Eric "travelwitheric" H.'s Profile

Disclaimer: We stayed two nights using a Groupon we purchased. It also included a limo wine tour. I'm basing this review on what it would have normally cost.

Lafayette, OR is a really small town that has been plagued in the past with fires which burned down most of the original buildings. What is left are mostly nondescript buildings with a few older surviving structures, such as the Kelty Estate.

Like most older buildings, there is a certain charm that some people find in them. However, I find the layout of the rooms are a bit strange and plumbing often seems like an afterthought. We stayed in the Summer Room on the ground floor. From I what I could tell, it had one of the bigger bathrooms, but was still quite small. It was difficult for two people to be in there at the same time.

Nicki, the owner, was not there when we arrived. Someone else greeted us and showed us to our room. Unfortunately, they didn't explain how the heat worked in our room, so the first night was a bit cold. It seems that the owner is a bit preoccupied with opening a restaurant and her catering business.

Why would I think that? Well, the place was a bit run down. The mattress on the bed must be older than the house. I felt every single squeaky spring in my back and barely slept during our stay. Locks on the doors were difficult to operate. The side door into the house was a challenge to lock and unlock and never did seem to latch completely. The living room was dark; only a couple of lamps actually worked, but barely even put off enough light to read by. The driveway didn't have adequate parking and the huge puddles made it difficult to load and unload luggage. And since the B&B was nearly full, by the time I got up to take a shower, there was no hot water at all. Not a good way to start the day.

The worst part was having the room right next to the dining room. At 2 a.m. a rather large group of drunken women decided to throw a party right outside our room. If the owner was there, I'm sure she would have put a stop to the noise quickly. As it turns out, they didn't disperse finally until I pounded on the adjacent wall. The next morning, nobody took responsibility and we never received an apology. I guess I expected too much that people who were that inconsiderate also would be accountable.

Our limo driver was nice enough and managed to take us to 4 wineries, but somehow completely missed lunch. The limo itself is something straight out of the 80's. It had TV screens that didn't work because it used an old VHS tape player that was broken, and it had a stereo system that had a limited selection of music because FM reception is poor and there were only 2 CDs in the vehicle. Have they heard of DVDs and satellite radio? We had to fiddle with the ventilation to finally get the windows unfogged. On the plus side, there was always plenty of bottled water.

I couldn't finish a review about a B&B without mentioning the breakfast...even if it isn't worth mentioning. Breakfast was a huge meal. That was really the only good thing I could say about it. Three courses: fruit, pastry, and then eggs and potatoes. I call it the Claim Jumper type of meal--huge portions of mediocre food. Fruit was good, I mean, how could you mess that up? Pastries were large sugar bombs. Eggs were pretty bland and the potatoes were burnt. Lots of coffee in thermal carafes that dribbled water all over the table. (They shouldn't soak the carafes in water.) No espesso available. In addition, our server kept serving me before serving all the ladies at the table. Where have table manners gone in our society?

All in all, I'm glad we didn't pay full price because I would have felt cheated. The house has a lot of potential to be a charming and cozy B&B, but if it's not a priority, it will always just be mediocre. I doubt we will return.

I really wanted to like this place. It's been 4 years since I last ate here and I had the paella. The paella was wonderful and filling and the wine list was fairly extensive back then. I remember enjoying that meal.

This time, however, I was a bit disappointed. The tapas were quite small and terribly expensive for their size. My wife and I weren't really hungry but we ordered 4 plates and I left still feeling hungry. I never even got to see a wine list so I can't comment on its quality now. Don't most places usually bring a wine list with the menus? I wasn't aware that I had to ask.

The food was mostly edible and some even tasty. Most combinations didn't seem particularly Spanish such as the Dungeness crab and bay shrimp cakes, even though they were delicious. Some combinations just tasted strange, to say the least. Octopus and potato both had very similar textures and wasn't a particularly interesting combo since it was also very bland. Beets with goat cheese was another poor combination. The cheese greatly overpowered the subtle sweetness of the beets. The duck breast was cooked correctly, but also a bit bland and then only 4 tiny bits and a small croquette for $14. Yikes! For that much, I could get a WHOLE flavorful duck at a Chinese restaurant. That dish was also supposed to come with brussel sprouts (plural with an "s")...since when did 3 leaves from a sprout qualify as even ONE sprout. If it's meant to be a garnish, don't list it on the menu as part of the dish.

