Florida House Inn

First what is great about this hotel: it’s right in the center of downtown Fernandina Beach near restaurants shops and bars. There’s live music next door every day. Plenty of hot water. The staff is extremely friendly and helpful. The bed was comfy. And the resident cats are fun to watch. What’s not so great and not clearly depicted in these photos: This hotel could be absolutely magnificent, but it isn’t. It’s in need of a very significant amount of repair and updating. And it’s not clean. Our room was rustic to say the least with a broken window and peeling paint, mold and dirt. The floor was in poor shape and the bathroom was tiny. Outside potted plants were dying a slow and pitiful death and many of the porch and gazebo floorboards were punky and unsafe. We checked out the breakfast only to find the bagels were entirely blue with mold. How someone laid those out without seeing that is beyond me. Our third night there my spouse found a cockroach living in the bathroom and as we were making plans to find another hotel I flushed his sibling down the sink. Unacceptable. To their credit, the innkeepers did refund half of our money and didn’t charge us for the next night when we were supposed to stay. Apparently they do find dead cockroaches often—-the building is charming but old and not very tight. So if you are ok with not super clean, an occasional roach and moldy breakfast then go ahead and book this hotel. We will not ever again.

They NEVER answer their phone. The parking is insufficient. They don't return left messages, their cancelation policy is too restrictive during the off season, and their included breakfast is too late in the morning.

We were given a very sub par room. Large cracks in the wall, a bathroom vanity with the entire front drawer missing, exposing the sink. The windows were old so the band at the bar next door was like it was in our room. The smoke detector had been ripped off the wall. We complained - which we never do- and asked to be moved to another room that we found empty. They were willing but not til our second night It was in better repair and quieter since it was at the back of the inn. The inn was unlocked and unsupervised all night We are ok with a little shabby as long as it is comfortable,quiet and safety features are there. This place is past it's prime and not recommended.