Highs: Dog-friendly, fabulous front desk staff, located in "downtown" Salisbury, excellent restaurant (killer corned beef hash and poached eggs), comfortable beds and pillows, gorgeous gardens, incredible front porch

Lows: Painted cinder block ceilings, noisy location, room decorated in Country Plain, could have been a bit cleaner, toll-free calls charged $0.75 per call

My wife and I stayed at this bed and breakfast after deciding to extend our stay in Connecticut. We were quite surprised that they allowed dogs and although we were a bit bummed to leave the nearby lake resort, the change in pace turned out to be quite nice, for the front desk staff made us feel very welcome and were never without a smile. We spoke with Kayleigh on the phone and found her to be professional, friendly and very charming. Kudos also to Amy who helped us get to nearby Kent Falls. Whether these folks were trained by management or are naturally customer service-oriented, we do not know, but they should be commended.

The inn has a breathtaking front porch (we are suckers for deep front porches) that is comfortably equipped with many white wicker love seats, chairs and rockers. I spent an hour on the computer every morning with my dog and enjoyed the dry, cool air while my wife slept. The inn has a wonderful array of gardens filled with flowers, herbs and vegetables. One downside to the location is that it's located at the peak of two busy streets. In the AM, passing trucks would break through the white noise of the air conditioning unit.

The room had a large plate glass window that allowed a decent amount of light in. The dog-friendly rooms had two double beds; it might have been nice to have had the potential option of a king bed. Decorated in a generic country décor that was devoid of the real personality of some other B & B’s that we have experienced, the room was spacious and in good shape. Cleanliness was about an 8 out of 10; we saw dust and assorted personal items such as a hair clip under the bed near the headboard. We think areas such as this should be immaculate for $150 per night, no matter how comfy the beds or pillows were. Finally, we never quite understand why charges are made for a toll-free call, although free internet access was provided.

Perhaps all of this criticism is being overly picky. However, the cinder block ceilings in the bedroom and bathroom have absolutely no place in a bed and breakfast at this price. Really, how much more expensive would it have been to cover this unlovely building material with common, painted drywall? Gazing at cinder block takes away from the experience and magic of a B & B and reminds us of seeing behind the curtain of Oz.

The restaurant had sumptuous food. The granola was very good but had too many whole nuts dominating the granola. The challah bread French toast was tasty, but the real crowning jewel for breakfast was the corned beef hash with the poached eggs, fare that we had dined on in our college days in the wee hours after a night out on the town but derived from a prosaic Hormel can. (At 3:30AM, something salty, fatty and with poached eggs hit the spot.)

Similarly, the dinner menu was just as superlative as the breakfast food. We loved the house salad and thoroughly enjoyed the seared sea bass. Delightful and done well. Although we always dined in the quieter garden room, one has the option of eating in the lively bar area, a cornerstone of the inn and a natural place to make new friends.

We visited nearby Kent Falls State Park, Campbell Falls State Park, the enchanting town of Great Barrington and world-famous Lime Rock Park racetrack. We love Connecticut and would be happy to stay at the White Hart Inn again.