Since my wife also thought the food had gone downhill, I'm hesitant to come back even for the paella. Fortunately, I make a pretty damn good paella myself, so we won't need to travel 4 hours to get some. For the money, I think we'll go elsewhere next time and actually leave full.

Loved this little gem of a B&B in the heart of Portland's up-and-coming NE neighborhood. The location is ideal. Close to many great restaurants, Lloyd Center and the light rail that takes you into downtown. At night, the streets are quiet and the neighborhood feels safe. Unlike Nob Hill, there's plenty of on-street parking.

The house is a restored Victorian with a large front porch and a private cottage in the back. The rooms are comfortable and well appointed with antiques of that era, but also had modern amenities such as a TV and DVD player hidden in the armoire. Even the pillows and sheets were wonderfully soft and comfortable. My only critical comment is not about Jody and her wonderful home, but rather the misleading coupon that Groupon ran. Not every room has an ensuite half-bath even though Groupon mentions it. Not a big deal for us, but if you were expecting it, you might be caught off guard.

The breakfast was very good. Generous portions with French toast and eggs done to perfection and delicious coffee in a French press. The place settings were amazing with period glassware, incredibly ornate china and gold flatware. Despite the fancy surroundings, the entire house was inviting and homey. Sheri and I lost track of time and spent a couple of hours seated at the dining table talking with Jody and other guests after we finished breakfast.

Jody, the owner, is rightfully proud of her home and is a gracious host. I admire her ability to keep up a house this size and make it into such a wonderful urban retreat. If you have an opportunity to stay in Portland, this B&B is not to be missed.

I really wanted to like this place and after having some really delicious handmade noodles in Melbourne, Australia, I was ready to have some again. The fact that more than 95% of people liked this place was a hopeful sign. Unfortunately, I was really disappointed. The noodles are the specialty of this place but they were thick and gummy. My noodles made with pork were bland but overly spicy hot. Yeah, strange--all heat but no flavor. Even the meat was bland. My wife's noodles with shrimp tasted flavorful and not overly spicy even though we both ordered medium spicy. However, I just couldn't get past the texture. Good noodles are stretched to just a bit thicker than spaghetti noodles and are firm but tender, not chewy and gummy. To their credit, the waiter did offer to fix the spiciness of my noodles, but that wouldn't change the texture. While every other table left empty plates, mine looked like I hardly touched it. Three different people asked if I needed a box for the leftovers, but when I said no, none asked if I was happy with the meal.

I'm not sure why so many people rave about the noodles at this place. They're mediocre at best. Frequently, people seem to equate large quantities of food as high quality. And if they've never had good ethnic food, the way it's supposed to taste, they have nothing on which to base their review. I've eaten at plenty of good noodle places...this was not one of them.

Salty, cold, boring, snobbish, inconsistent.

When a meal costs over $150 per person, I expect food so sublime that I am at a loss for words to describe it. Instead, what I got was boeuf bourguignon so salty that it was inedible. My friend is CIA trained and refused to even eat his. The remainder of the food was quite frankly uninspiring and for one course, the onion soup, it was cold. As in, the cheese was hard. Totally unacceptable. And where was the "Chef in the Hat" this night? Nowhere to be found. Instead, we had snooty wait staff who huffed at us for "settling for" tap water instead of bottled.

Too many Microsoft people getting substantial discounts have over-hyped this restaurant. I hardly think it deserves the generous reviews it has received. If I have $350 to spend for a great meal for me and my wife, I will go to the Herbfarm. Instead of a fedora, Keith Luce at the Herbfarm actually wears a chef's toque and rightly so.

Don't waste your money here. If you want inspired food that dazzles your taste buds, you've come to the wrong place.

Nearly two weeks ago, I started the process of obtaining refinancing on our mortgage through Amerisave using their web site. After filling in all the required information and paying for both a credit check and appraisal--all before locking in a rate--I am now unable to get any response from them after threatening to pursue alternate lenders. I paid $350 for an appraisal and should be entitled to a copy of that appraisal, yet my request for this appraisal has been largely ignored. In addition, advertised rates on their web site home page are misleading stating that interest rates are at some incredibly low rate when in reality, these rates are only available to persons with high credit scores and pay exorbitant amounts in points. Nothing on that home page even suggests or offers as a disclaimer that these rates don't necessarily apply to you or your situation.

