Inn At Kelly’s Ford

This is a review of dinner at the Inn’s restaurant. It was a lovely setting and some things were very good, but overall the dinner was way too expensive overall. Too many items were drowned in food service quality dressing or sauces, which detracted from the overall appearance and taste. The Pub downstairs was better by comparison.
The service was friendly and good. The dining room was empty and we were seated next to a roaring fire. I enjoyed my brie appetizer but it was drowned in caramel sauce and needed more sliced apples. The others in my party had the escargot and said they were so-​so. The salads were ok but drenched in dressing instead of being lightly tossed. My quail was good but suffered from too heavy a bath in cherry sauce. Others enjoyed their veal and steak but the venison was fairly tasteless. All dinners were accompanied by whipped potatoes and perfectly cooked haricots verts. Dinner ended with delicious coffee and pre-​prepared mousse cake that looked and tasted like it came out of a freezer box, drowned in a super sweet raspberry sauce.
For the prices being charged, diners expect top drawer meals. We will not return. We will stick with similarly priced better restaurants like Vintage (in Orange), Trummers on Main (in Clifton), or Palladio (Barboursville) when we want to dine in the country for special meals.

Decided we would go to Pelham’s pub for a couples night and have dinner. As soon as the waitress walks up we ask a question about the menu and she rolls her eyes at us. It was downhill from there. Instead of walking around the table and bringing our drinks and food instead she just sits them on the end of the table and we are required to hand our food and drinks around the table. You complain to the supervisor and apperantly that’s his girlfriend. (No wonder it’s going downhill) So sent an email to owner and her reply was I was rude and ordering shots of Fireball after last call and telling the waiter I wasn’t paying for them and said she has video surveillance to show this. So I emailed her a copy of my receipt with no shots at all ordered And her response was… Nothing. Imagine that. I have never been in a place where the staff was so rude and disrespectful, but then again attitude reflects leadership. I would give zero stars if Unilocal would allow it. One is way too many.

Canoeing at the Inn at Kelly’s Ford
I had gifted my husband with a birthday certificate for canoeing that we were pressed to use since their canoeing concession ends Oct. 1^st, thus this past Wednesday (which happened to be the first day of Autumn & GORGEOUS to boot) we took advantage of it. The Inn folks did warn us that the river level was very low, but also that the rains predicted for the weekend would mean that canoeing would be closed for 48 hrs. afterwards, so our hands were really tied as to using our certificate. Our fault for waiting until the last minute — not theirs.
Nice deal — $ 50 certificate covered everything (apart from the $ 5 we tipped the canoe guy) for anywhere up to 4 – 6 hours out, although the Inn folks said that the trip from drop-​off to pick-​up point tended to run 1 – 2 hours tops if one didn’t want to linger.
We signed our waivers, & were given a little «wet bag» to protect their river map & our cell phone which we would need to phone for pickup once we reached the destination point.
Nice young gentleman got us into our canoes & onto the river (Rappahannock), & off we went. Inn folks were spot-​on about the water level. Much of our trip was spent gliding (or almost gliding) over 8″ or so of sandy/​rocky shallows. And husband did have to get out a couple of times to shove us over a few very shallow spots &/​or rocks. A couple of very tiny «white-​water» areas were fun.
Scenery & wildlife were a bit on the dismal side. We saw a few small schools of Perch-​like fish, three Painted turtles, & one Turkey vulture. Largest volume of «wildlife» in the water was — very sadly — enough tires to outfit a fleet of vehicles. I kid you not — there were DOZENS of tires in just this tiny stretch of the river. Sad.
Anyway — we made it from Point A to Point B in exactly 45 minutes. But husband & I are experienced canoeing enthusiasts, even if this is the first time we’ve dipped our toes into it in a couple of decades. We used to do multi-​day/​week camping/​canoeing (including white water) regularly — throughout New York State, Delaware, & even Canada. This little 45-​minute trip was a perfect re-​introduction for us — just enough to whet our whistles without leaving us crippled the next day — lol!
Husband enjoyed it so much that he’s already cruising canoeing sites online, books at the library, & looking into buying a canoe et al. Guess Kelly’s Ford has given us a new lease on a hobby we used to enjoy & now will again here in Virginia.
(Oh — one thing the Inn might want to address is the condition of the truck (& driver) used to transport us to & from the river. While he did apologize for its condition, we literally had to pick through a sea of interior trash (clothes, empty water bottles, food trash, etc.) in order to find spots to sit down. In addition, this gentleman did — as Woody Allen would say — drive a «tad rapidly» for the winding roads we encountered. Just a heads up.)

