Vandiver Inn

We stayed for one night (a Saturday) as part of a wedding party at the Vandiver. Aside from a small snafu when making our reservation a few months ago, everything about the Vandiver above-​and-​beyond delighted us. I’m more of a hotel kind of gal, and B&Bs sometimes freak me out a little (they can feel a little TOO personal) but all of the staff at Vandiver, from the folks who answer the phone, to the ones who checked us in, to the wedding event staff we worked with were incredible professional, helpful, and SO NICE.
Our room (the Tidings Room) was bright, airy, comfortable, and well-​maintained for such a historic structure. The bed was SUPER-​comfortable, and we were even helped to light a fire in our room’s fireplace.
The staff was super-​accommodating the next morning and let us keep our room for a few extra hours before checking out, since they didn’t have anyone else checking in to it. The included breakfast was lovely, and coffee was available all day.
I feel like the wedding could be a whole separate review, but sufficed to say that I’m a wedding photographer, so I’ve seen the good, the bad, the ugly. Let’s just say that from start to finish, Vandiver was the best of the best. I’d be delighted if every wedding I attended, ever, were at the Vandiver. A delight from start to finish!
And my boyfriend and I enjoyed Havre de Grace, where the inn is located, so much that we’re hoping to make it back for a personal trip sometime next year! We’ll definitely stay at the Vandiver when we do.

It looked like a pretty nice b&b but unfortunately they put us in the overflow house across the street. While the room was huge, it felt like we were staying at someone’s apartment. It was clean and had a full kitchen, but the window ACs looked poorly maintained and it was just a weird vibe.
All that aside, the woman who greeted us was really nice and the breakfast was excellent. The main house was very charming. I would just avoid the overflow house if I was trying to have a nice weekend away. Parking seemed easy on the street.

Fantastic food and rooms!!! Very accommodating and hospitable staff. Clean and good service

Amazing! We had our wedding here a week ago and everything was beyond perfect. Jo was there taking care of things from start to finish. Also, the wedding planning was a breeze and so much less stressful thanks to her! I cannot say enough about how amazing (not to mention beautiful) this venue is! So personal and they think of literally EVERYTHING. Also, the guests could not believe how amazing the food was :)
Thanks again for making our wedding day a magical experience!

We stayed here and attended a wedding just last night and we absolutely loved every minute. The staff and service is superb and the bed is AMAZING. We felt taken care of and genuinely treated like human beings. I would travel far and away to come stay here again in a heartbeat. A true Maryland gem.

Stayed here for a wedding, the staff were so friendly and accommodating. The food was delicious. Would definitely come back and stay for a weekend away.

So looking forward to our wedding here! We have not had it yet, but the service so far was so good that I had to write the review early (will update later afterwards =) The reason I’m writing now is because Vandiver was not my first venue choice. My first choice turned out to have such horrible customer service that I dropped them and found Vandiver, and I’m so glad. We are on a tight budget, so many places treated us like a joke when we told them our budget, but the staff here did not make any remarks when we told them our budget, and just cheerfully continued forward like we had a $ 200,000 budget! I can’t wait!

Susan and John are expert hosts! Susan is an exceptional chief– each meal prepared with great detail to balance, flavor, health, and texture. Simply delicious and creative. Rooms are unique, lovely, clean and charming. A great place to get away to and explore the beauty of a small coastal town. Highly recommended.

Our friends hosted their wedding at the vandiver inn over this weekend. We were able to stay in the «mansion». It was awesome. Each room had its own unique flair and style. It is nice that each room has its own bathroom. The staff was awesome. And extremely friendly and professional. Jo was their wedding planner and was absolutely the best thing that could have happened the entire weekend. She made sure everything went smoothly. Her extreme eye for detail and her upbeat personality and professionalism out everyone’s nerves at ease. I would recommend having your wedding at the vandiver for her alone. But when you add the accommodations, the rest of the staff and the grounds into it, I don’t think there could have been a more perfect place for my friends wedding. We will be back!

We stayed here on a weeknight in the off season. At that time, all the rooms are one price, so we got a huge suite for a cheap. Excellent value!
The room was comfortable and well-​appointed. The fireplace was hassle-​free and the heat kept us comfortable despite record low temperatures. Breakfast was top notch and the staff were very friendly.
Only minor complaints were that the walls in our room were scuffed, there was no heat in the bathroom, and the cable didn’t have any HD channels. These are very minor, but might matter to you. Also, the welcome binder came off as oddly defensive. It reads like a catalogue of crazy demands past guests have made.
In summary, this inn was a great place to stay. Minor complaints aside, I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a place to stay in HdG.

