The Inn At Brome Howard

Tara was an excellent host who made sure our stay was comfortable and enjoyable. She also gave us excellent tips on what to do, where to go and the best places to eat! We enjoyed our stay and getting to know our host.

There really is no Ionger an inn at Brooke Howard. Rather the property is now managed by someone who is determined to do the least possible in her job. Because we were the only people arriving at 7:00 pm one evening, and the only guests at the inn for the next few days, the manager said we should do “self check in,” meaning that the house was fully open, the lights all on, and we should take ourselves and our luggage up to the second floor without expecting a greeting (despite the fact that she lives in the basement area below). There was no food available, but luckily we had come prepared with sandwiches just in case. And there was no one to explain the workings of the internet or to respond to the fact that the bed was so high I had tremendous difficulty getting into it without a stool of some kind. Altogether, it was rather spooky entering someone else’s home this way without them present. Morning breakfast was announced to be at 9:00 o’clock (we weren’t asked what our preference of timing might be) and was ample though singular — there wasn’t much choice. On top of that, my husband and I served as babysitters to the manager’s daughter who sat at a table next to us playing video games. Once we established our breakfast needs for the next morning, that was the last we saw of her arriving back at an empty house that evening and dragging our luggage down the stairs and into our car the next morning with no welcome, no goodbye. This is truly a lovely property. It’s so unfortunate that it lacks the personal touch that makes it welcoming, helpful, and charming. Rather, we felt like we were interrupting her life and a total inconvenience.

The Inn is a lovely spot, right on the St Mary's River and with great historic charms. We have enjoyed the ambiance for ten years now. The recent arrangement, of restaurant management and food preparation by a respected and talented local caterer, works in part. The food is typically QUITE good, and the prices are very reasonable. What a catering business seems not to understand is service and in part, we suppose, because they have a thin profit margin and therefore keep staffing very limited. But even a little bit of training, courtesy and skills would be helpful. That aside, the food IS great. My husband had a hot roast beef sandwich that was delicious, while I had a great salad (with goat's cheese, I believe). The best, however, were the desserts: A frozen strawberry pie and bread pudding. We should not have indulged, but it was worth the calories! Take time to dine at the Inn at Broome Howard. The more business they have, the more they can improve the service and we can all enjoy the wonderful setting and delicious food!

While visiting St Mary 's City, we had lunch at the Inn at Brome Howard. What a pleasant experience. The river view from the dining room was beautiful. The crab soup was terrific with large chunks of real crabmeat. The sandwiches were delicious, especially the crab cake. It is so difficult to find a GOOD crab cake these days.

I was there for a group lunch. The choices are very slim for non-meat eaters. No fish choices, just shellfish. If you don't eat meat you are limited to only salad type choices which are small in portion size. I can see where this venue would be great for a wedding where it was catered in. It has lovely grounds and a lot of character in a historic setting. I just wish their menu was vegetarian friendly as they did have a gluten free menu. They also need more servers at lunch time.