Great Choice

This is a great hotel if you are looking for a comfortable, no frills kind of room. The rooms are simple and tiny, but nice and clean. Compared to some of the hotels we were looking at a few miles west on the 101, this place was a palace. We had a private bathroom and despite the design of the doors (with the frosted windows) it offered plenty of privacy. The service was helpful and friendly and they had plenty of free parking. It's convenient to the dowtown area and close to the ferry ports. If you are looking for a place to rest in this area of Washington at a reasonable rate look here, this is nicer than the standard chain motel/hotel! If you are looking for a fancy 4 star, keep looking.

Way past its prime

We arrived early in the day and the desk clerk was nice enough (and disinterested enough) to let us explore the sleeping areas of the hotel, so we were able to look at about 20 rooms as they were being cleaned.

The rooms line up on both sides of long, narrow, dingy, straight hallways-like in an old fashioned boarding school. The doors to the rooms look like office doors from the 1930s: the upper halves are frosted-I can't imagine they offer much privacy. The furnishings are worn: saggy, thin mattresses, shag carpets and bureaus that belong in garage sales, not antique shops. The place was sad and down-in-the-heels.

The hotel is now stuck in a semi-industrial site, right next to a hospital, and if you get a room that doesn't face the bay, you're facing a major thoroughfare. Even the tower suite had no appeal. I might have stayed for the experience if the rate was $60; I don't think the room was worth more than that, but at $100 for a shared bathroom, we decided to go elsewhere. We had no problem getting our money back. It did have a beautiful dining room and lobby-but the hotel part was awful.

Most of the time these fake reviews come from the competion or someone who has a grudge against the management.

Unique but not clean!

View would have been nice except the windows were so dirty one could not enjoy the view. Loud music from the lounge kept us up until late. Room cleanliness is below standard...mold in the shower is never a good sign.

A very unique property but it looks and feels worn. We expected more and I would not recommend it.

Charming, unique, friendly

My husband and I stayed at Manresa Castle three nights in August 2004. We appreciated the comfortable room, friendly service, and unique atmosphere; but we would stay there again for the smoke-free, cozy bar furnished like a Victorian parlor. I'm not a hotel bar person, nor much of a drinker, but we had drinks before and/or after dinner every night and thoroughly enjoyed the tasty, reasonably priced drinks; the atmosphere; and the friendly, professional service.

The room was comfortable, with a good water view and lots of closet space. The shower was cramped, but had fantastic water pressure. The room had a telephone and cable TV, and hairdryer and iron were available at the desk. There was no A/C, no ceiling fan, and no air flow from the window, which had only one small opening. A small portable fan was provided, but it was very noisy. So at night it was either a little too warm or a little too noisy. (We asked at the desk about the smoke reported here in the first review; they said that happens only about three times a summer; we had no problem with smoke while we were there.)

We ate dinner at the restaurant one night. The dining room was pretty. Service was attentive and quiet. The presentation of the food was very nice. We found the food itself to be a little bland but still enjoyed the experience.

Breakfast, however, was a total zero. It was served in the hotel's only ugly room, in the basement with a soft-drink machine. No protein of any kind whatsoever, unless you count milk for your coffee; not even peanut butter or cream cheese. No fruit, no cereal, no oatmeal, no bagels. Just stale bread, muffins, and croissants which tasted as if they had been bought prepackaged from the days-old bin at the grocery store; jelly and some sort of butter product; barely adequate coffee with some dairy product which was not marked to indicate whether it was cream, 2%, skim, or what; and juice. And to add insult to injury, a tip jar. Just pretend breakfast is not included and find yourself a nice restaurant elsewhere. After the first morning, we took ourselves out the next two mornings to a diner at the local airport: drive south on Route 20; when 20 breaks right stay straight on 19; turn right into the airport and eat at the Spruce Goose Cafe, where you can watch tiny airplanes land against a backdrop of the Olympic mountains. French toast was $4 and very tasty; service was friendly. The cafe is about a 10 minute drive, and it opens at 7 for breakfast. Or find somewhere on Water Street in Port Townsend.

The location: You cannot walk anywhere you want to go unless you're willing to walk in the bike lane of the town's major highway, with trucks rushing by you at speed. If you like to take a pretty walk first thing in the morning or after dinner, you should drive down to Water Street (only about 10 minutes) because the local neighborhood, other than the Castle itself, is drab and rather depressing. (But as my husband quipped, if the neighborhood depresses you so much you decide to kill yourself, at least a funeral home is conveniently nearby.)

Showing her age

We stayed at the 100 year old Manresa Castle and sad to say she's showing her age. When we booked we asked for a room with a view, and were told "the best view is from the 3rd floor, but we don't have an elevator". As advertised the room had a lovely view of the water, but was in need of upgrading. Paint was cracked and peeling from the wall. The bathroom was large, but had a small plastic prefabricated shower, no hairdryer, but the towels were soft. The continental breakfast included juice, croissants, muffins and coffee. The best feature of the hotel are the public rooms. The bar is decorated with lots of wood, is comfortable, and drinks were reasonably priced. The reading room was very comfortable, but the restaurant makes visiting or staying here worthwhile. The chef has worked in a variety of restaurants, the food was excellent, and the dining room was beautiful. Service was attentive, but not overbearing. I would eat there again, but stay elsewhere. When we checked out we were told that the "castle" had been sold and possibly would be remodled.

Fantastic Place To Stay

We went to stay at the Manresa Castle this year in March and were delighted with the entire experience! The building and grounds are gorgeous, meticulously maintained and quite breathtaking to view! The staff are friendly and informative, and the service - from the continental breakfast to the formal dining room - was second to none!

We requested one of the known "haunted" rooms and had a wonderful experience or two while we stayed! I highly recommend this to everyone!

The town of Port Townsend is also charming to roam about - the shops and places to eat are really good - and we especially enjoyed the Celtic shop downtown, and the Nifty Fifties burger bar! You won't be disappointed with a stay in beautiful Manresa Castle!

Ask for the Weekend Getaway Deal!

The rooms are quaint, victorian style with ample room and reasonably quiet, the staff is excellent, the food at the restaurant is OUTSTANDING! All and all, this is a great place to take a long weekend away from it all.

Great Victorian Hotel

We had a great stay in this beautiful hotel. The room and hotel interior were wonderfully maintained in all their Victorian glory. And the service was top notch. Try to get a room with exclusive access to a huge hot tub. The warm, old, elegant lounge is pretty cool as well. And the walk from the Castle to downtown Port Townsend is endlessly scenic.

Will definitely stay there again.

Relaxing Ocean View and Friendly Ghosts

My fiance and I spent 2 entertaining days at the castle on our way to Vancouver. We found the hospitality to be very welcoming, and the accommodations to be charming and relaxing. We were lucky to get a room with an ocean view (as most, unfortunately, overlook the parking lot and surrounding buildings). The rooms were pretty small, but the "old" furnishings added a special touch. We were also entertained with the stories about the Manresa ghosts and even bought a book at the front desk on the different paranormal occurrences. If you stay there enjoy a drink in the library or in the old fashioned bar. The only downside is that you have to drive downtown for any activities, as there is nothing to do around the castle.

Sleeping in a Pulp & Paper Mill

Advertising for Manresa Castle, located near Port Townsend, Washington does not state its close proximity to a pulp & paper mill. On our 2nd night the entire hotel was encased, in and out, in a thick putrid fog of smoke as the wind had changed. Those with allergies and asthma should beware! In addition, exept for a few of the rooms, most are institutional in style and fittings.