My husband and I unexpectedly ended up at the Vandiver Inn on Sunday afternoon when bad weather forced us to abandon our drive home. Although we were both anxious to find any place to sleep, I’m so glad we bypassed the Super 8 and ventured a bit further to the Inn. Not only did they drop their rates because of the special circumstances (who does that?), they provided free dinner to all their guests and lent me a laptop so I could work remotely. On top of that, the room was lovely and had unexpected amenities like a fireplace and jacuzzi tub.
Thanks to Vandiver Inn and their friendly staff, our rotten (and unsafe) start to the morning turned into a relaxing and comfortable day.

We got married at the Vandiver Inn in May 2013. We booked the venue over a year in advance, and our experience from the day we visited to breakfast the day after the wedding was amazing. The owner, John, was accommodating and very involved — in a friendly way — with the service. Chasi — who coordinates all wedding activities — was a Godsend. Everything went off without a hitch thanks to Chasi and John.
Our guests all agreed. I heard nothing but compliments about the venue.
Besides the AMAZING service, the food was great, the staff is friendly, and the pricing is the best we could find.
Thanks to the crew at the Vandiver, our wedding really was a day to remember. Highly recommended!!!

The wife and I wanted to get away for her 40^th birthday, and we thought we’d try Havre de Grace for the first time. The Vandiver showed up on Unilocal,and based on the reviews, we made a reservation for a Friday night. One thing that was nice was Vandiver allowed for one-​night reservations, whereas traditional B&B’s will want a weekend reservation.
The Vandiver Inn is actually three homes in a row, all owned and operated as a single entity. The main mansion was built in 1886 and is extremely well kept. Grounds are likewise well kept, although mid-​March blah still made the facilities more winter than spring. Inside, the downstairs of the mansion consists of a main gathering/​living room, a bar (by night)/breakfast bar (by morning), anda dining room, which was hosting a rehearsal dinner the Friday night of our arrival. They do promote their Inn as a wedding destination. Upstairs, 4 or 5 rooms were available; other rooms we looked at were equally impressive. Full room pictures can be found at
Upon arrival, we me the owner, were given the 411 of how the Inn works, and were taken up to our room, the Stokes room, in the back of the second floor. The room was very tastefully appointed, had a view of the back yard from a deck, a private bath, and a queen with memory-​foam mattress. The room was very clean, kept, and linens and towels were wonderful.
Breakfast Saturday morning was great. The breakfast bar boasted toast/​bagels, pastries/​scones/​danish/​coffee cake, fruit cocktails, granola, cereals. The warm offering was a spinach and cheese quiche and home fries. Of course, coffee and three juices were offered. It was all good… the sign out front stated that it was open to the public for breakfast; if I lived closer, I might take them up on it.
Gripes? None. You are whisked away to another time, treated to a luxury that normal life doesn’t offer… to me, anyway. The price for the room was $ 129, a price I’d gripe at for a normal hotel… but for this? No way. The Vandiver is a unique place that I’m sure we will visit again.

I just officiated a wedding for my friends Scott and Jocelyn at the Vandiver Inn in Havre de Grace. What a wonderful, beautiful establishment! Besides the building being comforting and beautifully decorated, the staff was outstandingly friendly, courteous, and helpful. I highly recommend the Vandiver Inn to any couple getting married or just a a sweet getaway spot. Top notch!

