"The more we travel," said an unhappy couple next to me one morning at a New Hampshire inn, "the more we realize why we go back to our old favorites time and again." The reason for their disgruntlement? They were up and switching rooms at 2am when rain began dripping on them through the ceiling.
New England is famous for its plethora of country inns and bed-and-breakfasts (B&Bs). These offer a wonderful alternative to the cookie-cutter chain-hotel rooms that line U.S. highways coast-to-coast, but as that unhappy couple learned, there are good reasons why some people prefer cookie-cutter sameness. Predictability isn't always a bad thing. In a chain hotel, you can be reasonably certain water won't drip through your ceiling at night. Likewise, you can bet that beds will be firm, that the sink will be relatively new and lacking in interesting sepia-toned stains, and that you'll have a TV, telephone, and a lot of counter space next to the bathroom sink.
Every inn and B&B listed in this guide will yield at least a decent, and very often a high-quality, experience. Just keep in mind that every place is different, and you still need to match the personality of a place with your own personality. Some are more polished and fussier than others. Many lack the amenities to which travelers have grown accustomed in chain hotels. (In-room phones and air-conditioning lead the list.)
Note that with rare exceptions, most inns listed in this guide do not allow smoking.