The reason I was looking elsewhere is because from the time that I did start this process, rates were at an all-time low. However, to lock in those low rates, I needed to submit a pile of paperwork and proof of income, etc. Over the next 8 days, I was told that my documents that I sent as an encrypted ZIP'd PDF file couldn't be opened, had vital account numbers and SSN blacked out, couldn't be printed, and any other excuse they could think of to delay processing my loan. Never mind the fact that they didn't seem to have the first clue about the risks of sending attachments via email, but I was asked several times to just send it without encrypting.  During that time, rates went up nearly one percent. Even after I was told by [redacted], one of their mortgage processors, that all the documents were processed, I was still unable to lock in a rate, even after requesting one. Now, I have missed out on the rate that prompted me to start this process, out $350 for an appraisal which I can't seem to get a copy of, and another $35 for a credit report which I doubt I'll ever see either. I attempted to contact [redacted], but only got his voicemail. When my wife called from her business line less than a minute later, she got through to him. Now all subsequent calls go to voicemail. My last attempt was sending an email to both [redacted] and the President of Operations expressing my dissatisfaction and the only response I've gotten has been a voicemail to tell me they still can't process my documents. No email replies from anyone and certainly no appraisal documents as requested.

Let's see, what do we have so far? Bait and switch selling tactics, poor to non-existent service, inept service when it does occur. I think that will do for now. I have filed a complaint with the Greater Atlanta BBB stating that I no longer wish to do business with this company and wish to have my demands met--a copy of the appraisal and a copy of our credit report--or my money refunded.

Update: After complaining to the BBB in Atlanta, I received an email from Amerisave with our credit report and appraisal, both unencrypted. The value of these documents is dubious since future creditors may not accept them. So essentially, I'm out $385 still.

First off, I tried calling several places to come out and service our gas furnace but nobody could make it before next week.  Since our furnace had not worked for nearly a week and the temperatures had dropped into the low 40's, I was happy that this place could come out.  But things quickly changed when they arrived.

I was pretty sure I knew what was wrong since the same thing happened before about two years ago.  Our igniter had burned out once again.  But the last time this happened the furnace had some other issues and ended up replacing an entire circuit board along with the igniter.  The last service call ended up costing just over $250.  A fair price for all that was done.

The technician from America's Best didn't even have to do much troubleshooting.  So imagine my surprise when the technician replaced just the igniter and charged $190 for a $30 part along with $89 for "diagnostics", and $6 travel charge.  Talk about price gouging!  I could have understood if they marked up the price 2 or even 3 times but a 600% markup is truly highway robbery.  The price including tax came out to be $310.  I will NEVER use this place again if I can help it.

If you want to get ripped off, this is the place for you.  If not, I would recommend Matuska Heating Services.  They were who I used the previous time.  Fair, honest and unfortunately, very busy.

I would expect pest control people to be able to actually check your house and get into those nasty little spaces that you wouldn't want to enter.  So what good is it when they send over some geriatric who can barely walk, much less go crawling around under your house?  Take a look at their web site and you'll see an entire staff of senior citizens ready and waiting to hobble around your property to check for pests. The technician wasn't able to go into our crawl space and didn't even go under the deck overhang to check for rodents getting into our house.  Not only did he do a lousy inspection job, he was either blind or didn't know rodent droppings from colored pebbles.  He dropped a few poison bait traps around our property, called it good and left us an invoice.  And for that we're expected to pay $300.  I don't think so.  I had another company do a thorough job and filed a complaint about Aard with the BBB just so they don't send my bill out for collection.

My wife's '92 MR2's power steering went out and was due for one of the major systems checks (90K or 100K) so lacking any other decent recommendations, I took it to Greg's on Stewart since it was close to work.  They called me that afternoon to tell me that "This car doesn't have power steering."  If not for the seriousness of such a moronic statement, I would have replied, "Of course not, it's not working."  The technician proceeded to tell me that he has 25 years of experience servicing Toyotas and that none of the MR2s have power steering.  I told him he was wrong and to check again.  Twenty minutes later I'm called and told the same thing again and that they checked all over.  I told them to read the user's manual where there is a page that tells about checking the fluid levels in the power steering reservoir.  They called back and admitted that they've learned something new but that after a test drive, the power steering is working fine.  That should have raised every hair on my back along with several red flags, but I went ahead and let them do the 90K service and replace the brake pads and rotors in the front.  At $1132, it was outrageous for front brake service and basically fluid replacements.  Not to mention that I had to teach them about something I would expect them to know.  And I still don't know what was going on with the power steering.

Bottom line:  I take the car to auto mechanics because I fully expect that they are experienced and knowledgeable about the cars they service.   I can't say they did anything wrong but they certainly didn't instill any confidence in the job they did and to me that's important.  Needless to say, I won't be going back.