We pass through Brattleboro a couple times per year, and recently Covered Bridge Inn had become our go-to spot to stay overnight - a simple, affordable, comfortable hotel right near the highway. We hope to return in peak season to find the place we love and remember in future.
However, it’s a different place in the winter/off-season. Upon arrival, we were shown to a double bed room, and told that the hotel was “full” and no other rooms were available, with a nearly empty parking lot. Indeed, despite the No Vacancy sign out front, we only came across a handful of other guests during our stay.
After much insistence that we had booked and paid for a king bed, we were shown to a room that clearly wasn’t intended to be rented out, as it was shabby and in disrepair. But it did have a king bed, so we took it.
In the summer, we enjoyed complimentary coffee in the lobby and a simple breakfast from 6-10AM. Here in December, we had to ask twice before finally having the breakfast room opened at 8:45AM, and in the meantime we’d already gone next door to McDonald’s to get our morning coffee.
We know Covered Bridge Inn can be so much better than this, but we’ll probably stay somewhere else in winter from now on.