This was not a comfortable place to stay. The beds are old and uncomfortable, the bedding was old, ugly, and scratchy and there wasn't a single chair in our room. They boast cable tv but the TV is so small, the reception was fuzzy and there wasn't a chair to sit in to watch the TV. If you own a bed and breakfast, you really should focus on the BED! One bed was so squeaky, the other bed was lumpy.

We paid for (2) nights, but only spent one. The room was dusty and the bed
felt like it was going to break. I think we stayed in a converted garage.

We considered ourselves lucky to snag a room in the Amana Colonies just before a holiday weekend. After a restless night at Dusk to Dawn, we revised our thinking.

The positives:
Breakfast: Breakfast was excellent. Served family style, it consisted of a tasty egg casserole, home baked cinnamon rolls and an artfully arranged fruit platter. Also coffee and a variety of teas. We had a very enjoyable meal visiting with the other guests.

Shopping: Middle Amana (where D2D is situated) is just a couple of short miles from Amana, where most of the shops and restaurants are located.

The negatives:
Room: (This applies to the room we stayed in only...we didn’t see the others, hopefully they were better.) There was only seating for one (an outdoor patio chair); the other guest had to sit on the end of the bed. At the head of the bed was an enclosure that housed the building’s water heater. We were treated to the sound of it cycling on and off (right next to our heads) whenever anyone else in the building used hot water.

Bath “area”: Not to be confused with a bathROOM, this was an open toilet, sink and shower stall on one end of the room, separated from the bed and dresser by a short screen in front of the toilet. The screen did nothing to contain the usual bathroom noises and smells. The plastic shower stall was cracked and its floor was a dingy gray. To use the bathroom in the night, one had to either go in the dark or take a flashlight...the only light was the room’s ceiling light and to turn it on would disturb the other sleeper.

Noise: There was obviously no soundproofing between rooms...no trouble at all hearing our neighbors get water, flush, shower, etc. The hot tub (outside, near our window) was operating and I thought the motor would be soothing “white noise”. Unfortunately, it attracted a constant flow of folks who wanted to lift the cover, see what was inside, then slam the cover back down–the hot tub would have been better located away from sleeping quarters. A wooden stairway right outside our window provided plenty of noise from foot traffic clomping up & down.

We love B&Bs and don’t expect everything to be perfect. We do expect to spend the night in a quiet room, not have a water heater in that room and if a private bath is offered, we would certainly prefer it to have its own space, not be part of the bedroom.

This B & B is in Middle Amana, Iowa. The owner told me she'd had it for four years. It is a 100+ year old home with a lot of potential.

In all my stays at B&Bs, I've never had an owner tell me at check in "if you use any dishes, please wash them before you go to bed. My husband doesn't like doing dishes at 6:30 in the morning."

That should have been a sign.

While they layout is quite good with private baths in each room in the main house, the bed was an old spring mattress that not only squeaked each time one rolled over, but left me quite sore in the a.m. The showers became scalding hot when someone in the residence flushed or otherwise ran water.

We were told coffee would be ready at 6:30 a.m. I checked in the main room and yes the coffee was brewing, but there were only two tablespoons of coffee grounds in the pot. "Weak" doesn't begin to cover it! That said, the breakfast was quite good with fresh fruit, an egg casserole, and juice.

There is not a comfortable chair inside--the patio chairs on the decks are comfortable, but in inclement weather this isn't enough. Advertised as being furnished with "period" furniture--it truly is. In each of the two main rooms, there is an antique sofa that is in serious need of new springs and upholstery. When I sat on the sofa upstairs, I could actually feel the frame beneath me.


This B & B has a lot of potential, but is in need of some sprucing up--both physically and in terms of guest service.