Henry F Shaffner House

I’m posting this review on both listings for the «Shaffner House».
We booked 2 rooms for the Wake Forest Reunion and we were not disappointed. The location is a little strange because the highway is built almost around it (does cause a little noise in some specific rooms, but not ours). The hosts were very sweet and accommodating, but the coffee needs to start before 8! The breakfasts are all made from scratch and delicious. We had some nice quality wines with some tasty brie one night and they even brought extra glasses up for some guests that came to meet us before leaving for dinner (who mentioned that they wish they had booked rooms here after seeing the place inside). We were able to walk down to 4^th street without any issue and the Meridian restaurant is walking distance as well. When we return to Winston Salem we will definitely be staying here.

Strangely, I’m seeing more and more double results on Unilocal,like this one. Search for «Shaffner House» and you will get two results. At least today. Maybe they are trying to improve search results. Who knows?
Anyway, the first problem you will likely find is figuring out how to get here through the maze of one-​way streets. Follow the directions on the web site and you’ll be okay. Just don’t go the wrong way or you will have to go around a few blocks, maybe multiple times. Winston’s one-​way streets are absolutely bizarre. You can’t blame that on the Shaffner House, but it does affect the experience. To make matters a bit stranger, the parking lot is not on the side where you enter the house — you’ll have to go around the block (perhaps again) to park. And if there was an event that day, you may need to park across the street. Maybe grab a bite somewhere and when you come back, there will be space.
Staff at the house is generally nice, but not what we have come to expect at a typical B&B. Or even your nicer hotels. The owners especially, while cordial, weren’t really outgoing. The helpers were a lot nicer. And it was a little odd that, being so pricey in the first place, they charged at every opportunity. We stayed for two nights, in the most expensive room in the house, plus went to the murder mystery, and they stilled charged us for some cookies, sodas and a rose to celebrate our anniversary. I get that it’s an extra little thing, but it’s not like we were eating caviar and drinking Moet. There was certainly a cost involved in putting it together, but the cost of the ingredients couldn’t be more than a few bucks, and the word of mouth has to be worth more than what they charged us.
Add to that the fact that the «wine and cheese» is a single glass of wine and a plate of pre-​cut cheese, it’s a little skimpy. Maybe there are money problems. I don’t really know. I’d suggest partnering with one of the wineries in the area to promote tours and tastings (and get some wine that you don’t have to cut off at a single glass), and some nicer cheeses. It just all felt a bit rushed
Which brings us to the murder mystery. We were really looking forward to this, as it was a surprise event, and we were able to participate. But the whole thing felt like we would sit down, then have a few minutes, and be moved to the next stage. I get that they don’t want to spend 12 hours running the event. But even an extra hour or so, spread out over the night, would have been nice. People could have been given more direction, the relationships would have played out better, it just would have been a better result. Since we were there on a Saturday, we could even have started a bit earlier, if they didn’t want to go too late.
All-​in-​all, it wasn’t that great. I doubt that we’d go back, and we probably wouldn’t suggest it to our friends unless they are really just jonesing for something to do along those lines, because it just wasn’t that good. The basics were there, but the finishing touches were lacking. (Cheap 70s porn) Tile was chipped in the period rooms, the charges kept piling up, the food wasn’t all that great. It was just too much for what they were providing, you know?