My husband and I eloped this summer, and the Kingsbrae Arms was the perfect choice for our garden ceremony. Our room - the Pinnacle Suite - was spacious and well-appointed, with a private balcony offering a beautiful view. The staff was very accommodating, and did everything possible to make our day special. We are looking forward to going back for our anniversary!
We loved our stay at the Kingsbrae Arms. The rooms are beautiful, clean, and very comfortable. My mother grew up in England and was so delighted with the inn’s old world charm. Breakfast was delicious and the staff are so thoughtful and kind. We walked to town in less than 10 min and we loved the garden next door. The fragrance in the air was heavenly!
We stayed at the Kingsbrae Arms for 2 nights for our anniversary. The Inn is very unique and beautiful both inside and outside. The new patio and landscaping is breathtaking. The staff go above and beyond to make you feel special and are very welcoming as they greeted us upon arrival. Even during breakfast the chef made a point to come out and talk with us. I loved each breakfast and thought the food & the atmosphere was incredible. The staff definitely add an extra special touch to this experience. I would highly recommend staying here, it is like no other place we have visited. We hope to return some day!! Patti & Kurt Kelley
Normally I do not write many reviews. But we were really wowed by our stay. Before arrival we asked for recommendations on restaurants and things to do, and staff arranged reservations for us for dinner. Check in was at 3 but we arrived at 1 and they were able to accomodate us. The two staff we saw were so lovely and had a wonderful conversation. The inn really feels like old world charm and there are so many really interesting decorations and beautiful furniture. Our suite had a big sitting room with a balcony looking over the Kingsbrae Gardens. And a four poster bed! So chic. For breakfast we had eggs benedict with lobster, really yummy. The waitress was really sweet and chatted us to us about the history of the building. We were super impressed and will definitely be back! I have recommended to family who will be visiting soon. Worth every penny!!…
This is our second mini vacation this year to KA Inn. Enjoy the mansion, love the staff and the beautiful location beside the gardens. Say hi to the girls for us. Only problem is gaining weight with yummy breakfast.I have to diet when we get home. If you have not been to St Andrews go
We stayed in the Main building, booking our visit based on all the descriptions on the website. Being an Inn, we have found those usually have more personalized service. The biggest issue we had was (albeit a beautiful spot) the staff there is mostly NOT present. Other than at breakfast and check in, we foud ourselves completely alone with no one available to address any needs, which were simple. It was a rainy day so we stayed in part of it and were completely alone. Though our room was nice, it had issues that were surprising for an Inn at the price and caliber. When we did want to get someone, we had no access. There was a bell on a desk that we rang and upon check in there were 2 hand written phone #s to call. Neither were answered. Much of what was described on the website to sound “special and luxurious” was far from it. When you read there is afternoon sherry service, this is actually a bottle of sherry in a decanter that is oxidized that sits in the same spot day and night…. Pastries in the afternoon are the same category. You are paying a premium and we couldn’t even get ice. There were only two staff members who were so meek and mild you were certain even a frown in their direction would cause them to break. So we left after our stay and tried to address our concerns after the fact. The manager, Diane, did not take any accountability for any concerns and all correspondence was accusatory towards us. (we are not high maintenance). Lastly, she ignored my emails without resolve. There is no way to find out who the owners are much less get in touch. We are appalled at our experience and hope to save someone the trouble. You pay a premium and get nothing but a roof over your head. Don’t get me started on breakfast which they say is high value and gourmet. My husband asked for over easy eggs which came out served with a crispy black brown exterior. When I sent a photo of that to the Manager she accused me of only photographing the “worst of it”... when its bacon and eggs, what else is there? Should never have been served… but the Manager did not apologize, simply was angered we photographed it. There are so many nice places to stay for far less. These people DO NOT Care about guests. Hospitality is not their business. They want money. With doing the bare minimum. Don’t waste your money!!!…
Beautiful room. Great location right beside gardens and only a few blocks to downtown. Freshly baked croissants each morning along with delicious breakfast. Staff went out of their way to make our anniversary extra special.
