Name: South Shire
Address: 124 Elm St, Bennington, US

10/10

Exceptional

17 Jun 2026

Peter

South Shire is a quaint Victorian Inn on Elm Street within walking distance to the center of Bennington, VT. The Inn has a family feel and elegance. We traveled as a couple. It was easy to get to sites and enjoy fine restaurants. The Inn is in keeping with the feel of strength of the Bennington community, as a place for artists, musicians, and people's expression generally to thrive. We enjoyed our stay and would recommend South Shire.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

28 May 2026

Stephen

Talk about charm...this is a beautiful and well-maintained Victorian home. The bed was comfortable and the room was clean and well appointed. The Thai restaurant inside the inn was excellent, and there was a live pianist on Friday evening to add to the charm.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

24 May 2026

Jan

Staff was great.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

26 Feb 2026

Andrew

Charming B&B style hotel in beautiful Bennington, VT.

8/10

Excellent

17 Feb 2026

Liz

Room was clean staff was good. Based on pictures we thought the jetted tub was larger

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

02 Feb 2026

Steven

Overall, the B&B is quite dated, and not as clean as I would have hoped. Also, the reception we received at check in and during the continental breakfast was lacking...being a family run establishment, I would have expected a better welcome and given a general overview of the property and its amenities. Even at check out, we were unable to contact anyone.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

04 Jan 2026

TROY

A+ service, room we stayed in was perfect size with king bed. had an issue with heater first night but Inn Keeper was great to deal with and provided alternative heat source on first evening plus they have working fireplace (bonus++). We stayed 3 nights and just enjoyed ourselves during our visit. would definitely stay here again.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

03 Jan 2026

Mike

Loved the B and B. Joe was a great host. The house was warm and inviting. The restaurant which has Thai food was great. The chef was very nice. Antiques and replicas abound. Our room the golden room was beautiful. Our own bathroom. Fireplace in room. Decorated for Christmas. Location excellent. Rob and Colleen

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

28 Dec 2025

Elizabeth

Welcoming staff, lovely room. You must try the restaurant, it’s very good. They kindly set up a table for me by the fire on a snowy night. Absolutely delicious. Felt very well treated. Only flaw was I could hear a very loud snorer in a neighbouring room but that’s hardly their fault.

Business

10/10

Exceptional

05 Dec 2025

Roseann

Great period decor! Spacious rooms and an inviting living room to relax. Also walking distance to downtown shops and restaurants was a real plus!

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

02 Nov 2025

Jeffrey

The house is a beautiful New England structure with a variety of rooms to choose from. Our room, the Gold room was luxurious and spacious with great light during the day. The \"private bath\" is across the hall requiring proper dress to exit the room and enter the bathroom. It's a small point but different nonetheless than in in-room bath.

The heating function was a bit tricky since it is an older hot water heat register that takes some time to heat up or down so you need to be mindful of time needed to adjust the room heat.

A couple of notes for the management (I was in the hotel business for 20 years) relate to the living room/parlor furnishings. There is an enormouse floral arrangement in the center of the room between the seating arrangements that obstructs the view of the front window. I would suggest moving it to a corner of the room to allow other guests to enjoy the view to the outside and adding a second table and chairs to take advantage of the room and view. Other guests are required to sit in the restaurant away from the living room area and it felt isolated.

Staff is casually under dressed for the surroundings of the inn. I would spruce them up a bit. The receptionist did not provide a greeting when we arrived and it felt we weren't welcomed adequately.

Overall, however, it's a beautiful place to stay and just needs a little more attention to the guest experience. I'm happy to talk with anyone should they desire.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

31 Oct 2025

Stephen

Very cool rooms. Al different and many with fireplaces. Friendly staff

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

13 Oct 2025

Julie

Quiet, peaceful stay!

Partner

4/10

Poor

11 Oct 2025

David

Front desk clerk was clueless. There was no on-property parking available. Room was uncomfortably warm. Bath was empty. Run down properly. All-around terrible. My scores are generous.

10/10

Exceptional

07 Oct 2025

Deanna

A unique historical property, the furnishings are all lovely antiques. The parlor room is a beauty and it was so nice to have a cup of tea there at the end of the day. Everyone is friendly and accommodating. It was like staying at your great aunt's glamorous home...welcoming and comfortable. The bed was amazing!