I came across the Vandiver Inn through a google key word search. This venue had many of the amenities I was looking for on my big day. Joe (my fiancé, now husband) and I set up an appointment to visit the Vandiver in mid October 2011. As soon as we stepped foot on the property we fell in love. It oozed romance and warmth in all regards. We adored the feel of the Victorian-​style Inn… BUT the selling point for us was that the mansion grounds could not only hold a beautiful ceremony (inside or out) and reception but it could house all of the 14 members of our wedding party (+ dates), two sets of grandparents, one set of parents, and our officiate and his wife. The Vandiver was our first venue visit and quickly became our last. We booked our date that week. Fast forward 11 months. Our wedding day was the most beautiful day and we couldn’t have done it without the scenic backdrop and the HARD working team of the Vandiver. Simply flawless. Chasi, the Vandiver wedding coordinator is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. I am type-​A/​nervous-​nelly/​perfectionist and quiet frankly I was petrified of my wedding day. My husband and I had done a private ceremony at the courthouse near our home months before — so I knew I wasn’t nervous about being «married» it was all the fuss associated with planning a wedding. Family, DIY decorations, vendor appts, dress fittings, dieting, family… oh and did I mention family? Haha, pressure! Chasi, from our first visit made us feel at ease. She is welcoming, caring, and easy to talk to, trustworthy, professional, and completely devoted to us and our day. She is truly one of a kind and the BEST in the business. I knew everything would be taken care of because of her. This obviously relieved a lot of wedding-​planning stress and when it came time for my big day I felt, to my surprise, relaxed and at ease, completely confident and comfortable letting Chasi work her magic. From complicated ceremony seating arrangements to bustling my wedding dress, she was a loyal companion during some hectic times. I am forever grateful.
Now on to the food… we got, and still get, SO many compliments on how delicious our food was, from the passed appetizers to the pasta and everything in-​between. Not to toot my own horn but I’m pretty much a food expert haha. Living in DC and having access to some of the best restaurants/​chefs in the industry — I’ve done a lot of fine dining. Chef Susan, also Vandiver owner along with her husband John, is top notch! We choose the «stations» menu: Asian Station, Tapas Station (empanaditas are to die!!), pasta station, Horseradish Encrusted Beef Tenderloin (a guest favorite by far!) and Smoked Turkey Breast at the carving station. The food was perfection. And you WILL, as the bride and groom, get to eat it. On our wedding night, we came back to the Rodger’s Suite late-​night after the HdG bars had closed, to find a nice big plate of all the favorites from the evening… and a piece of cake. That. Is. Service. John, Susan, Chasi, and their team made our day impeccable and I truly can’t thank them enough. We look forward to visiting again! Corrine & Joe — wedding: 9.8.12
Special thanks to our other vendors: Jenny Z Mobile DJ Service, Amanda’s Florist, Desserts by Rita, and A.E. Landes Photography. You guys ROCK!

My experience in the working world is all over the place. I’ve been to a few weddings now on a personal level (i.e. a guest) and a few as a professional vendor. And let me tell you: you are not going to find a better place for the price. Not going to happen. Nope. Stop trying.
I’d even argue that this venue is better than places that charge twice as much! The food is home cooked, tastes fabulous, and is served QUICKLY (I’ve seen other places take as long as 20 minutes to get everyone fed once the food starts coming out. Unacceptable). The venue has character, has lots of space, and the location is awesome. If your wedding is on the large side, and most people are from out of town, there are more than enough places to stay within walking distance if you manage to fill up the entire Vandiver. That means no one drinks and drives. And even better: if you’re not lit up enough, you’re walking distance to bars! You’re saving lives AND saving money on taxi/​limo services. It’s a win-​win.
And again, I’ve met a lot of wedding coordinators, and none of them hold a candle to Chasi. She just gets it. She treats you and your wedding party like royalty. And you know she’s good when people still talk about her a year later. Case closed. Why would you get married anywhere else?!

I’m copying the below from my wife’s input on the Vandiver Inn. As of today on wedding wire they have 75 reviews — and the lowest was a 4.7 (out of 5) :).
++++++++++++
Every great Fairytale starts off with ‘Once upon a time…” So here it goes!
Once upon a time, there was this amazing place called The Vandiver Inn where they make all your dreams come true. Finding a wedding venue wasn’t easy for us. Stuart and I had two different visions of our wedding day. I grew up in NYC and Stu grew up in New Hampshire. After visiting countless of venues, we came across The Vandiver Inn.
As soon as we walked into the venue, we fell in love!!! It captured the elegance we were looking for. John, Susan and Chasi made the entire wedding planning process so easy for us. They guided us through the process step by step where we never had to stress… They made us feel like we were part of their family from the beginning.
One stop shop! Besides the AMAZINGLY easy to work with staff… the one stop shop concept is BRILLIANT! The Vandiver provided everything, tables, chairs, linens, silverware, wedding cake, etc. Along with a great preferred vendor list… we were all set!
My guest had an amazing time at our wedding. They all were blown away by the staffs hospitality. Stuart and I get a kick out of all the great complements we received about the venue and the food!!! EVERYONE couldn’t get enough of the food! I have to get Susan into my kitchen and show me her moves :) She is so talented!
There is not a day that goes by where I don’t think about our wedding. From beginning to end, everyone made us feel special. Our special thanks to Chasi! We have grown to love and adore her throughout the entire wedding planning. Her professionalism, sunny disposition, kind heart, infectious smile and her ability to read minds (no joke, she knew what you wanted or needed before you could open your mouth) — this makes Chasi a 5 star wedding planner. I’ve planned and operated over 300 wedding in my career in NYC and Chasi has every beat! At the end of the day, Chasi has a gift that a lot of people don’t have — The ability to make dreams come true!
PS — We would also like to give a great thanks to all the vendors we used that were recommended by The Vandiver; Rev. Laura Cannon, Divine Transformation, Frank Marsden with Friendly Entertainment and Amanda with Amanda’s Florists.

