This place is awful, unless you like being 30 feet from a busy highway. Sleep is out of the question in this clapboard barn where the rooms are barren, the beds old and falling apart, and "breakfast" is a frozen old muffin and a juice box. Many rooms have no view. No service at all, in fact. Do not stay here.

Helga's Place has so much promise. Four adults stayed for a weekend in September. Peter was fantastic - friendly, warm, welcoming - everything a host should be. And a fantastic cook! Our breakfasts we nothing short of fabulous - fresh fruit, unbelievably fluffy pancakes, freshly baked muffins, savory omelets - no complaints there! The breakfasts alone were worth the very reasonable price for this B & B. The only shortcoming? We felt the guest area could use a good spring cleaning. Although the sheets and towels were well-worn but clean, and the bathrooms fixtures were clean, we noticed that the walls, mirrors, carpets, countertops and other surfaces needed a good scrubbing. The guest area was also quite cluttered. Had the place been a little tidier and cleaner, Helga's Place would have earned a perfect 5 rating.

After reading other reviews in Trip Advisor we arrived with a little trepidation - but were pleasantly surprised! Yes, they had somehow forgotten we had a confirmed reservation (I would suggest contacting them by phone a few days before arrival). But they were quick to make arrangements for our room. The house is quirky but nice - though housekeeping is not Peter's forte. Speaking of Peter (a native of Finland), he was a tremendous host. We arrived around noon and wanted to eat a lunch we had with us. He got us out some orange juice and made sure we were comfortable. Breakfast was great. The bathroom in our room was beautiful (though there's only a partial wall between it and the bedroom, since there are cathedral ceilings with beautiful skylights). A huge whirlpool tub and great shower. There were people there from several countries in Europe which made it all the more interesting. The pool was beautifully warm (though smelled of paint, and he mentioned that usually it wasn't that warm). Handy to the metro, and a bargain you probably can't match anywhere else!

When the taxi pulled up to the house, I just about cried... all this way for this? When I got inside and was shown to my room, I thought, you're kidding right? The house was dirty, smelly, the bathroom disgusting, the shower was basically a whole in the wall with a water spout. I was shocked. The only thing that saved my stay there was the guests (also dealing with all this). The host tried very hard to make us comfortable and I'll give him credit for that. The breakfast was simple (don't expect anything gourmet) but satisfactory. The house also had a lot of ants so bring an extra pair of shoes for stomping. Would not stay there ever again!