Thornwald Mansion

We recently stayed at the Thornwald Mansion, and highly recommend it to anyone visiting the Carlisle area. Rkia and Tom Hall, who are the owners and Innkeepers, did a great job with communication to ensure everything was ready for our arrival. They are super friendly and obviously take great pride in welcoming guests to the mansion. They met us right at the front door, gave us a nice tour of the mansion, and made great recommendations for dinner. The room was huge and well decorated; we loved the restored clawfoot tub. Breakfasts were very tasty! All in all, a great visit to the Thornwald Mansion. We look forward to visiting again soon.

We absolutely loved our stay at the Thornwald Mansion. It is nicely secluded in a park yet you are within walking distance to Dickinson College and a shopping center. The property has outstanding amenities and the food selections at breakfast were delicious. The service exceeded our expectations. The room and the bed were comfortable and very quiet. This mansion went under fire and then was rebuilt by the current owner from the ground up paying attention to detail and preserving its history. The grounds are gorgeous. Great location surrounded by trees and park. It was the most relaxing vacation we had had in a long time. We will definitely be back.

The owners have done a phenomenal job bringing this property back from abandoned. They are also attentive, kind, and wonderful hosts. The breakfasts are delicious. With that said, the property is unfinished. Most rooms are off limits, including those pictured in the overview. You can access the entry, your suite, and the breakfast room, nothing else. The entry courtyard is all dry loose gravel on top of plastic, and the fountains are not operating. There is no outdoor seating or patios. The a/c in the guest room couldn't keep up, and there is no ceiling fan to help. The house itself, except for the breakfast room, is pretty dark, and they keep most of the lights off including in the guest hallways. There is no hot water in the bathroom, just slightly warm. No shampoo, just a budget brand travel size conditioner for color-treated hair (?) and one small bar of soap. For the price, I would expect decent toiletries. For the two of us, we received 2 bath towels, and 2 washcloths. No hand towels, and no additional towels. WiFi is decent, but no streaming available on the TV, only a bare bones cable package. The house is locked 24/7, and guests do not receive a key, having to be let in and out every time which can feel a little oppressive. I have done historic rehab, understand its difficulties, but there is no excuse for missing grout and haphazardly cut tiles when the materials are mostly new from Lowes. The building is very quiet. Which can be nice...but it is also like staying in a mortuary. Although the private gated parking is a nice amenity, the gate is locked from 10 pm to 6 am, and there is no opener or gate code if you had to leave for any reason during that time, without waking up the hosts. There are cameras throughout the inside of the house, along with motion sensors that chime every step you take outside of your room. They seem very nice, we liked them personally, but it's overall creepy. I imagine this is how exiled dictators under house arrest live. It may work well for an event, the location is convenient, and is very interesting to see - but the fact that most of it is closed off, and the price is very high considering its eccentricities, like no hot water and limited AC, it is not a great choice for couples looking for a getaway.