Guesthouse by Good Neighbor

Beautiful decor. Would have different fabric for towels and sheets. Neighborhood is in a transition. Two properties next to it boarded and in need of restoration. Hope that will happen. Good restaurants nearby. Safe to walk as a solo traveler.

Lovely folks at the front desk (when they’re there — “invisible service” means maybe, maybe not, though someone is responsive by text, if needed) and in the cafe. Our room was small and cramped, with little space to unpack, and the fact that everything is for sale makes you feel like nothing can be touched. Our room was right above the cafe, so the bass pounded through the floor from an hour before opening through an hour after closing every day of our stay, which, along with a suprising lack of insulation throughout the wooden building made it impossible to experience the serenity promised by the spa-like decor. When anyone else is around, it can be *really* noisy, and when they’re not, you’re alone on the edge of a neighborhood in transition. And, despite the presence of an individual heating/cooling unit in the room, you don’t actually have any control over the temperature — not sure what it’s there for. The free first beverage in the morning is a nice gesture, much appreciated.

Great concept- read great reviews in travel resources that I consider trustworthy. It definitely has that Remodelista vibe! Amazing products, property is a guesthouse/showroom. Everything you touch you can buy. We arrived at 5 pm Christmas Eve and checked out 9 am Christmas morning. It was always our plan to leave in the morning. Nonetheless, could not wait to leave. The room tiny and whoever sleeps next to wall has to climb over another person. Organic sheets and towels but not soft, rather scratchy. Yes, they have gadgets to make a cup of coffee or tea but room is not set up to this easily. It is a self service establishment. And Baltimore on Christmas is a ghost town. Not even the McDonalds across the street was opened for a cup of coffee. The coffee shop underneath closed for holiday. Perhaps they should have let us know when booking. I think there was only one other room occupied when we were there- did not see anyone but certainly heard them. A nice gesture could have been upgrade to larger room which we read about but did not see. Room gets hot during night and had to open window with no screens. Can rats climb?

Staying there is a whole experience and left missing the Goodneighbor universe. I even bought their candle & b&o speaker after visiting to try to mirror the GN experience at home. The details in the cafe/ shop & hotel are thoughtful and tasteful, I especially love all the local craftsmanship & earthy textures throughout the space. I look forward to returning this summer :) On average I stay in about 30 hotels per year and this was by far the most memorable and special one that I had the pleasure of staying at in 2023.

The property is unique and the decor is very artistic and interesting. The attention to detail was wonderful and the accommodations were very nice. The area is less than 10 min walk to the main drag in Hamden where there are many nice restaurants, and it was quick to get a rideshare. It was a little less nice in some of the surrounding area though. My main frustration is that I had to download an app to get the door codes. AND they sent only the numbers but no instructions. There were two different types of key codes (main and room doors), I had to fuss each time to guess whether it required pushing numbers PLUS a check mark or press the circle or press something before to wake up the lock. I had to do guess work each time with multiple tries and I would def dock half a star if I could for this.

Unique place. Very cool. Nice people. Great design.