"just like home - if you live in an asylum If the overwhelming stench of mildew, the filth and clutter “hidden” in every corner and behind furniture, and the biting bug infestation are not enough to convince you to stay elsewhere, spend five minutes with the owner. Upon first meeting she simply appears abrasive and rude, but once she warms up, she is downright abusive. I can’t imagine a person less fitting to run a B&B than Kathy. Perhaps you’ll have a different experience if you are a white heterosexual couple, but Kathy made us feel unwelcome from the moment we arrived. I think we would have felt more welcomed at a KKK rally in Cecil County, Maryland. We should have known there would be trouble when we searched the bookshelf for something to read and found only books on the confederacy, Gone With the Wind, and other books about the evil doings of the liberals, but we’re liberals and we like to think there’s a place for all kinds of thinking in this world so we set our fear aside and strolled down for the breakfast she asked us to wait until everyone else was gone to eat. Let me tell you about this “breakfast”. Well, there is really no adequate way to describe it without using the words inedible and death defying, but I think YUCK is sufficient for the purposes of this review. To Kathy’s horror, we entered the dining room before the other guests had finished their meal. She scrambled to make space for us at the table, making sure that we clearly understood how we had inconvenienced everyone in the room with our presence. We had lovely conversation with the other guests, two white heterosexual couples that Kathy seemed quite fond of, so much so that she went above and beyond to protect them from us. Shortly after 10:00 am, the time Kathy had asked us to arrive at the table, an Asian woman joined us and affirmed our assumption that our hostess is, in fact, a bigot. (Sue, if you’re reading this, we hate that we had to leave you behind and that you made it out safely.) After breakfast, we packed our bags and checked out. While running the credit card, she searched our room for something, anything, to scream at us about. She stormed down the stairs wailing about missing towels that she was certain we had stolen (because we have a shortage of filthy towels at home). When we assured her that we did not take her towels, she became enraged over the bedspread having been on the floor and screamed over the $45.00 cleaning fee. I offered to pay the cost of the cleaning which infuriated her even more. We asked her to stop berating us which sent her completely over the edge and began screaming “GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!” like a raving lunatic. On the off chance that you’re not convinced of her insanity, she then chased us out of the door screaming, “You’ll never stay in another B&B in Philadelphia again!” as we hurried down the street toward safety. So, if you’re in the mood for bug bites, toxic food, horrendous allergy attacks, and the threat of a good old fashioned lynching, give The Columns in Philadelphia a whirl. Don’t forget to tell Kathy, the woman with clear unmet mental health needs, HI from us!"

Read hawkinsr's Philadelphia reviews | Comment

"I stayed one night at Columns and it was quite possibly the worst B&B experience I have ever had. While the large house is in a lovely location, the breakfast was unpalatable, the house was cluttered and dirty, and the innkeeper's behavior was appallingly rude.Another B&B, Antique Row, was full and they recommended Columns. When we called to make a reservation, Kathy, the owner was brusque and spent most of the conversation telling us about what a bad day she was having. Upon our arrival, she continued to complain about how much she disliked her guests and how tired she was. She was very irritated at us for being a hour later than expected, even though we called en route to let her know. When we came home after dinner Kathy told us not to come down for breakfast until 10. The lobby had junk everywhere--a broken computer and monitor blocking the couch and a sad-looking broken doll in the only chair. Our room was very small and overstuffed with broken lamps, boxy inexpensive furniture lining every wall and ugly knickknacks everywhere. There was so much stuff in the room that we had trouble walking around the bed without tripping over something. Our closets were also full of random things (as we later heard from a another guest who discovered a giant chandelier in their closet, the owner likes to use the rooms to store her projects). Other problems: since we shared a bathroom with 8 other people, we had to wait quite awhile to use it before bed and there was no overflow bathroom on another floor. Also, none of the bedroom doors had locks. Meanwhile, back in our room, a thick layer of dust covered every surface, including the pillows. We couldn't turn the A/C off and the room was freezing. The bed was comfortable, but we were bitten by some sort of insect while we slept. When we came down to breakfast the owner said, "well you'll have to wait" and was clearly unhappy with us. The breakfast was simply awful. Our options: stale cereal, stale toaster waffles, molding bananas, room temperature Light yogurt, styrofoam-textured Safeway muffins, and toast accompanied by jam with mold floating in it. As a bonus, the cream for the coffee was curdled. Every person at the table asked for new cream but the owner insisted that it was fine, despite the chunks floating in each guests' mug. During breakfast, the owner gave unsolicited advice and shared her offensive opinions--including complaining, again, about other guests. If we thought she was rude to us we were shocked at the way she treated others. We checked out immediately afterwards. She made us wait several minutes while she combed through our room. Then she came down the stairs and started screaming at us. Literally, screaming. First, she accused us of stealing her towels. Then, she was upset that we used the comforter in the closet. Then, she said we misrepresented how many people were in the room and refused to return my credit card. Finally, she started yelling "Get out of my house! Get out!" It was completely bizarre. She followed us out into the street, screaming, as we walked rapidly away. I have never been treated so poorly. It's pretty clear that the owner is in the wrong line of work. Philly has many lovely B&Bs, and next time we'll be staying at one of them. "

Read berry's Philadelphia reviews | Comment