National House Inn

We’ve done several «beer trips» to Michigan and always try to include Dark Horse. The National House Inn is within walking distance from Dark Horse and is an amazing place. Though an old historic building, it’s very clean with beautifully decorated rooms (more stylish and chic than the «country» feel that a lot of B&Bs have). My only negative is that the coffee and breakfast could be better (usually there’s a quiche or frittata, toast, waffles, fruit, hard-​boiled eggs, etc., but it’s not great quality).

This is the most beautiful bed and breakfeast we have ever stayed at. It was very clean and smelled like hot apple pie as soon as we walked in the registration area. The room was very clean and neat. Walking distance from Dark Horse Brewery a plus for the hubby and also walking distance for fabulous shops for me…

I was delighted to find National House Inn while I was planning a trip to visit Dark Horse Brewing. It is less than a half mile away!
I like bed and breakfast places. They are a nice change from the chain hotels. National House is the biggest one that I have ever stayed at. I think they have about 15 rooms. No one was checked in when we arrived, so we looked at all of the rooms on a self guided tour. They vary from tiny with two twin beds to huge with a clawfoot tub bathroom and a private sitting room. My room, the Crary, was in the middle range with a queen bed and small private bath. It was plenty of room for me.
On the technology front. My room contained the tiniest TV that I have ever seen. I believe it was 15″. It is like watching a laptop from across the room. This was really obvious to me as I was actually using my laptop so the comparison was right there in front of me. TV is not super important to me, but I will watch if it is available. In this situation, I didn’t bother after the first try.
Free wi-​fi is available with no password. The signal was weak for my phone, but my laptop was able to get a strong signal. This allowed me to take some notes for my Unilocal review.
The mattress was a bit firmer than I prefer, but it didn’t hamper my sleeping. I realize that it is difficult to please everyone in this respect.
What did hamper my sleeping were a variety of small things that added up to irritation…
There is a big church clock chiming somewhere in town. Of course it chimes out the hour count, but it also makes noise on the quarter hour too. I believe it was off between 11PM and 6:59AM, but I did not welcome the 7AM wake-​up from it. This is not the fault of my inn keeper, but I do want to let everyone know about it.
The National House is located directly on the main traffic circle which is used by every vehicle going through Marshall. Combine that with the fact that people in Michigan don’t seem overly concerned with muffler maintenance and it makes for a near constant rumble as the cars move in and out of the circle. Luckily, the traffic is very light in the middle of the night, so it didn’t bother my sleep then, but it does start up pretty early. I think I would prefer a room on the back of the house next time.
Sleeping in is doomed to failure. Beyond the clock bells and the traffic, my next challenge was my fellow travelers. Creaky floor boards are to be expected in an old building, but early risers can drive you mad with all their walking around. It was as if the boards in my room were actually creaking when someone walked around anywhere on my floor. I could not sleep through that.
So it was time for breakfast. It is served in a dining room with about 5 tables. There was one other couple sitting at a two person table, so we sat at another table.
Barbara had prepared a tasty, but cold quiche and some lemon poppy seed bread. After getting us started with coffee, she cooked up a fresh waffle with blueberries for us.
Beyond that, breakfast was mostly self serve. It was good food, but nothing stood out.
The National House Inn is a solid performer, doing some things right with room for improvement on others. I would normally give this a three star rating, but then I have to factor in the primary goal of my visit to Marshall. I was able to walk to Dark Horse, sample all of their beers over the course of many hours and then walk back to National House. This earns them a fourth star and it is the reason that I will stay here again the next time I am in Marshall.

The National House Inn is a Bed and Breakfast hotel in Historic Marshall, Michigan. It is on the southwest side on the fountain circle and is easily reached from the intersection of highways I-​69 and I-​94.
Each of the rooms is named after a notable person in the history of Calhoun County (Marshall is the Calhoun County seat). There is a short biography of the person that the room is named after posted outside of the room. We found out later that the room we had chosen is said to be haunted! (See «The Lady In Red») However, we were unaware of any supernatural activity during our stay.
The National House has a small private lot, but on-​street parking in the nearby residential area is available.
Many B&B establishments that I have stayed with take great care to assure that their rooms are well decorated and comfortable but in many cases the «breakfast» is somewhat of an afterthought. This is certainly not the case at the National House; the innkeepers do an equally wonderful job of presenting tasty and healthy breakfast choices for their guests.
The breakfast items are offered buffet style– and because of this some offerings on that day’s bill of fare might be «popular» and as such not available for late-​risers. I would say that setting your alarm for an early wake-​up is certainly a small price to pay for the delightful treats that are served each morning to guests at the National House Inn.
Just steps from the Inn are the popular Mansion Street historic district, and the Honolulu House, which was constructed in 1860. The Honolulu House was converted into a historic museum in 1962; I feel it is particularly fun to visit during the Christmas Holidays or during the annual Historic Homes Candlelight walk.
If you can possibly afford the time during your visit to Marshall, I’d strongly advise a stroll down Mansion Street or through the historic downtown area. Driving through just doesn’t give you the same feeling as walking and also being able to stop and enjoy the details of the beautiful buildings.
I was pleased to learn that the innkeepers are more than happy to help with dinner reservations to the nearby Win Schuler’s Restaurant and Pub. If it is at all possible for you to dine, or have Sunday brunch at Schuler’s during your stay– I’d certainly encourage you to do so… but that information correctly belongs in another review!
The National House has a very well designed website that has helpful photos of the rooms offered as well as a complete description of the features of each room. A small negative is that their website does not offer online booking so you must phone to make your reservations.
If you are planning a trip to Southwest Michigan– I’d strongly encourage you to visit Marshall and at least stop by the National House Inn to savor it’s peaceful charm and comfort.