I am copying below my email to Pamela, the "manager", whom we saw exactly once: when we checked in, for less than ten minutes. She never responded despite several reminders I sent since. In summary: the owners (we understand they live in the US, hardly spend time at Kingsbrae Arms and are trying to sell it) fail their customers and staff alike, and even though the inn is lovely, one cannot enjoy it in lack of service, heat and a decent breakfast. The garden obviously has also been neglected , which is also a shame. Dear Pamela, I am referring to our telephone conversation on Thursday morning, during which I told you that we very much liked our room and had indeed slept very well, but also brought to your attention to what was not ok in our room (no soap – that was fixed the 2nd day, and empty containers for amenities in our bathroom where cotton balls, etc. obviously were meant to be - still empty on day 2), and described our awful breakfast experience: the serving dishes were filthy and/or empty (at 8 30!) – when replenished, the same dirty dish that had been dirty the day when you showed us around was used; there was a completely moldy plum on the fruit dish, which consisted of a grand total of 2 oranges, 2 apples and 5 overripe plums – and some cut up melon that looked awful; all the containers with almonds, cereal, etc. were dirty and all the fingerprints could not have come from the elderly couple who were the only people who had breakfast before us; the crumbs from the breakfast the day before were still on chairs and tables, and the entire buffet table was dusty; the so-called quiche was cold and sagging (at 8 30!). When I showed your chef the moldy plum he took it and said “oh yes”; when I mentioned that I was surprised there were no placemats and that I knew that what was wrapped around the silverware were napkins, but would use them as placemats he said “lots of our guests do that”. When I asked whether he could do something about the freezing temperature (15 C on my thermometer) he said “the heat is on”. The only place we could sit and not freeze was in the buffet room as the sun thankfully was shining in. After you promised that all of the above would change, you would do something to compensate us for the first day’s experience and we would see you in the afternoon, I trusted that our 2nd day would be much better. Never been so wrong. Not only did we never get to see you, even though we came looking a few times. When we returned in the afternoon, there were cleaning utensils (rags, vacuum cleaner) in the downstairs room, but we saw nobody. Breakfast yesterday morning was worse (the chef was off): the toast bread was frozen and had obviously been frozen AFTER it had turned stale, as it was barely edible; the quiche was the same as the day before and had obviously been microwaved; the few cherry tomatoes were shriveled up; ALL the jam packages were so old that the jam had turned so hard that you could hardly cut it (certainly would not want to eat it); the Philadelphia chees was not edible; the fruit offering was worse than the day before; most of the glass containers were as dirty as the day before – but at least the melon and the tomatoes were covered with cellophane, unlike the 1st day when everything was open. I will send a few photos (by separate mail as I have not been able to send this mail with attachments) as I am afraid you did not have a look yourself. While all of this is unacceptable, we really do not blame the staff, but management. The chef obviously can only put on the buffet what he is allowed to buy or make and the housekeeper cannot possibly keep everything clean all by herself. It is such a shame that such a beautiful property – which we chose because of your mention in 1000-Places-to-See and the pictures on your website – was such a disappointment. Needless to say, I still expect that Kingsbrae will reimburse us an equitable amount for the above shortcomings (to use a mild term). As I told you, I do not believe in complaining on the Internet but instead talk to management if something is wrong, but I certainly have no problem doing just that when there is no reaction to my effort to have these shortcomings rectified. Looking forward to your response I remain With kind regards Sylvia Reul…
We stayed for 2 nights right at the end of the season and in fact were among the very last guests before the hotel closed for the year. While our room was spectacular with a patio, indoor seating area, fireplace and little kitchenette the breakfast was very minimalist. This may have been due to the imminent closure as it certainly did not measure up to the in room write up about the 'sumptuous' breakfasts. St Andrews is very small so everything is within walking distance but the Arms is right next door to the Kingsbrae Gardens. I imagine that at the height of season the overall experience might be different.
We had a magnificent stay at the Kingsbrae Arms. This restored home is elegant without being precious, beautifully decorated and thoughtfully cared for. Our stay couldn’t have been better, and because we were at the very end of “the season” we almost had it to ourselves. (Just note that the town gets a bit empty starting in October!)
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