The Store

This one one of the best places I've ever stayed! It's beautiful, trendy, clean, homey and well-located. John has the best advice for restaurants and coffee shops and made me feel really comfortable. Everything I could have wanted was there, from cute snacks in the room to a thoughtful array of toiletries in the bathroom. The downstairs area was a great place to work and hang out too. Definitely coming back here!

What a beautiful place to stay, in an ideal situation a short walk from downtown Raleigh. The owner John is great, full of information about the area and ideas for places to visit and eat. We enjoyed our breakfast at Boulted Bread, as recommended by John. The place itself has everything that you could possibly want...and more! Excellent.

We found The Store online for a stopover during a long trip. It's a short ride off the Interstate. We stayed for one night and liked it so much that we booked it for our return trip north 6 weeks later, and also booked it for both directions on our trip this year. The Store is unlike anyplace you've stayed before. It's not an anonymous Airbnb, but rather a friendly guesthouse (with only 2 rooms). John is a very gracious host, helpful with anything you might need including terrific restaurant recommendations. He also lives on-site. John is an architect, and he paid attention to every single detail when he updated the old store building. We stayed in one of the rooms on the way south and the other room on the return trip, and again, every detail well thought-out, from the phone chargers next to the bed to the quiet lighting and by far the best bathroom amenities I've encountered in any hotel. There's a huge common area with a kitchen that guests can use and a comfortable living room with a great sound system. There was a fire burning in the wood stove while we were there. I appreciated all the details of the architectural and decor so much that I took a lot of photos, but I just can't locate them right now, or I would upload them with this review. All in all, this guesthouse is highly recommended - it's beautiful, well located in a quiet neighborhood but walking distance to restaurants, friendly and reasonably priced.

This is a second review. I have no connection with the owner, so this is a true rave review. We stayed here for a couple of nights on our way south a few months ago and are back for one night on the way home. The first time we stayed in the smaller of the two rooms, this time in the larger room. Both are wonderful. The bathroom in the larger suite is incredible, with a separate, fantastically-appointed walk-in shower the size of some bathrooms. John is a gracious host, ready to make you feel at home. He is also an incredible architect who has restored this historic building with the most amazing care for every detail. You might notice all these little details, or you might just feel the serenity and beauty of the place. Your stay here will give you the experience that some people must have who can afford to hire an architect to design or renovate their home - there are so many little things that John thought of that only an architect would come up with:a little alcove to fit the TV perfectly, speakers in the walls with an easy connection so you can plug your device in an play your own music, recharging cables, nice, adjustable lighting that you can set however you like it... the list goes on. Every detail is well-thought-out. High quality bed linens and towels, Keurig coffee maker in the room, half and half in the fridge, a basket of snacks, a little desk in each room.... There's a whole bunch of intriguing restaurants walking distance from The Store and it's a lovely neighborhood for a walk. We walked to a great Mediterranean restaurant (Vidrio) for dinner last night. There are a few "boutique" chain hotels downtown, but even new hotels can't compare to the friendliness, comfort and charm of The Store. Seriously. Stay here. It's not really a hotel, but moe of a guest house.