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January 2024 by Carin Leonard-Gorrill
They have done a beautiful job restoring and furnishing the Jailhouse Inn. The only thing I would change are the beds. We didn't find them terribly comfortable. But they also weren't the worst thing I've ever slept on. The building and the rooms are beautiful. The kitchen is massive and the dining room has a perfect size table for friends and relatives to join in for dinner. The shower pressure was fantastic. We all felt really comfortable there. There's plenty of parking. They should note in their instructions that if you come in at night, the parking lot is on the left hand side of the building as you're facing it. The only reason it got 4 instead of 5 stars were the beds, and that's being picky. Watch your footing on the front steps as I believe those are the original steps and they have a larger rise to them than contemporary standards.
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October 2023 by Alan Jordan
Great spot to have a group! 5 rooms for couples (one can fit 2 couples, so 6 couples if 2 are ok w sharing). 4 jailcells w 5 bunks for singles.4 areas to hang out- Kitchen, Dining room, bar in the jail common area, and gazebo. ALL area plenty spacious.
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September 2023 by Becca Selkirk
Site did not say rooms were upstairs when booking. Said air conditioning but the room was so hot and no AC.Checked room out and could not stay due to steeps.
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August 2023 by Tammy
Very very cool place to stay!! Coming back to sleep in a jail cell overnight.
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July 2023 by David M.
Beautifully restored jail house. However this is not a place for families or couples to have a safe and quiet weekend. The owners live in Bettendorf IA which is miles away from property and are useless when problems arise. The property is not safe because the rooms security codes are not unique and will open more then one room. The place is more like a hunting lodge where people are allowed to stay up all night drinking and messing around until late. We booked for a Friday and Saturday night and after a 5 hour drive found out that someone else was occupying our room when we arrived. When we tried to talk to the couple about finding a room they were unwilling to answer the door or even talk to use. We attempted to discuss finding the air bed the owners said would be available to us no one had any idea and at some point the 4 guys who where drinking attempted to intimidate me by ganging up together and calling me a dick and to leave the couple in our room alone. There was an empty room (that we didn't book) that our security code opened that we where able to stay in but my daughter had to sleep in the bathroom because the bed wasn't big enough seeing the other couple had taken our room. The other guests took over the kitchen and common areas leaving their items all over the place, making noise till 3:00am in the morning and doing laundry. We contacted the owners about the issues the next day about the booking but where not willing to hear our complaints and even accused us for booking on the wrong nights even though we clearly booked for Friday and Saturday. (blamed us for booking the wrong days). The owners only post reviews of 5 out of 5 and have no way of leaving a review on their website. This place is not safe or appropriate for couples or families. The common areas only lead to confrontations among other guests. and there is no contact information for owners when something arises. We felt so unsafe in this place we decided to leave and find accommodations elsewhere.
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July 2023 by Mark Bartels
Great place to stay with a full kitchen if you want to cook your own food!
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May 2023 by Eileen Patania
My friends and I rented a room here over the weekend. Instantly walking into the Inn was like stepping back through time. The dining room to the right was large and beautiful. Through there you came to a modern kitchen with a huge island area to use for serving or prep. Upstairs was our suite, a two bedroom that had a shared bathroom across the hall. Every room had its own lock and code, which made us feel secure. We didn’t have access to any other rooms, which was fine, although you can rent the entire inn. The best part was, again, downstairs. The old cell block sat at the back of the hallway, with a bar and a game table on the right, but everything else was set up like a little historic tour and it was great looking at the old cells and reading the history. Highly recommended stay!!
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January 2023 by Skilla Kelia
Food & drinks: Scheras is within walking distance.
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December 2022 by Tammy Wheeldon
Review by Brooklyn age 5:I LOVE THIS PLACE!! Our family, 18 of us this year, absolutely LOVE having our family Christmas here. It's fun and unique! The rooms are wonderful, the kitchen is so well equipped!, there is plenty of room for people to do different activities at the same time, and it is always clean and welcoming.
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November 2022 by Lonnie Davis
It's an AMAZING place and accommodates everything thing you need. Just bring yourself, and some good memories will happen!Safety: Very safe in all aspects.Walkability: Can walk to any location in town from here.Noteworthy details: The view is great!
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October 2022 by Amanda Fangman
This is one of the neatest places I've stayed, and I've traveled A LOT! The outside view of the town is gorgeous, and the Jailhouse itself is stunning inside and out. We stayed in the Harstad room, which is at the top (beware, lots of stairs to that room haha!); it was super cozy and the giant bath was a nice perk. The common area on the main floor def looks like an old jail still, but they've added a TV and such for hanging out. The owner was also accommodating and nice to work with when we had to switch dates.Will definitely stay here again next time we visit Elkader!!
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October 2022 by Matt Heuton
One of the best places I've ever stayed at! It's a former jail built in 1870 and was converted into a nice inn. It's a very historic place that's definitely worth to see!The main building that was formally the jailers house, has 5 neatly furnished rooms, 5 bathrooms, dining room, and a kitchen. The jail area has been neatly refurbished and you can actually sleep in 4 of the old jail cells! The jail area also includes a tv, couch, and things that tell you the history of the old jail and Clayton County!This historic place is definitely worth checking out!
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October 2022 by Julie Robinson
Overall, a neat facility with nice rooms and bathrooms. We were pleased with the reasonable accommodations of being pet friendly. However, BE AWARE the sleep accommodations are very misleading. The entire jail, which our extended family rented, only sleeps 13 comfortably. The site claims it sleeps 20. We found there were only 6 twin beds and only one of these were in a bedroom. The other 5 are in jail cells that should not be considered a rrasonable sleeping accommodation. We made due with blow-up mattresses and even had someone sleep in a tub. I've rented many, many airbnbs and vrbos in the past few years and have never been this misleading by the sleeping accommodations. For the price I paid, I would not recommend to others.
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August 2022 by Cheri Carlson
Beautiful house with real cool history. Definitely want to come back.
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August 2022 by Chris Wheeldon
Awesome, our family rented the whole place for a weekend to do our family Christmas. Great accomodations. I think it would be interesting hanging out with others in the common areas if we only got a room by ourselves.
