The Richards House Bed & Breakfast Inn

My sister and I just returned from a lovely stay here. To think, we almost cancelled our reservations based on previous reviews! What a loss that would have been. There were no animals to be seen and no urine smell. The house is going under some renovations, but I believe that is to be expected in a place this old. The home is decorated beautifully and Michelle is a gracious hostess who puts out an AMAZING breakfast. And the cost cannot be beat. We will return. Thank you, Michelle!

Although the price is cheap and the rooms could be beautiful I would never stay here again, nor would I recommend it to my worst enemy. My husband and I went here for our anniversary and were extremely disgusted to the point where we tried to find other accommodations. Unfortunately it was a holiday weekend and everything nearby was booked. The house is in desperate need of repairs. Our room had deteriorating carpeting and the stairs to the inn were an accident waiting to happen. The smell of cat urine is overpowering at the entry way and in the Library Room. The only way we were able to handle staying there was to find the nearest Walgreens and buy some heavy duty Febreze. The odor permeated everything to the point that we pulled over and used the Febreze on ourselves on the drive home because it was all was so overpowering. The major issue is the bugs. I know know, much to my detriment, that the couple of bugs which I saw on a shelf and dismissed as being part of being in an old house were bed bugs. Of course some of these tagged along home with us resulting in a very costly exterminator bill. Never ever stay here. Spend the extra money and find somewhere else!

I’d say overall this is a good bed and breakfast. The owners have a great selection of DVDs, they’re gracious hosts and the interior of the house is amazing. The house is still undergoing renovations, so the front porch is clearly a temporary structure that is incongruous with the historic nature of the home itself, and the building is covered in various types of scaffolding. You don’t notice this from the inside.
The only serious downside to the house is that the front hall smells very strongly like cats, in the worst way. It smells like cats have been using the front vestibule as a litter box. It does not smell like cats outside of the common areas; the rooms are perfectly fine. But that smell is incredibly strong and off-​putting. I could smell it in the dining room while we were eating breakfast so I had to breathe through my mouth to maintain my appetite.
Once they get rid of that problem and finish the renovations, this will be an excellent bed and breakfast.

The delicious breakfast alone was worth the price. But between the BluRay players, working fireplaces, gorgeous woodwork/​tile work/​stained glass, and the central location, it’s probably the best bang for the buck I’ve found in a long time. A total gem. You won’t regret it!

This place is an experience. Not for everyone, you have to have an appreciation for a little of the unexpected, imperfect, and curious. The house is super spooky from the outside… Undergoing an extensive and prolonged restoration. The interior isn’t perfect either, but it’s clean and charming in its this-​is-​definitely-​old kind of way.
The breakfast is amazing!!! Warm Blueberry cake, waffles, egg casserole, poached pears, bacon, juice and coffee. We were so full we didn’t have to eat lunch!
The owners are very warm and friendly. They give a tour when you check in and chat over breakfast. They have a couple of sweet cats that roam the common areas.
Overall, incredible value and would stay again!

I love this place. The outside of the house has certainly taken a beating over the years, and in this economy it’s completely understandable that continual updates of maintaining a home built in 1883 are going to be quite a lot of money… but the owners of this gorgeous B&B really maintain the interior of the place very well.
The home is like a huge maze of amazingly vintage nooks and crannies. Everywhere you turn, there is something gorgeous to look at. My Grandma and I take an annual trip to Iowa to go visit family and we always make it a point to pass through Dubuque to have the chance to stay in this beautiful home.
Not only is it simply stunning, the breakfast is out of this world!
Last time we were there, our breakfast consisted of a giant bowl of fresh fruit, freshly baked blueberry cake (still warm), waffles, Canadian bacon, and eggs! If we were to have gone out to breakfast, something like that would have easily cost us $ 20 or more. Get this: our total bill for the night stay and complimentary breakfast… was only $ 61.
You can’t beat it!
The owners are adorable. The place is more awesome than words. The price is astonishing.
Road trip to Iowa anyone???

UPDATE: during our stay, Dubuque got 10″ of rain. The House is in the process of getting a new roof & gutters – the latter of which were going to be installed the next day – so a corner of our room leaked in the middle of the night. We felt horrible. Few places of that vintage could withstand such a deluge even with a roof on.
We told the owners of the situation the following morning, & they gave us our two rooms for free: not just ours, but our parents’ room, which was free from water. They want us to come back again, & felt this was the only way to do that.
It was a sad stay in that regard, but they maintained their respectability, personability, & a professional attitude throughout. Would stay there again!