We had a wonderful time. It was cold, but as it is January that’s what you get. The rooms are beautiful and I love the fact that they have a fireplace and they keep it well stocked with all the wood you could ever need. The food was delicious. I had the lobster tail and my husband had fish, I think it was swordfish, but we both thought it was incredible. I would recommend this place to anyone or any couple that needs to get away. It does a lot for the spirit.

My boyfriend and I went here last weekend and stayed in General Grant’s cottage. I just recommended this place to my boss for her wedding anniversary, and would do for anyone!
We had a huge bathtub in our bathroom, and the bathroom was altogether great for a couple who lives in a teeny apartment in D.C.
The king size bed was kind of lumpy and not the best nights sleep, but the fireplace and supplied wood was a great bonus and we used all of it up one night roasting sausages and marshmallows. Really perfect for a January night.
It’s only about 1 ½ hours from D.C., but feels worlds away. We were looking for a romantic getaway and definitely got just that. The sunsets were lovely, as were the room service breakfast we got as part of the Living Social deal we bought. Highly recommend french toast and eggs Benedict.
We did an hour-​long trail ride and our guide was great and gave us a sense of what it’s like to live out in Culpepper, lots of hunting and farming, while making sure we both felt safe on the horses.
Went out to Lurray Caverns for a day and the Shenandoahs are about 30 minutes away.
This is a place for some peace and nature, and if that’s what you’re looking for, this place won’t let you down!

Our family ate Thanksgiving lunch at the Inn at Kelly’s Ford. Prices are high ($ 12 for an appetizer salad!!!), food was mediocre (my sister-​in-​law made an unsolicited comment that my stuffing was better than theirs), and the service was poor (the staff appeared undertrained and in need of more bodies). We won’t be going back to this B&B for meals.

Recently had our daughters wedding ceremony and reception here. My biggest complaint would have to be the service at the wedding dinner. While the food was excellent, the service at our table (consisting of brides parents and immediate family) was horrendous. For example, when the first course came out, everyone was served except the brides father. HIs came out about 15 minutes later when everyone else was done. After repeated requests from several servers the wine we were supposed to be served never arrived. When the wedding cake was cut and served our table received none. Several requests for cake went unheeded. I finally had to get up, find our wedding coordinators assistant and ask her (who was enjoying a piece of cake, by the way) to please see that our table got some wedding cake. We had an open bar the whole night and it seemed like they could have had more bartenders on duty as the line for drinks was too long. It appeared that the servers were all high schoolers who had never been in a dining room before. Through all this, we couldn’t help but notice that the vendors table got appetizers, courses, wine and desert before our table. Clearly not the service we were expecting given the price we paid.
My other complaint would be the food at the rehearsal luncheon the day before the wedding. While the wedding dinner was excellent this luncheon food was awful. Hard to believe these two meals came out of the same kitchen!

We stayed for two nights right after thanksgiving 2012. This was our first experience at a B&B and it was wonderful! The staff were friendly, our room was amazing, and we’d love to go back. The room was large and included a wood burning fire place, two person jacuzzi, shower, king size bed, and walk out patio.
We booked our trip through Living Social and it included a horse back trail ride which was guided by a very friendly staff member.
The only complaint was that it was in the middle of no where and I felt like an outsider in the predominantly Caucasian area.

