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Afton House Inn
Categories: Event Planning & Services Hotels Hotels & Travel Hotels Hotels & Travel Bed & Breakfast Restaurants Hotels, Bed & Breakfast, Restaurants [Edit]
3291 St Croix Trl SAfton, MN 55001
(651) 436-8883
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 11:30 am - 9 pm
Fri-Sat 11:30 am - 10 pm
Sun 10 am - 9 pm
- Attire:
- Dressy
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Price Range:
-
$$$$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Has TV:
- No
5 reviews for Afton House Inn
5 reviews in English
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Review from Laura M.
Eden Prairie, MN
4/23/2012
I took my boyfriend to Afton House Inn for a relaxing night away from the cities. We booked one of the king suites with fireplace and whirlpool tub (room #8). The room was spacious and beautiful. There were a few antique places, but it wasn't too over the top where it felt stuffy.The bathroom seemed to have been recently updated and was very clean. The door to the hallway was pretty thin and the floors were a little creaky (it is a historic building, after all!), so we could heave everyone's coming and goings. But, after 10:00 at night, it was quiet. I suppose that's the beauty of a sleepy inn over a hotel. That being said, if you're a really light sleeper, either bring ear plugs or consider another place. We had also hoped to watch a movie as a part of our quiet night in, but the TV is very small and hard to see from anywhere in the room. A very minor glitch in an otherwise nice evening.
We did enjoy two of the three restaurants during our stay. We had an appetizer and some wine at Swirl, which is a very cozy spot. The wine selection was great. If you don't like their by the glass selection, you can buy a bottle at a very reasonable price from a large selection. We had dinner at the Current, which was decent, but not the best.
Overall, we will be back when we want a relaxing night away from the cities. -
Review from Sal K.
10/20/2008
I planned a group event here (in the hotel's meeting room and then on the Sweet Afton boat owned by them). This event was a disaster from start to finish.
When I began planning the event months prior, I secured the Conference room. Days before the event, when I was confirming details, they moved me to the Pennington room and tried to charge me a different price than what was listed online. I successfully argued my way out of the price discrepancy, but still was stuck in the Pennington room. Fine. Whatever.
Also, at some point during the planning, they tried to shuffle my group to a different boat than I originally reserved. I said no.
The catering coordinator at the Afton House assured me that they could do a custom menu. And they did. However, when I asked if they could create a hummus sampler with pita chips for an appetizer, I was told by the catering coordinator that she didn't know hummus came in other flavors besides "hummus flavor". Shouldn't someone who works with food all day know a thing or two about food? I corrected her which forced her to do some research and she came back to me with three hummus options, which were satisfactory.
Fast forward to the evening of the meeting and boat/dinner cruise.
When we arrived for the meeting, the space wasn't set up with pitchers of water, coffee or snacks as I requested. It was nearly impossible to track down the on-site coordinator. Time was ticking by as the guests were due to arrive any second. Finally, I found a different coordinator than the one I originally worked with. Obviously, there were some communication issues going on that I didn't know about. The on-site coordinator brought bottled water, which I specifically told the other coordinator that I did not want (while in the planning stages). I asked him to take it back and bring pitchers of water with nice water goblets. A supporting staff member gave me a roll of the eyes at this point. Classy.
The music piped into the hotel was blaring in the meeting room which I asked them to turn down. I guess it took a rocket scientist to do so, because it took a while.
The decor in the Pennington room was dowdy. Yuck.
Some guests needed to use the restroom. We were directed to the bathrooms in the bar area. I've never seen a smaller bathroom in a public venue in my life, quite frankly. There is an exposed floor-to-ceiling pipe in the way of the sink! It's worse than dive bar quality - albeit a little tidier). Later, upon leaving, we were told by a different staff member that there was a nicer, bigger bathroom somewhere else in the establishment. Thanks a lot for that useful bit of knowledge!
In between the meeting and the boat/dinner cruise, my guests and I went to the bar. i was relieved to find a friendly bartender there.
On to the boat/dinner cruise. This is where the real sh*t went down.
Being one of the hostesses for the event, I didn't go through the food line until everyone else did. When I went through, I realized the staff forgot to put out the salad dressing. My guests were apparently too polite to inform anyone that they were eating dry salad.
There were supposed to be 3 main entrees. A Moroccan Chicken Penne dish, beef skewers on a bed of basmati rice, and a chickpea curry dish. The chickpea curry dish was missing and my vegetarian guests (including myself) were left scratching their heads. I inquired about the missing dish and got the most unfavorable response ever. The staff member halfheartedly looked around and proceeded to shrug and say "sorry!". Naturally, I was FUMING and said "it has to be here!!!! You must find it!". We're on a boat. So it's either on the boat or it's back at the restaurant and the boat won't turn around to get it. The staff member reluctantly went up to the captain on the deck to call the Afton House kitchen to find out where it was. Turns out it was on the boat the whole time...in a warming oven. Duh. He should have looked there first!
Then, a dessert was missing from the dessert trio I ordered. Same story here as with the entree...the staff claimed they couldn't find it for at least 10 minutes)...then, lo and behold, it turned up in the fridge. Eureka! Mind you, the kitchen on this boat is smaller than my own kitchen in my tiny 450 sq foot apartment...so I'm not sure how all this stuff got "lost".
I had requested coffee to be available to guests during dessert, and that wasn't put out either. I had to practically beg them for it and then it ended up being really weak and stale tasting coffee.
Later, days after the event, I vocalized my disgust in a conversation with the event coordinator. I was told that some of the staff had been "let go" since my event. That's too bad. I think maybe they were just lacking good training.
