfortable. The hot breakfast buffet is very good. It was «real» food. The staff was friendly and clearly had a vested interest in their jobs and the business. There is plenty of parking. There is a beautiful garden and walking trail behind the inn. I would definitely go back.

Just meh. When we pulled in I was a little worried by the extended stay guests milling about and the general run-​down appearance of the hotel. However, we were allowed to check in several hours early and they had us in connecting rooms — woohoo!
The rooms were clean for the most part. There was a wad of hair on one of the towels, which I plucked off with some toilet paper and didn’t tell the others. The beds though were very creaky. If you sat down on one of them anywhere near the edges (aka, if you didn’t hurl yourself directly onto the middle of the bed) it made a loud farting noise.
Other than Kathy at the front desk, our encounters with the staff were dismal, which really put a sour taste in my mouth. I had tried emailing reservations, then the GM, and then the Sales manager ahead of time with questions and requests and kept getting pushed off to other people and excuses as to why they couldn’t answer my emails in a timely fashion. I left early and the other girl who was paying had a 6:00am flight on the morning of departure, so we stopped by the front desk the night before and provided out cards to the agent for payment. The next morning when everyone else got up to leave, they were told that nothing had been paid on our rooms. Another friend ended up giving her card for one of the rooms, mine was still authorized, it was a mess. I called the GM and he was quite rude and insisted that it was my friends’ faults. No, it was your agent’s fault for not putting billing comments in as requested.
While this is an affordable place to stay and the complimentary breakfast is great, I would not recommend it when there are other comparable hotels in the area. It also cracks me up that they advertise this big, wonderful renovation and the public areas are rundown and sad looking.

I wasn’t sure about this place after reading some of the reviews but we gave it a try. It’s an old hotel that’s been there decades but it’s cute. Our check in was a breeze. The lobby has a nice little seating area around the fireplace (we want to go back at Christmastime). The piped in classical music gives it a classy, old world feel. Our room was nice enough. It was clean, the beds were comfortable and the bathroom amenities were fine. They give you a ton of pillows which I love.
As for the amenities, the pool is good enough although it needs to be cleaned more often. There is a sky-​lighted ceiling which is cool. They could maybe put in some plants or something or maybe some magazines to make it a little more resort-​like and less like a holiday inn.
The high tea time is rather pathetic. They put some styrofoam cups out next to an open tea caddy with tea bags and some sugar cookies on the side. I was kind of expecting real tea cups and saucers (To the owner: nothing expensive, mind you — just go to Goodwill and spend $ 10 on some cheap tea cups) or maybe someone to pour tea.
The breakfast they offered was large and varied.
Overall, an okay experience.

Spent two nights here in June 2015 with my family. The staff were very friendly and helpful, the rooms we clean, and the pool was great. The kids loved how it was decorated with a unique sort of charm. We will definitely make it our place to stay when in Charlottesville.

Only gave one star because that’s the lowest it can go!
Old, old, old…
Old bedding
Toilet not even bolted or glued to the floor.
Pillows are rock hard & mattress is the cheapest they could find.
I woke up with a headache.
I was supposed to stay for 3 nights, NOOOO WAY.
I’m looking for a different place right now,
Don’t este your time and money.

Adequate and friendly is about all I can say. Also, easy to find and lots of parking. The afternoon tea was simply hot water, a small varied of tea bag, and cookies that seemed to come from Costco. Water pressure was lie in the rooms and the TV had lousy reception. Wifi worked but dropped as you walked around the hotel. Breakfast is the same as you would find at any Hampton Inn but the coffee was tasteless. There is a bagel shop and a hot dog place within walking distance so that saved the morning. Overall, the place is fine for a day or so as long as you don’t let the name get your hopes up

Bad. Bad. Bad.
Don’t be anywhere near a rush when you come here. They often only have one person staffing the front desk. I just called to cancel a reservation and waited 13 minutes on the phone to do so.
And guess what… when they finally came to the phone, they said they didn’t even have a reservation for me! Thank goodness I didn’t need it.
Never again, English Inn. Never again.
UPDATE: THEY CHARGED MY CREDIT CARD ANYWAY! So they DID have a reservation and just couldn’t find it!

Ugh. This place was not what is was supposed to be… I thought it was a bed and breakfast but it was actually a motel. A gross, out-​dated motel. The «heated pool» was freezing… and when I complained to the front desk the woman said she would look into it. Hours later she called and stated a part needed to be ordered and the heater was broken. In the room, the carpet was gross so I lined the floors with towels so my daughter could take off her shoes. I just wish I had spend a little more money and gone to a real bed and breakfast…$ 125 including tax was waaaay too expensive for a lousy motel. Anyone who gave this place more than 2 stars is drinking.

Stayed here for 2 nights. Room was clean (there was one bug), and tv and air conditioning worked fine. Staff was polite and helpful when we needed anything. They have a «high tea» with cookies in keeping with the English theme. Close to the UVA campus — a little more than walking distance but we never had trouble finding parking around town. Would stay here again.

Understanding this hotel is located in a college town, its still very disappointing.
Upon arrival at 12:30 P.M. the front desk agent was in no mood to help me, my wife, and a group of four friends gain access to a room so we could change for a 2:30 wedding located a half hour away. The woman’s «helpfulness» consisted of an «I can’t be bothered attitude» that ended with telling us we could change in the very small public bathroom. That was it, nothing else could be done she said. They don’t even start cleaning until 12 she said, meanwhile the next day the maid was cleaning rooms as early as 10:00 A.M.
The hotel itself is old, located outside of downtown Cville. Common areas are very dark. Rooms are «suites» that include old carpeting, old furniture, and very uncomfortable couches and beds.
The only redeeming qualities about this hotel I experienced was the free WiFi that I didn’t even use.
Go somewhere else, anywhere else. Unless you score a room in the separate building for luxury suites. Being there is a completely different experience worthy of ones time and money.