Just an introductory note that I am reviewing this for the inn, not the restaurants.
Regardless of what other people have said, I had an absolutely lovely experience at The Inn at Kelly’s Ford. Every single element of our stay was above and beyond my expectations, and I could not have asked for a better location for a getaway. The location is stunning, the service is great, and the suites are so cozy and nice. I may not have a lot of experience in upscale inns, but I nevertheless felt that my experience here was well above average.
We stayed in one of the cottage suites, which was the perfect balance between being central in location and isolated from the noise of the pub, restaurant, and reception area that you would get staying in one of the main house rooms. The room had a very comfortable bed, a fireplace, and a gigantic bathroom with a jacuzzi-​style tub, a shower big enough for two people, and marble floors. Every little detail about the rooms was charming.
We also went on a trail ride with their equestrian center. The staff there was extremely professional and gave just the right ratio of instruction to independence to us. They even had an extra-​large horse for my very tall boyfriend ready for us. The trail ride gave us an even better concept of how expansive and beautiful their property is, and their horse shows must be spectacular considering how many amenities and resources they had.
Also included in our stay was breakfast both days, which was served in a timely fashion and tasted great. The service was very good in regards to all elements of our stay, from reception to cleaning to breakfast. There is also a pool, which is medium-​sized but peaceful and well-​kept; two restaurants on site; and plenty of activities in which to take part while you are there, including horseback riding, inner tubing, fishing, canoeing, and kayaking.
For anyone who enjoys a quiet country getaway, and especially for someone who loves outdoor activities and/​or horses, I cannot recommend this place enough. I recognize that it’s not for everybody, but for me, it was a perfect escape.

We had a very good meal here the other night. The hostess was very friendly as was our server. I agree with William H. who states that the service was a little too «folksy and informal» compared to the surroundings, but I’d rather deal with folksy than than snotty and having an attitude! We had a lovely meal at a table by the window with a beautiful view of the pastures. We were celebrating a special event and the meal was expensive, but we did order more food than usual (two appetizers and desserts and some wine), so the meal cost more than we usually spend. However, all of the food was excellent and this was a great place to go for a special occasion. We probably will not go very often because it is far from home and it is a bit on the pricey side.

I’ve been here numerous times from just having cocktails in the pub to spending the weekend and enjoying the grounds. They also have the best fireworks show of any place in the Fredericksburg area on the forth. I was married here and got to know the owner pretty well. They have done a great job of turning a historic property into a beautiful equestrian facility and B&B. If staying the weekend she will accommodate any request if you just ask. They have a few adjacent properties that are rented as well in case you have a large group of family and friends that want to stay. During the summer walk down to the river and go tubing, fishing, etc or the built in pool. Great place. Grubs ~

I had my rehearsal dinner in the formal dining room at the Inn. They did a beautiful job setting up the room the way we requested them to be set up & they even bought flowers to match my wedding colors. The buffet was set up nicely & the food was amazing. The servers were very attentive & the staff was friendly. The only down side was another event was going on that night, so parking was difficult. I would highly recommend it!
I’ve also eaten at the Pub for dinner — I had the alfredo dish which was delicious! The bartender was also our server & she did a great job.

My wife and I took an overnight trip to The Inn at Kelly’s Ford. We were delighted by the spacious room but put off by the dismissive tone of the front desk receptionist, the breakfast that was 45 minutes late (and mediocre in quality), and the unprofessional manner of the staff at the Inn.
Some ironically humorous snapshots of our experience:
* There was a 24-​pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon in the closet– what looked like a stash for the employees.
* In our room, we found a short history of the Inn at Kelly’s Ford, which describes the Civil War as one of «Federalist Aggression.»
* From 5 AM until 7 AM, there was loud music being played by someone. I asked the staff to asking the people in the room below us to stop playing music. The staff person suggested that this music was a result of the Inn being haunted, since others have experienced the same phenomenon without any explanation.
Well, big surprise: it’s not worth your time or money. The room is nice, but the service ruins it all. This place needs new ownership.

I have only eaten here, not stayed as a guest. The food is mediocre. The place is very out of the way and it probably serves the best meal you’re going to get in Elkwood, Virginia — but that isn’t saying much.
The views are nice, as is the atmosphere of the dining room.
My fiancé and I actually checked it out as a possible wedding venue. We were totally turned off by the snotty attitude of the person who showed us around. She acted as if we were peasants who would be lucky to have our wedding in such a grand place — when the reality is that the event facilities are just so-​so and we realized very quickly that it wasn’t what we were looking for in terms of quality.
Her attitude *might* have been appropriate if it was, say, the Inn at Little Washington — but not for this place. We were rolling our eyes at each other behind her back during the entire tour.
Bottom line: It’s nice to see entrepreneurs trying to create nice places like this in the Virginia countryside, but this one has a long way to go – and it could start by dropping the pretentious attitude.