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Thursday, October 15, 2015

St Joseph, MO: Historic Inn + Dilapidated City = Slightly Overpriced Accommodation

Whiskey Mansion Bed and Breakfast
1723 Francis Street
Saint Joseph, MO 64501
Phone: (816) 676-1529
Prices: $$$$


A beautiful, restored historic mansion in a bit of a sketchy neighborhood in St Joe stand as stark contradictions, but once inside Whiskey Mansion the world outside is much less conspicuous. Having suffered arson and gutting back in the 1990s (from what I understood), this mansion, which was built by a whiskey baron back in 1885, has been meticulously restored to its former glory. Too bad the rest of St Joseph has not been treated quite so well.
Entering through the covered porch into the large sitting room, the formal dining room is straight ahead and the room where breakfast is served is to your left. A large entry hall leads to the ornate staircase that takes you to the guest rooms upstairs. On the second floor are seven bedrooms, five large with en suite baths and two "maids rooms" with a shared bath, one of which was our room ($89+tax, including breakfast). 

The rooms are nicely furnished with antiques or reproductions and have TVs with cable, a small refrigerator, heat/air conditioning (Mitsubishi), and wi-fi. There is even a staircase lift for disabled guests on the back (servants) stairs.
Breakfast is served from 7am to 9:30am downstairs and from what I understand, French toast is the norm. Baked in the oven, two large pieces with maple syrup and globs of butter on top came on the plate along with a small fruit cup with fresh pineapple and honey dew melon cubes. The French toast was good, rich and sweet, but there was a little too much of a good thing and I would hate to know how many calories we consumed. Some eggs, bacon, hash browns, and biscuits and gravy would have been nice, but I do not think the kitchen has that capability. If you are paying $100+ per night for a room, you should get more than French toast and some fruit for breakfast. Coffee and tea were self-serve.
A historic and important river city, St Joseph was the hub for westward expansion in the 1800s  with Station #1 of the Pony Express as well as its headquarters and the prime railway embarkation point for Gold Rush travelers headed west. Unfortunately, there is not much happening downtown these days and many of the beautiful old buildings and homes have fallen into disrepair or have been boarded-up. If you are looking for things to do or good restaurants to eat at, you will be challenged in this "once" thriving town, making $100 per night and up for a room a bit of a stretch. I have stayed at nicer B&Bs in much more attractive locales for $75/night, probably a price more appropriate for St Joseph, Missouri.
Downtown St Joe is more like a "ghost town" and good food has also apparently disappeared from the locale. We tried two restaurants while in St Joseph, Il Lazarone, a pizza joint, and the Hi-Ho Bar and Grill, a dive bar with what resembles food. Both were not good, so good luck with meals. I hear McDonald's are plentiful in town ... yuk. So, with deductions for being slightly overpriced, the limited breakfast menu, the lack of decent restaurants in the area, and the dicey neighborhood ...

CombatCritic Gives Whiskey Mansion B&B 7 Bombs Out Of 10 ... Bombs Are Good!


Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - "Elite '14/'15"

TripAdvisor - "Top Contributor" 

Tabelog - "Official Judge (Bronze)

Zomato - "Super Foodie"

... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube

Tabelog Reviewer CombatCriticView my food journey on Zomato!



Title: St Joseph, MO: Historic Inn + Dilapidated City = Slightly Overpriced Accommodation

Key Words: Whiskey Mansion Bed and Breakfast, Whiskey, mansion, bed, breakfast, B&B, hotel, inn, Francis, Street, St Joseph, Saint Joseph, Missouri, TravelValue, travel, value, review, Yelp, TripAdvisor

Omaha, NE: Average Room, Bad Breakfast, And High Price Equals Poor Value

Comfort Inn - Omaha
330 N 30th Street
Omaha, NE 68131
Phone: (402) 345-2222
Website: choicehotels.com/ComfortInn
Prices: $$$$


On the outskirts of downtown Omaha, the location was convenient, but a car is necessary if you want to eat or do any sightseeing. The hotel is your basic five-story box, there is a gym, but there is no pool or hot tub. 

A free "hot breakfast" is advertised and, although true, the hot food consisted of powdered scrambled eggs, bright orange potatoes (potatoes should not be orange unless they are sweet potatoes), and what I assume were breakfast sausage links that likely have a shelf life somewhere into 2035. I have had MREs that tasted better and fresher than Comfort Inn's hot breakfast. There was a sign above the eggs saying: "due to avian flu, locally sourced egg products will not be available for the foreseeable future" or something along those lines. Delightful ... appetizing!

Our room was decent, your typical chain hotel room, with a king size bed, TV/cable, desk and chair, and a small sofa. The wi-fi was very difficult to access and when I asked the woman at the front desk what the problem was, she told me "I don't know, that's the right password, that's all I know". When I asked why the log-in screen would not display so I could enter the password, all I got was a shoulder shrug. Very professional. Considering that our phone's signals were so weak (all over Omaha, including the hotel) that it made it impossible to access the internet or make even a phone call, decent wi-fi at our $100 per night hotel would have been very helpful. Why a city the size of Omaha has such a weak cellular (T-Mobile) signal is beyond me, particularly so close to downtown. Bizarre.

The biggest drawbacks were the leaky toilet in our room that refilled itself (very loudly) every 90 seconds - night and day, the poor wi-fi access, the crappy breakfast, and the front desk woman with a chip on her shoulder. Otherwise, Comfort Inn - Omaha was mediocre at close to $100 per night. A basic room like ours in a budget hotel with no pool in Omaha, Nebraska should cost no more than $70, closer to $49 would have actually been more appropriate.

CombatCritic Gives Comfort Inn - Omaha 4 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!


Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - "Elite '14/'15"

TripAdvisor - "Top Contributor" 

Tabelog - "Official Judge (Bronze)

Zomato - "Super Foodie"

... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube

Tabelog Reviewer CombatCriticView my food journey on Zomato!




Title: Average Room, Bad Breakfast, And High Price Equals Poor Value

Key Words: Comfort Inn, comfort, Inn, Omaha, NE, Nebraska, hotel, breakfast, wi-fi, gym, pool, 30th, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, review, Yelp, TripAdvisor