Friends Lake Inn - Hotel in Chestertown - 963 Friends Lake Rd, USA

Your wedding venue was perfect in every way. The bar area was warm and welcoming, your bartender was knowledgeable; he even remembered what people drank. I especially loved the cucumber water set up! My compliments to the chef for an elegant dinner from salad to dessert. The back lawn, with the lovely tent, topped off our evening to remember. We look forward to spending many more events at your Inn

Our room was really nice. A large wedding was going on when we stayed over. We felt like intruders. We would’ve stayed somewhere else had we known. It was loud and crowded. It wasn’t the peaceful stay we expected. WiFi was in and out constantly. Hard to text to check-in at home.

Starting with the positive things. Our room was clean, the bed was comfortable, and the staff were very nice. ||Unfortunately, the negatives far outweighed the bad. A lot of what you would expect at this price was absent or inadequate. There was no refrigerator in the room, which even inexpensive motels have. Little things were also missing: laundry bag, soap dish, reading lights, tissues. At check-in we had to ask for help with our bags. After 10 minutes, they hadn’t found anyone to help, so we carried them up two flights, plus a flight at the entrance. The pillows were awful – thick slabs of foam rubber. The shower had nice tiles, but instead of the water angled toward the drain, which was in the middle and you had to avoid standing on it, it all pooled on the half near the door. You had to use the handheld showerhead to move the soapy water toward the drain to avoid walking through it to exit. Instead of a duvet, there was an icky blanket and a sheet that was some slick and shiny material. There were a number of other smaller issues – such as a tiny night table with no drawer to put things and half the surface taken up with a large lamp, only one available outlet near the bed, etc. |The worst part was the so-called Continental breakfast. The first day there were plastic-wrapped things in the shape of a croissant that were dense and dry and barely edible. I had to ask for hot water for tea and had to wait 15 minutes for it, only to get a tiny pot of hot water that filled half a cup. The second day, there were muffins, but they lost their appeal after watching a worker who was not wearing very clean clothes completely handle every muffin with his bare hands as he put it on the plate. On the third day, the muffins came plastic-wrapped, but were not good. On our last day, we did what we saw other guests do upon seeing the breakfast – we left to eat elsewhere. The hours for breakfast are very limited: 8:00 – 9:30, but given how bad it was, probably best to avoid anyway.

Haven’t been to the friends Lake Inn for dinner in a few years. They have a new chef who is outstanding. We had rack of lamb, Boursin stuffed chicken and salmon. Appetizer of crabcake and honey pear salad as well as tuna. All were done to perfection. Well worth the 35 minute drive from Hague. Service by Kelly was also great. We will be back!

What a truly wonderful, beautiful, and exquisite place to have a small wedding reception. From all of the smallest details to the most incredible food, our evening was absolutely perfect. As a local to the area, I could not recommend the Friends Lake Inn enough for the ideal, everything-you-need, elopement location. The owner even came to me (the bride) to ask how everything was, and it was truly wonderful.

My wife and I recently stayed here over our anniversary weekend. The food and drinks are definitely several notches above what you'd expect for on-site hotel offerings. The rooms are spacious and comfortable. The amenities are great (I'd never heard of a steam shower before, but I want one. I also left with a robe). The location is nicely off the beaten path. Easy to get to local attractions, but far enough away that it's a nice refuge. What stuck out most for me was the pride the ownership and staff seemed to take in providing services that go well above and beyond what's expected. Betty at the front desk gave us daily recommendations for local activities, restaurants, directions, and local history that made the whole trip come together. Phinneas mixed innovative and carefully constructed drinks at the bar, which we were able to take up to our room to enjoy on the balcony. The owner, Alim, stopped by several times just to chat with guests, get suggests, and give his own recommendations. Highly recommend.

We spent a ski weekend at the Friends Lake Inn. We chose the inn because it was the nicest accommodations we could find that would accommodate our family of 3 within 20 minutes of GORE mountain. Also when we called the Inn the staff was so helpful that we knew even before we got there that we would have a wonderful time. We are looking forward to returning.||Rooms: The rooms and Inn all have a rustic flare but the rooms are nicely renovated and very comfortable. We stayed in the Cedar room and the bed was comfortable, the bathroom was large and well maintained. We were greeted with a bottle of sparkling wine and freshly covered strawberries in our room. ||Breakfast: The rooms all come with a made to order breakfast served from 8 - 9:30. The breakfast menu had a good variety and the breakfast was very good. ||Bistro Food: We ate in the bistro twice and it was good. There is also a happy hour in the Bistro from 4 - 6 with 1/2 draft beers (they have a nice local draft beer menu) and discounted drinks and small plates. Kelly was an amazing server!||Main Dining Room: We also ate in the main dining room one night and it was excellent. The menu in the main dining room is more upscale and more expensive but we had a lovely meal and would not hesitate to eat in the main dining room again.||Common Areas: There are a few common areas throughout the inn with games, books and a billiards table. We also saw snow shoes at the front door for guests to use, although we did not have a chance to use them or access the trails around the hotel.

Kathy was harassing the wedding party about us checking out 2 hours before what was stated on the contract we signed upon arrival. I guess they either can’t read, or 1pm checkout doesn’t mean 1pm checkout. It seemed like everyone but me was hearing about this and my phone number was clearly on file. When confronted of course the issue disappeared into thin air. Secondly, there was an animal digging in the wall the whole entire night in our room. We paid for an uncomfortable sleepless night because of this. When I told them about this, not only did they not offer any compensation whatsoever, but instead of “looking into it” they literally sold someone the room right after us the next night. Other rooms were clearly available that night, because that customer was upgraded after I was able to let them know they did not want to stay in that room. Couldn’t have made it any more loud and clear that customer satisfaction is meaningless and they just want your money. Do yourself a favor and stay somewhere else.