Inn website: www.elmsinn.com

Housed in a historic house that has been an inn since 1799, the Elms Inn offers comfortable, semi-luxury accomodations with in-room breakfast each morning. Despite being housed in a building over 200 years old, the inn has been extensively renovated and modernized inside. Unlike many B&Bs in New England, the rooms at the Elms are less unique and closer to what you'd expect in a more modern hotel (for a more romantic, historic-feeling inn, see my review of the West Lane Inn in this journal). Still, they are quite comfortable and much of the decor fits the theme of a historic inn. All of the rooms feature individual air conditioning and heating units, irons and ironing boards, private baths, cable television, and phones with data ports. High speed wi-fi Internet access is available for a per-day fee, although I had some difficulty getting a strong wi-fi signal during the first part of my stay while I was in a suite on the third floor.

My trip to Ridgefield actually included two individual stays at the Elms in different rooms, as I arrived on Wednesday, checked out on Friday to go to New York for the weekend, and then returned on Sunday to stay until Wednesday. During my first stay I was assigned to a large suite on the third floor; on the second stay I had a smaller standard room on the second floor. Both were extremely comfortable.

At check-in the staff will discuss your options for the complimentary in-room breakfast and record your preferences. Each morning at your selected time, a tray will arrive with your choice of tea, coffee, or hot chocolate, choice of juices, a toasted bagel with cream cheese and jam, yogurt, and a small muffin or slice of pound cake. While not a low-carb diet friendly meal, the breakfast was good and filling. My only complaint was the lack of variety. After five days at the Elms, I would have liked a little more variety for breakfast.

Overall the Elms Inn was a great choice. The rooms are nice, and the in-room breakfast is a nice touch because you can eat while you get ready in the morning. Additionally, the inn's restaurant serves excellent dinners, and the property's central location in downtown Ridgefield puts a number of good restaurants within walking distance.