Not a fan at all. I tour for a living and this has got to be one of the lower scale hotels I’ve been in. I found two bugs in my bed. When I called down to complain about it, instead of changing my room immediately the employee thought that questioning me about how the bug looks was more important. He was also very rude. If it’s a one night stay you’ll be okay otherwise spend your money elsewhere…

Charming, cozy inn with plenty of warmth. On the bitterly cold night I arrived, I was greeted by the dark wood, fireplace and thick, ornate rugs of the lobby. The bedroom and bathroom in my king-​size suite were large and modern. The living room and kitchenette were adequate and clean.
Full breakfast provided. Coffee could be better, but it’s a small complaint. Front desk staff was pleasant and efficient.
A big plus is the convenient proximity to the highway (it’s not noisy, I promise), as well as to the shopping center with places to shop and eat, and the UVA Law School and Army JAG Legal Center and School.

What a pleasant surprise! We arrived last minute with two small children. Not only did they give us a great rate, they upgraded us to a recently renovated suite. The employee at check-​in had a basket of little trinkets for the kids to choose from and they offered cookies at check-​in.
The pool was great for our little ones and the hot buffet breakfast was really nice. Easily would have been $ 30 or so in a restaurant.
Like the other reviewers stated, the décor is a little dated. However the staff, pool, and breakfast certainly made up for that. Will return.

Simple inn, but has real character about it and a very nice staff. I love the big fireplace and wood paneling in the entrance lobby. Also very decently priced! Given price and comfort, this is probably the best value you can get from a hotel!

I was pleasantly surprised by the English Inn. It is a little dated, but the staff was SO nice, friendly and helpful. We checked in around 8:15pm one night and wanted to take a cab over to the downtown mall… so the front desk said they would get one for us. I said by 9pm would be great, and it was there by 8:50pm! The front desk just called and said the cab had arrived. So nice. And the bed was very comfortable! Another plus is that there was a fridge AND a microwave in our room.
And there was a hair in the bathtub. And as soon as we got there, we ran out of toilet paper. (Just need to put an extra roll in the bathroom, I don’t need anything fancy… just need the TP…)
Overall, it was a nice place to lay our heads for a reasonable price.

The English Inn is a comfortable place to stay, but it is a bit dated and worn. There are a few nice items like the afternoon tea that I always missed because I was out with relatives. The pool looks good.
The rooms are comfortable, but I wish I could open a window at night. The AC unit is old, noisy, and doesn’t really do a good job of removing the moisture in the air. The TV is a nice flat screen, but the picture never filled the screen. The WiFi is slow and unreliable. The beds are ok, but bedspreads seem to be a thing of the past. The countertop for the sink has very limited space for toiletries. My biggest complaint is the towels. They are old and worn. You can almost see through them. They just don’t do the job.
Overall, it is ok for the price, but needs many upgrades.

Whenever I visit Charlottesville, this is where I stay. I actually look forward to my trips to Charlottesville because of the English Inn. I have been staying here for over four years for business and personal reasons and they never disappoint.
Free breakfast in the mornings! The fireplace in the lobby area is so charming– lots of nice out of the ways places to sit and enjoy a book. The front desk service is great! The décor of the rooms and the hotel is very charming. You will see a lot of families staying here. They also just updated their pool! It looks wonderful.
You are also a short drive from many shopping centers, grocery stores, etc. I stayed here once for a show at the John Paul Jones Arena and we walked to the show and back. It is a little bit of a hike but traffic for shows can be terrible and I prefer the walk.

The place is quite nice and the décor is pleasant but, as I was warned on Trip Adviser the WiFi is slow… the desk assured me it was the «other» building when we called ahead and the uninterested desk male when we arrived could care less. Pages do load but slow and it can be exasperating waiting for one to load with extra content. Speed test shows 1 mb download… My home cable is 20!
Nice rooms, full size frig, good shower, outlet challenged some although there was a plug in strip under the diesk, wifi working but mediocre like most motels, breakfast OK but eggs very greasy with butter dripping off the scrambled eggs.
Desk was VERY attentive to my complaints!

A wonderful find in Charlottesville.
We lived just outside Charlottesville for a long year in 2008. When we came back to town for an overnight visit we wanted to stay in a place that was unlike the never ending chain hotels that line Rt. 29. We’d passed the English Inn countless times, and were so happy to call them and ask for a room.
Here’s the fun part. When I asked about prices, Lindsay told me the price of their standard room. I asked about their suites and was told that they were a bit higher, and they were – by a whopping $ 10. I immediately booked a King suite for my family of three and we went to explore the room.
In all honesty, it was more of a mini suite, only because the living area and sleeping area were separated by a hallway instead of a closed door. The hallway contained a kitchenette (microwave and mini fridge) and the bathroom, and was more than effective in keeping the noise and light from one area away from the other. This allowed my son to watch kid’s programming and go to sleep on the sofa bed while his dad and I tuned into the news and read in the bedroom. Just what we needed.
The hotel is decorated to look like an English Manor. Lots of comfy seating and dark wood. I wish I’d thought to take photos, as it was very nicely done.
The lobby was stocked with tea and fresh cookies, which the desk staff told me were baked throughout the day. The large indoor pool was stocked with towels, and was open from 7am to 10pm, plenty of time to swim a few laps. Breakfast is served every day, and included fresh eggs and sausage along with breads and cereals.
Our vacation included 5 separate hotel stays. The English Inn was the only non-​corporate hotel, and was by far the most pleasant on our list. Having stayed there once, my family will make it a point to recommend it to other families visiting the Charlottesville area, and will be sure to stay there again.