PORTSMOUTH, N.H. -- You don't have to know much about real estate to know the best thing s about the Bow Street Inn are location, location, and location.
The inn sits above the Seacoast Repertory Theatre in a 19th-century brick building in the city's historic district (inn guests receive discounted tickets to shows). It's so close to the shore you can smell the Piscataqua River. A few minutes' walk along narrow brick streets takes you to Strawbery Banke, downtown restaurants, and the docks. And you can leave your car in a church parking lot across the street -- at least until 7:30 Sunday morning.
We arrived on a Friday evening, armed with a sheet of instructions on retrieving our keys from the outside lock box and our secret code. Once we determined which side was the front of the combination padlock, we were in.
We took an elevator to the second floor, and entered a long, brightly lighted corridor with rooms on both sides. We helped ourselves to sugar cookies in the breakfast room and loaded up on brochures about Portsmouth and area attractions. In our room we found a map, a parking pass for the church lot across the street, and the innkeeper's phone number for emergencies. We wondered whether a full-scale musical production on the floor below would interrupt our sleep, but we never heard a note. Innkeeper Joan Jones said later that the credit goes to concrete floors and 16-inch-thick walls in the former brewery storage building.
The inn's approach is simple but practical, even thoughtful. Directions were easy to follow. Newspaper clippings about new or unusual attractions and restaurants were posted on a bulletin board in the lobby. A plethora of instructional notes -- how to use the coffee maker, where to find "to go" coffee cups -- took a soft tone: "If you choose to eat breakfast in your room, please take a tray. Thank you. Joan."
Joan and Arthur Jones bought the inn in 1998, after they retired from jobs in nursing and teaching in Buffalo and "fell in love with Portsmouth," Joan Jones said.
Our room was plain but comfortable . It had a queen-size bed and a small loveseat, along with a butcher block table and chair. A shelf unit held a chest of drawers, small television, and compact refrigerator. The white walls, off-white carpet, and bland furnishings were vaguely reminiscent of a college dorm. We kept the horizontal blinds closed after a quick peek revealed a view of another building.
On the plus side, the mattress was firm and the lamps on the night tables provided good reading light. There was a phone, and local calls were free.
The bathroom was small but adequate, with a tub and shower. Toiletries included inn-brand soap and conditioning shampoo. Nice thick towels and a hair dryer completed the amenities. Lighting over the sink, however, was so dim as to make it virtually impossible to apply makeup.
The inn's premier accommodation is Room 7, a suite with a partial water view, which is often rented for extended stays or used by wedding parties, Joan Jones said.
Continental breakfast is set out in the sunny breakfast room, where the ceiling is exposed brick. We helped ourselves to coffee, juice, melon, granola, cereal, English muffins, bagels, and coffee cake, and sat at small round bistro tables. Everything tasted fresh. Items were meticulously labeled, down to the brand of jam in ceramic pots. Arthur Jones chatted with us about the weather and our planned boat trip to the Isles of Shoals.
We shared breakfast with a couple from Chicago who had come to Portsmouth specifically to see Suzanne Vega perform at The Music Hall, which is -- like nearly every attraction in the city -- a short walk from Bow Street. Mark Twomey said he and Claudia Zanella appreciated the hostelry's "central location and quality."
The inn's other common room, dubbed "the gathering place," features a couch and chairs, lamps, and a CD player with a few CDs. It could be a place to escape if your partner wanted to take a nap or go to bed early. But you'd probably rather enjoy the bustling, historic city just outside your door.
Contact Ellen Albanese at ealbanese@globe.com. 