Leisure Partner

4/10

Poor

24 Sep 2025

Michael

Beautiful setting. Clean and well kept. Relaxing y to o sit on the front porch.

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

13 Sep 2025

Tracy

It was quaint. It’s a very old house so it is very creaky. It was nice and quiet otherwise. There was a mixup in rooms with not much of an apology. Once I had unpacked I was told I needed to move to another room because new staff gave me a reserved room. All in all it was a nice place but not sure I would go back.

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

11 Sep 2025

Kristy

Classic style and comfort.

A wonderful little hotel in what was once a family home. The hotel has personality and a wonderfully cozy ambiance. The host was very personable and polite, and was a joy to converse with.

The room had great personality, and each room has their own individual style. Our room had plenty of space to move around, and did not feel stuffy or confined. The bed was an incredibly comfortable four-poster.

We will definitely mark this as a hotel to revisit whenever we are in the area.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

06 Sep 2025

Verified traveler

Great place in Bennington

Nice place to visit while in Bennington. Walking distance to downtown and a nice quiet neighborhood.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

27 Aug 2025

Jennifer

Beautiful place to stay

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

16 Aug 2025

GARY

Antique lovely but a little lacking in conviences

This inn is a trip back in time. Antique everything, which I loved but some wouldn't. No tv or refrigerator came with the room, and there weren't a lot of outlets either, but the place is beautiful. It all depends on what you are looking for. The other thing is that its a long way up a spiral staircase to the second floor with no elevator, so if you aren't good with stairs it probably isn't good for you. Still a beautiful house that the owners have restored to near original condition with antique furniture, etc...

Friends_and_family Friends

8/10

Excellent

15 Aug 2025

James

Bennington is not what I remembered.

6/10

Pleasant

14 Aug 2025

Paul

The building was really nice and in the process of finishing up on painting. The rooms were very dated and I assume to be refreshed next? Our room had several issues, The coffee table in the sitting area was broken and should be removed. The drapes in the sitting area had a broken rod so it was difficult to close them. The bath vanity had 2 of 4 lights out, the 2 working were different brightness and there was no soap at the sink. The base boards were Very dusty around the toilet. The coffee had 3 expresso and 1 regular coffee pod. We don't care for expresso. I talked to, I think, the owner about the issues and said he was unaware of them and they would be taken care of. That night we returned to No change to the bulbs in the bathroom, coffee table untouched, NO coffee pods at all and the coffee area still had old pods and dirty cups there. No change to the coffee table or the curtain rod. They did service the room because there were fresh towels. The bed had the Duvet pulled up but we had left it that way so not sure they did anything in the bed area.

8/10

Excellent

06 Aug 2025

Anita

Pretty property!

Leisure

10/10

Exceptional

28 Jul 2025

Kate

South Shire is a beautiful place filled with history and character. The staff were wonderful; kind and attentive. They were welcoming to us and our pup throughout the stay. We were very happy with the quality of the mattress and linens as well as the ac being nice and cold on a very hot day (not always things you find in an older bed and breakfast.) We would absolutely stay here again.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

25 Jul 2025

Rosemary

Cute place to stay walking distance from brewery.

Leisure Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

24 Jul 2025

Alan

Beautiful Victorian mansion and furnishings. Excellent continental breakfast. Easy walk to historic downtown Bennington.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

16 Jul 2025

Jonathan

Interesting hotel in special old building;friendly personnel, superb Thai restaurant. A real surprise

10/10

Exceptional

10 Jul 2025

Frederic

very nice highly recommend

Leisure Self

8/10

Excellent

08 Jul 2025

Emma

It was charming and the room was spacious and wonderfully cool. Some areas were a little worn but overall very pleasant!

Leisure

10/10

Exceptional

05 Apr 2025

bart

The property owner is very friendly and knowledgeable.He spent a number of years abroad and the decoration in this old Victorian represents his travels.There is also a thai restaurant incorporated inside the house

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

23 Feb 2025

Joy

Lovely property

The property at South Shire is beautiful and quiet. We have stayed at a few places in Bennington and it can be hit or miss.

The bed in our room was very comfortable and there was also a fireplace and a deep spa tub.