A good note...my guests (and the boat captain!) loved the food. They didn't know it was a menu designed by a chef at a competing cruise line. Heh. -
Review from Christine R.
St Paul, MN
Updated - 1/7/2012
We visited the inn for New years eve as we had in the past and were told by a staff member over the phone and by open table that there was a pre-set meal for 55 consisting of wine pairings over a five course menu. The last few years there has always been a large crowd gathered in the wheel room at midnight where the staff would hand out party favors and a champagne toast. This year when we got there we were told the chef had cancelled the pre-set dinner so we had to shell out about 32 dollars more for the meal which was not too bad at the time. Except that we were literally the only people in the wheel room through most of our dinner and at 11pm we were promptly told "People are now gathering in the bar for the last hour if you'd like to join them" We decided we'd go check it out and found a whole 4 people (a group of friends who arrived together) at the bar. We then gave up and went up to our room and decided to celebrate alone. We figured we'd make the most out of it and we still at least had a room to sleep in so we wouldn't have to risk the 1.5 hour drive back home. We got absolutely no rest though. The walls are so paper thin that you can hear every single whisper or footstep throughout the entire place and even though there was absolutely no one in the bar after midnight they continued to blare music outside until 2am... (Yes we expected some noise as it was a celebration after all but when it's nearing 5am and you're still hearing the people down the hall talking and the sound of their television it begins to get old) So around 6am we decided to just call it a day and head home except when we tried checking out there was absolutely no one to be found. No one answered the calls at the front desk and we could not find anyone on the entire site. Around 7 we finally found someone and headed home after an incredibly disappointing new years. By the time we got home however my husband had begin throwing up violently and I too was having severe cramps (No we were not hung over as we barely drank given the prices). Turned out we both got food poisoning from the food we had eaten the previous night at the inn... So literally what was supposed to be a good start towards another year turned into quite the nightmare. The afton house is possibly the worst B&B we've been to over the years. (If you can even consider it a B&B as we got NO rest and there is no breakfast included in their insane room prices) (Please note, that I have previously reviewed the afton house but this was our first experience actually renting a room within the inn)
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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5/12/2011
Went here with my fiancé for a 5 course meal/wine pairing on new years and it was absolutely… Read more »
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Review from Kristi G.
Eagan, MN
4/5/2010
My parents and I decided to go to the Afton House Inn for the first time for Easter, and were not expecting anything major, except for a nice change of pace from being directly in the Twin Cities.
Food: The food was at best "okay." I was expecting something a little more, but although they at least allowed people to dress their own salads (I hate it when they are already pre-dressed) the fruit was modly, the desserts were obviously a day-old and all pre-cut, because the ones that we got were so dry that we couldn't eat them, and the meat was either over-cooked or too heavily sauced.
Service: Very attentive. Things just seemed to be geared toward eveyone dropping or spilling things, and not just my family, but eveyone else and the staff, too. But silverware was quickly replaced, spills cleaned and cups/glasses refilled. The servers were all very kind and accomodating, and even after a long day (we chose an afternoon time) were still friendly and provided a smile constantly, which was really nice.
Ambiance: Well, it's kitsch, but cute. Something different. Don't go if you expect something really "up-to-date" or accurately restored. But, they have nice decor, high ceilings, no music, which allows people to talk, not too cold or warm, not crowded seating, and lovely bay windows. Overall, very nice for what it was.
Would I go again? Maybe. Probably for an afternoon tea, or something like that, but not for a meal, especially a "special" meal, lke birthday or anniversary. but, if you are in the area, it is a very nice place overall.Comment from Dan J. of Afton House Inn 6/1/2010
Hi All who read this. Dan Jarvis, Owner: After serving… More » -
Review from Jennifer B.
Chicago, IL
8/4/2008 3 photos
My husband and I stayed here on our road trip to Yellowstone. It's a beautiful historic inn about 15 minutes off I-94 but it feels like the middle of nowhere. The town of Afton consists of this place (and its two restaurants) a general store and two ice cream places. It has been voted the best day trip bed and breakfast by a bunch of St. Paul/Minneapolis magazines. Comfy beds, nice river views, and reasonably priced. The Afton Inn Restaurant is supposedly one of MN's best. We ate at the Catfish Saloon, which is also connected to the inn, which was really tasty but much cheaper. The same chefs cook for both places. Worth the stop.
Specialties
Fine Dining and Jacuzzi and Fireplace Suites make a romantic getaway. Make sure you try our table side cooking in the dining room. Featuring Steak Diane, Caesar Salad & Bananas Foster prepared right at your table.
History
Established in 1867
1867 - Charles C. Cushing built Afton's second hotelknown as the Afton House. 1966 - The casual Catfish Saloon was added for casual dining at the Inn 100th Anniversary, new owner Hugh Andersen remodeled again; this time, adding the new main dining room and a screened porch.JARVIS FAMILY HISTORY BEGINS
1976 - Purchased by TODAY'S OWNERS - Gordy and Kathy Jarvis. What is now the beautiful and award winning Historic Afton House Inn & Afton Hudson Cruise Lines was just a "basic" restaurant, and the attached inn was inactive. They went thru several phases of remodeling designed with the help of Afton Woodcarver Elmo "The Builder" Erickson. 1985 - In March, Mr. and Mrs. Jarvis reached their goal to have the Afton House placed on the National Register of Historic Places. A special use permit was issued in September to restore the Afton House to its original use as a hotel.1986 - Remodeling was completed in the spring and the Historic Afton House Inn opened twelve hotel rooms.
