I travel frequently. When I travel to the East Coast, particularly the Washington/Baltimore Metropolitan area, Phoenix Risin is my lodging destination. I have stayed there more than 8 times, having just returned this month. There are 4 main reasons that I am a repeat customer: The hospitality, arework, breakfasts and the sheets.

As she always does, the Innkeeper, Janice Orr, always greets me with a hug and my beverage of choice. She always makes me feel like a member of the family who has come for a visit. She generally makes dinner reservations or restaurant recommendations for my colleagues and me. I am a breakfast person. Her breakfasts are hearty and tasty. I particularly like the breakfasts that are made with fresh and locally grown ingredients.

The B&B is impeccable, with attention to the smallest details. It is filled with art by African, African American, Native American and Haitian artists. All of the guest rooms and guest spaces are filled with art.

I love the touch of bottled water, great coffees, cocoas and cider in my room, and the presence of a coffee grinder. The room I stayed in has great decor and silky sheets that have been ironed. When friends tell me that they will be in the Baltimore/Washington area, I don't hesitate to tell them where they should stay. I tell them to stay at Phoenix Risin where i'll stay the next time i'm in the area.

I had never been to a b+b before and decided to spend Easter weekend at Risin’ Phoenix. I booked & paid for the room (it is policy to pre-pay for a holiday weekend) before seeing the comments below. Once I read them I immediately spoke to the owner about my concerns and disappointment. She assured me that they were not true and that I would have an enjoyable stay. In response to the comments below, I can say that I found the food to be fresh (and tasty), the bed was comfortable and the house generally clean. I do believe that her nightly rates are inflated based on what you get and that guests should get all of what they paid for. Specifically, of the two nights and two mornings I spent at this b+b, breakfast was served late the first day (after 12 noon) and not at all the second day. The reason was that (day 1) she was out shopping for the fresh food and (day 2) overslept. It would be great if the owner had planned for my arrival just as I planned the trip in advance. I agree with the writers below when they say Ms. Orr needs help. She had a local college student helping cook breakfast on day 1, but that was it. The house is also in need of some make-over work. The carpets have paint and other miscellaneous stains on them, that I didn’t expect to see considering the great descriptions on the website.

If you are looking for a weekend away, and aren’t too caught up on appearance or the timeliness of breakfast, then this place should be fine for you. If, however, you want the best deal for your money, or even if you are on a schedule, you might want to pass. I know for myself, next trip... (and for less money) I’m staying at the Westin.

I recently stayed at Phoenix Risin with a few colleagues for a business meeting.
The pictures on the website are deceiving and the property is disgusting.
For starters -The property was unprepared for our arrival and the innkeeper provided several excuses but never offered a discounted
Upon entering the property, the innkeeper had all of personal items (shoes, clothes, etc) out in the junky foyer area. Upon our walk thru of the home which had lovely artwork, the rooms looked clean but was not. in-room Coffe makers with fungus in side, old bed sheets with holes in them.
The innerkeeper did not cook breakfast and kept a filthy kitchen that should be fined for several health code violations. She also eased dropped in on our private meeting and proceed to provide input interrupting our meeting. There were so many levels of unprofessionalism and filthy living conditions I couldn't ruin one's appetite.

Last but not least we checked out early due to inhospitable conditions and the innkeeper rushed downstairs to charge our credit card for 2 nights instead of 1 night in a sweatshirt and panties (Disgusting!!) singing her excuse song.
I would NOT recommend this property to anyone

I was part of a women's retreat that went to the Phonix Risin over Veteran's weekend. This place was a very sad excuse for a bed and breakfast. It is in a nice neighborhood in Baltimore and the house is filled with beautiful artwork from all over the world however this place would be better off calling itself an afrocentric museum rather than a Bed and breakfast. The rooms were interestingly decorated but didn't feel clean. The owner offered us sodas and when we looked at the soda's they had expired two years prior, they filters in the coffee makers in the room had mold in them. The owner was supposed to make breakfast at 8:30am however when she didn't wake up to make us breakfast we decided that we would just fix ourselves a snack. The kitchen was filthy. The owner is a pack rat. She needs full time help with this B & B. To her defense, the owner is disabled, she either has MS or Polio or something so she walks on crutches and is hardly able to get around however i can honestly say one look at the kitchen which was filled with old papers, bills, rotting fruit, lots of fly traps, old bread in the toasters and the smelliest most packed refrigerator I'd opened in a decade, even if she had made us breakfast, there is no way I could have eaten here . This is only a place to stay at if you have absolutely no options at all. I would never recommend this place, never stay here again and if i called the health department I am 100% sure they'd close the place down. I wound up paying for two nights and didn't even stay there one (i missed my bus and arrived early that morning and met my fellow co-workers who'd spent the night.) The owner was supposed to provide separate beds in each room for two people to a room and was going to put me in an aerobed that refused to inflate. (Why am i paying full price at a B&B to sleep on the floor on an aerobed?) To top things off when we decided to cut the stay short because we were too skeeved out to stay the next night, she wouldn't be flexible with the price of our stay even though we had to foot the money for our breakfast because she overslept. Do yourself a favor and find a motel 6, it will feel like a trump hotel compared to this dump.