Just know that if you book a room for 3 and it is not specified that there is more than one bed they will have to pull in a mattress.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

17 Feb 2025

Suzanne

The Southshire is a beautiful vintage home with original details, great charm, working original fireplace in the large cozy wood paneled parlor. There are games, large comfy sofas, and bookcases full of every genre of books for reading. The dining room is lovely and quaint. My room in the carriage house was very large and furnished with antiques and a working fireplace.
Joe, the owner, was extremely nice and very accommodating. He even spent a half hour with me digging my car out of the snow and ice and literally pushing my car out of a snow pile! I can highly recommend a stay at this charming Inn if you are looking for true New England authenticity.
Thank you Joe for making this a special place.

Leisure

8/10

Excellent

02 Jan 2025

Carola

We spent several nights at this lovely Victorian era inn in the \"Otto Room\". The mattress was very comfortable. The shower could use an update and water temperatures fluctuated but had good water pressure. We loved the working fireplace but would have preferred real wood to the duraflame (which is not good for chimneys either as it deposits residues over time that clog chimneys). One could hear the neighbors through the doors a bit - as one would expect from a Victorian aged structure- but did not find it disturbing. If we have any complaints at all it is that the coffee was too thin. But there are ample options for breakfast around the neighborhood. Thank you for a lovely stay.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

15 Dec 2024

rev

It’s a very nice inn and staff were amazing

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

13 Dec 2024

Megan

We had a lovely stay!

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

11 Dec 2024

Maura

We had an amazing stay. Everything about South Shire was perfect. It is beautifully decorated and furnished. They were very accommodating for our late arrival. We stayed in the Hayloft room in the carriage house and the bed felt like we were sleeping on a cloud. We look forward to staying again soon.

Leisure Family

4/10

Poor

13 Nov 2024

Patti

Went here for an anniversary trip with my husband. Check in was from 3-7 pm, we arrived around 6 pm. We dropped off our bags and went out. By the time that we got back and went to bed, I discovered that there wasn't a top sheet on our bed. The next morning, I spoke with the owner and he confirmed w/housekeeping that they had run out of top sheets. How does this happen in such a \"small hotel\"?! At this point, I had also noticed a very dirty toilet base, with urine and dust, like it hadn't been wiped down in some time. YUCK!! On my way back to my room, I passed a young girl who was part of the housekeeping team. I showed her the base of the toilet and asked her to put a top sheet on our bed. We requested housekeeping duties for our room and left for the day. Upon our return late that night, the top sheet was on and our toilet had been wiped down but all of our dirty towels were still on the bathroom floor. Additionally, the empty toilet paper roll was left on the stand. With no clean towels in the bathroom, we had to actually find someone (in the kitchen) who had to locate clean towels for us. Overall, a very disappointing stay.......

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

09 Nov 2024

steven

Rather unique
We liked the piano player

8/10

Excellent

11 Oct 2024

Mary

The suite we had in the carriage house was very room and comfortable. The staff were all very helpful and friendly. Would recommend this facility to anyone going to Bennington, VT

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

07 Oct 2024

Maura

Owner was not terribly customer friendly. So whilst this is. Lovely place to stay the service could be improved.

10/10

Exceptional

06 Oct 2024

Jason

Spacious and comfortable

Spacious and comfortable room and bathroom with lovely details. The fireplace was very nice on a chilly night. We will return!

Partner

8/10

Excellent

05 Oct 2024

nancy

Unable to provide breakfast. Really disappointed

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

31 Aug 2024

Marissa

Excellent and friendly staff and hospitality!

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

25 Aug 2024

Heather

It was a nice change from regular hotels. Will always stay there if I’m in Bennington and can’t recommend them enough.

Self

8/10

Excellent

18 Aug 2024

Verified traveler

Unique stay. We enjoyed it. Of note, no reception past 7p. We didnt realize enough bath towels were provided until after 7p and therefore nothing could be done. The appliance with usb charging capability didnt work. I mentioned this to the manager in the am but he dodnt seem to care.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

16 Aug 2024

Teri

Lovely Victorian building. The owner was wonderful! We’ll be back!

6/10

Pleasant

12 Aug 2024

James

.

Leisure Family

6/10

Pleasant

10 Aug 2024

Lisa

Location was nice, walkable to town. Carpets beyond stained, wallpaper falling down, no coffee pods for dated keurig, small/one person whirlpool tube....

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

27 Jun 2024

Ronald

Nice property with great restaurant on site. No breakfast available however.

Leisure Family