Old City House Inn & Restaurant

We got an upgrade which was great. The little balcony of the Lightner room was peaceful. The location of the Inn is great with everything we wanted to do nearby. The breakfast portions were big and the flavor was alright. The free water was great. The free parking was a huge plus for us. However, the bed was super uncomfortable. Very firm and springy. It feels pretty dated and like things could use some maintenance. Additionally, there was no wifi. This place felt overpriced in its current state. The place was not well insulated for sound. The walls were thin and you could hear whenever someone came up the steps. This place did not feel pet friendly to us. We travel regularly with our dog and she’s used to being in new places. We’ve never had an issue with her barking in hotel rooms, but we did notice when we came back from dinner that she barked when she heard us coming up the steps, but she was not barking before that. We also noticed another dog did the same on the day we were leaving, where they barked when we were going down the stairs. Because of the layout of the place and thin walls, it feels like most dogs would not do well in this situation at least in the rooms close to the stairs. The owner told us that we had to stay with the dog in the hotel or take her with us for the whole vacation. Fortunately, the city is very dog friendly so we were able to scramble and find new plans. A good rule of thumb might be: if your dog would bark at the mail man dropping something off, you’ll likely have a problem here with a pet. We’ve stayed at 3 hotels after this that are pet friendly on our road trip and never hear our dog barking when we approach the room and even started testing stomping around after pretending to leave to make sure it’s not something new going on. Overall, we felt the room was overpriced, uncomfortable, and in need of maintenance. Even without our dog we would not stay again and rather walk a bit further from a different place.

I would give these rip off artists negative stars if possible. They have a 7 day cancellation policy that isn’t advertised until after you’ve made your reservation. So if you can’t predict emergencies more than a week in advance they will try to charge you 100%. When I spoke to Juan he asked me if I’d ever stayed in a hotel before. Luckily I used Amex to make the reservation and they’re good about consumer protection but stay far away from these thieves. There are plenty of other places to stay in St. Augustine.

Rooms not rated as we were there for the Restaurant only. Didn't know quite what to expect inasmuch as there were a few non-4-or-5 star reviews. That said, the food and service was terrific. Atmosphere [this is early December] was warm and comforting; the Germans would say "gemutlicht." Wine list was both sufficiently varied and well priced: most bottles less than $100 [if I remember correctly] and several by the glass, of course. Vibe is very traditional--young people might find it stuffy and insufficiently hip, though there were young loving couples their, and then, under-thirties seem to find everything stuffy and just too much trouble, so there you go. I found it genteel without stuffiness, the food and wine terrific, the service en point, so there you have it. Do yourselves a favor and go. David was one of what I am sure are terrific servers.

We stayed in the St George room and it was like going back in time. Beautiful, private and very comfortable. There was a small fridge for drinks and anything needing refrigeration. Breakfast is included in the room rate. By far, this inn offers the best dinner in town. The food is exceptional and the entire staff makes you feel like family. Special thanks to Mac and Esteban for the incredible service and conversation. We tried the Ossobuco and rack of lamb along with crab bisque soup and the cream of broccoli prepared by Juan who is a master chef. Can't say enough great things about our stay and the awesome hospitality. Highly recommend a visit.

This place has one of the best kitchens in Saint Augustine! I highly recommend the Vegetable Lasagna! The rooms are nice, a tad small for my liking, though. With the age of the building, it's not surprising. At one point, this was the carriage house for The Flagler Hotel, right across the street. The on-site parking is great as well and makes it easy to get in and out. The location is second to none with everything in walking distance from the property. Now, if we could just get a coffee maker in the room, it would be great!