My wedding was here, and my husband and I have stayed here several times. The staff is always friendly, helpful, and very ready to attend to any and all our needs. The food, wedding dinner and breakfast, was unique, creative, and delicious. They also do very inexpensive, gourmet «Monday Night Suppers» that we tried while checking them out for our wedding. The rooms are beautiful, classic, and well-​maintained. It’s like a little mini vacation to stay at the Vandiver.
I would recommend the Vandiver to anyone who would like a quaint and relaxing B&B experience. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND the Vandiver for weddings– it was a unique, cool reception, with amazing staff (Chasi, the wedding planner is the wedding savior), that was not nearly as expensive as many other reception halls we looked at.

My wife and I stayed here, recently, and found the main house starting to fall into decay. It is really expensive and time consuming to keep up with all of the details of such an operation. I don’t think I would be able to! It looks like it belongs in a Tennessee Williams play. You are reminded of the former glory days, but often notice the peeling paint.
We had the large room with the «eco-​friendly» fireplace. Fortunately, our bedding was new and superb (4 stars for the mattress) and the room was clean and had no odors.
I suppose it is «shabby-​chic» to compliment the peeling paint in the bathroom with an antique tub that was set up with a poorly rigged curtain, making a shower an interesting event.
You don’t need the fireplace, since our room was in the high 80’s. I had to open a door to the exterior to let out the heat, several times that night, otherwise we would have suffocated! I finally found the hot air duct, under a table, and covered it with towels. That, and the cold air from the open door finally got the temp down so that we could sleep by about 2 – 3 AM. (Of course there was no thermostat in the room, since it is a very quaint old home).
Despite all of this, the staff was quite friendly and helpful and all of our food was more than acceptable. We would probably go back, if we were able to get a climate controlled room.
I have always loved this area, at the confluence of the Susquehanna River and the Bay, so I really enjoy when I can get down there.

Honestly, my stay at the Vandiver Inn was sub-​par.
I’ll say right now that the gold standard for B&Bs is the Cider Mill House B&B in Hedgesville, WV. I will use it as a base for comparison for all B&B reviews.
I stayed at the Vandiver this past weekend with my girlfriend who has stayed in the main house and had her sisters wedding there and she loved it. We were in the Donohoo room which is not in the main house (Murphy House) and the accommodations were not that impressive. The room was tastefully decorated and was nice enough but after that initial once over that is where things came apart.
The carpet was a bit dingy and needed to be replaced. You could see where someone squirted some cleaning solution on the far side of the bed which discolored the carpet. The bed had one of the most uncomfortable mattresses I have ever slept on, EVER. I could feel the springs poking into my side as I slept and no matter how I tried to position myself it didn’t help. The bed was also a double so that didn’t help things out seeing as how there is limited space with two people in it anyway. The bathroom had toilet paper which was industrial grade sandpaper and the toilet itself was not level so you sat at an angle if you had to go, not nice. I think a plumber could fix that last issue for very cheap.
Breakfast the next morning was also disappointing. After we were seated by who I think was the owner (a very nice guy I’ll add) we went to the buffet which had assorted pastries, bagels and toast, fruit, coffee and juice. The pastries were standard fare, something that you would see at a Holiday Inn Express but the coffee was delicious. The main course was a French toast casserole which was decent, but not out of this world.
The highlights of the Vandiver Inn are the gorgeous main house, which they call the mansion. Also, it is located in Havre De Grace which is a beautiful small town down on the water. There is a lot of stuff to do and see in the town.
Maybe if we stayed in the main house it would have been different, but all I can say is my girlfriend and I were very disappointed. A Bed & Breakfast that does not have a good bed OR breakfast is not a good value or idea at $ 119 a night.