Governor's Trace Bed & Breakfast

Booked a one night stay on the website and drive 6 hours to Williamsburg. Website took my credit card information and at no point said anything about a minimum two night stay or any limitations.Upon arriving the owner did not know about our booking. Claimed he had not received one. When I showed him the email with the booking information he then contradicted his original story by saying that he sent me an email stating that one night bookings on the weekend were not acceptable. When I told him I had not received an email he became belligerent and said that on the booking rules on the website it states that one night stays on weekends are not accepted. AT NO POINT during the booking process does the website direct you to this page or provide you with that information.When I proceeded to point out that he had my credit card information he responded that he had not charged the card (although there is nothing to stop him from now doing so, and given his lying and belligerence it's hard to trust that the information is secure).When I informed him that he needed to fix his website booking procedures because the website is as I described, he proceeded to insult me in front of my 10 year old son, unnecessarily raising his voice.Not a way to run a business or to act as a reasonable human being. Plenty of great places to stay in Williamsburg. Avoid this one like the plague unless you enjoy being insulted by a belligerent old man with a broken booking website who takes your credit card information without providing service.Probably the worst experience I've had in thirty plus years of traveling. If mistakes have been made and you can't run an effective website there is no need to insult the potential guests that your poor service have inconvenienced. Just awful all around.

The guy is not a good man, period. For your sake, for karma, or for a kind act of passive revenge, you have the opportunity to do the right thing here: do not book Governor's Trace. They earned $600 of our dollars without us stepping foot in their door. No way, stay away, please. The owners or managers behaved selfishly and impersonally, just the opposite of what you may expect from a small business, especially a bed and breakfast. Our experience was in the off season-- about the least interesting time to visit the town, when B&Bs are either closed or lucky to book one room. So they aren't shooing away customers. They're enjoying quiet time. We wanted to stay for a long weekend, but we had to cancel before their 2-week cutoff (it was a few days ahead of time) because of medical reasons. They offered to charge us only for one night instead of two, yas long as we booked for another night in the future. Yes that's their policy, so fine, but no sympathy beyond half refund with a rebooking. We rescheduled and then, no kidding, we had to cancel again because of an emergency. We never get sick, but twice we're cursed on a vacation plans. We talked by phone to the woman and the man (presumably husband and wife). The guy wouldn't budge an inch, and couldn't care less about this situation. He wanted our money and said that this was his objective because it was their policy. Again, this was the low season, and there's no way in hell this place was turning town visitors because of our reservation. Yes, legally they had the right to do this, but that's not the point here. Right and wrong, good and bad, are not decided by contracts, and least of all decent human behavior or common sense. See any lawyer or politician or one a bad landlord or sly business person. Do the right thing, friends. If Governor's Trace will gladly take your cash in the above situation, they lack a moral compass for good choices. Without this good judgement and character, they may very well take advantage of you or more people in this way or similar ways.

We stayed here for our anniversary. First, the location is excellent. The house is very close to the colonial area. It is also a beautiful house. When we arrived Dick gave us a tour. He showed us our room, including what he called the "three person shower." He offered to join us in the three person shower, which was pretty weird. The home looked like someone bought out a Home Depot in 1990. It needs a modern reno. There are lots of figurines in the room, so it seems like there are always eyes on you. Breakfast involved bananas and peanut butter on toast. We won't return.

My wife and I stayed at Governor's Trace the week of Easter for 3 nights while visiting Colonial Williamsburg. We loved it. The room was quaint and clean and was what we needed for a nice relaxing get-away. The size of the bedroom we stayed in was generous and had an equally large private screened in porch. We met Dick and Sue, the owners at check in (Sue was not feeling well so we didn't see much of her at all) but Dick was more than friendly every time we saw him, always checking to make sure we didn't need anything and was great with giving us recommendations for places to eat. The location to Williamsburg is unbeatable. The Capitol Building in Williamsburg is less than a 5 minute walk away. The breakfast was delicious every day. If Dick didn't run the B&B I am pretty sure he would be a world renown brunch chef (no joke, it was great!). Being served breakfast in the privacy of your own room or in the privacy of your own patio area was definitely a nice touch.Lastly, I read 2 reviews that were negative about Dick's flexibility and refund policy. In their defense the cancellation policy is clearly stated and this is a small business. I side with the owners for not giving a refund for late cancellations.. I am not sure why the individuals that left the negative posts think they should be the exception to a clearly stated policy that they agreed to. To get back on track, we found the complete opposite when it came to flexibility and accommodations. My wife is a vegetarian and Dick was sure to respect that each day with breakfast and would tell us what the meal was and then also reassure us there was no meat mixed in my wife's. On another day, my wife I had plans early in the morning and mentioned this to Dick, he woke up extra early that day to serve us breakfast before the rest of the guests as a courtesy so that we could get our day started.Overall, we had a wonderful time and would recommend staying here/visiting again.

Fortunately we ignored the negative reviews as outliers.The room rate was very reasonable considering that it included passes to Colonial Williamsburg and some other activities, as well as a breakfast in our room.Our stay was made very comfortable by our hosts, the owners of the Inn. Breakfast was very good, although a bit more emphasis on a more balanced diet would be nice (not so carby). I'm sure we might have requested such but we didn't think of it. In our 3 day stay the breakfast menu was never repeated. Really, the breakfast in our room was the high point of each day for me.The room (Spotswood) was large and comfortable with a modern bathroom. Admittedly, the decor of the room is perhaps past its prime a bit.A suggestion to the Innkeeper is to perhaps provide a Keurig-type coffee maker in the common room. But on the other hand, the owners are available until 10 pm to provide for such amenities themselves.The location of course is Prime. A short 5 minute walk across the street and you are in Colonial Williamsburg itself. So once you have your CW passes you can come and go very easily during the day and evening.

Beware Governor's Trace strict cancellation policy. It is clearly stated, and we knew we were taking a risk when booking. Cancelations two weeks+ are refunded in full, but anything less than two weeks and you will not be getting your money back. I came down with the stomach flu the Friday morning we were supposed to drive to Williamsburg for our "babymoon" the first time - I was six months pregnant so this was to be a "last hurrah" weekend for us. The Governor's Trace owners were able to sell our room for one night of our two-night stay, so we received a $175 credit toward our re-booked stay.Fast forward nearly a month, and I unfortunately ended up in the hospital in pre-term labor at 29 weeks. We were just BARELY within the two-week window of our re-booked trip, once again, and the owners said there was nothing they could do. They were unable to book our room for either of our rescheduled nights. Their lack of compassion each time we called was appalling, especially considering winter is not a peak season for Williamsburg. I really don't believe our last-minute cancellations put them out nearly as much as they made it seem.So, we're out more than $500 and a "babymoon" as well; we can't afford to pay three times for a weekend away with a baby coming so soon.

Awesome two night stay! We booked the spots Apple wood suite with the fire place and very own stand up shower. Dick and sue were lovely host!. Recommended stay if your in colonial Williamsburg va. 10-15mins to shopping, eating out and the winery. Also the colonial Williamsburg is right behind the bed and breakfast with a little walk you'll be there in 10-15mins. Great stay! We will be back again!

Awesome! Sue and Dick are very knowledgable hosts and took great care of us while we were there. Really close to Colonial Williamsburg (2 minute walk).