Riverside Resort & RV Park in Qualicum Beach — Hotel in Area G (Mid-Oceanside)

Mixed Experience – Friendly staff, but a serious booking issue

The general manager Paul just responded to my review, so I've added a response in the "noteworthy details" section as there wasnt enough space to add it in my review here

We recently stayed at Riverside Resort in Qualicum and had a generally pleasant stay, but I want to share our experience to help others make informed choices. I'll be as detailed and transparent as possible.

I had originally contacted the resort directly about their 4-bedroom, 3-bathroom full house on-site. I confirmed its availability and the nightly rate over the phone. However, since Booking.com was offering a bit of a lower price for the same dates, I booked through them instead—literally five minutes after getting off the phone with the resort. I made the booking in February 2025 for a stay at the end of May. The reservation was non-refundable and couldn’t be changed, and I paid in full at the time of booking (on booking.com).

On the day of check-in, I called to ask about possible early check-in options, only to be told that our reservation was now for a 3-bedroom "cottage". It was a shock, especially since no one had contacted me to notify me of the change or any issues with the booking. I found out upon arrival that this unit was about a third of the size of what I had booked, and only had 1 bathroom. I was told there must have been a "glitch" in the system, something I’ve now seen mentioned in other reviews as well.

Unfortunately, the resort said they couldn’t offer any refund on the amount I had already paid through Booking.com, calling it “a done deal.” They did, however, offer a second smaller unit to help accommodate our group, but it came at an additional cost. It was offered at a reduced rate, and I just paid it at the time because I really didn't have any other option in the moment. Later that evening, I reviewed the pricing online and felt I had overpaid for what we were getting. When I brought this up the next day, the front desk refunded that second payment. I appreciated that gesture and the continued effort to make things right. But as for the original Booking.com payment, I was told again there was nothing they could do.

Despite all this, I do want to recognize the staff. Everyone we dealt with, including the front desk staff, housekeeping, and maintenance, was friendly, responsive, and did their best to help. The units we ended up in were clean, and any minor issues (like HVAC concerns) were quickly addressed. The pool was repaired and open by the weekend, and the on-site mini golf is fairly well maintained and a fun source of entertainment. Our group enjoyed using both amenities. The wifi could have been better. This was only more noticeable because there wasn't any cable, only steaming options, which put more demand on the wifi.

That said, having a reservation changed without notice (especially when it's non-refundable) is a serious concern. The lack of a reliable booking process is what will stop me from booking here again. It's disappointing, as the property itself has a lot of potential and the staff clearly care. I hope the resort can address whatever "system issues" are causing this, as people tend to expect what...

Edited review below* We’ve booked here two years in a row, The first time we booked, our room had a heap of dog hair in it, which was promptly cleaned by the team, but still the room should have been cleaned first oh well all is forgiven that was fixed. the second time unfortunately, this time will be our last time. from the moment we got there we asked for the AC unit in the master bedroom and the hot tub in the backyard that wasn’t working to be looked at. three different people came to look at it Each had a different answer. One answer being a piece was missing, maintenance guy saying that the office was well aware of these things not working for a while, and The last being the hot tub is warm the Jets just don’t work (which wasn’t true). Unfortunately, nothing was fixed Our entire stay and we paid for the big house, which is a hefty bill to get things that aren’t working. We were promised that a manager would get a hold of us to go over what they could do for us in regards to not having what was promised. it’s been a week since we stayed and have gotten no email, No call, nothing I would be very cautious about going here because if anything is wrong, they don’t even respond which is so unprofessional. River side resort please respond so we can talk about this! *The fact that you have to lie about us breaking buttons on the hot tub is so unprofessional we went straight to the office about 20 minutes maybe 30 minutes after checking in to resort letting staff know it wasn’t working. It was not hot nor was it ever or we would have used it guaranteed. You guys knew prior that this was broken. The maintenance guy with the long tied hair and hat, sat on the walkie-talkie and said that “the office was well aware of parts missing” in front of me at the front door of the house, then proceeded not to come in after he said that… even after the office told us that he was gonna come check the hot tub. ( There should be camera footage of this aswell) I do not blame your staff. I just wish that you would’ve responded promptly as an owner/manager in a professional manner. This was our son’s first birthday. All we wanted was answers and to talk to YOU so these things could be fixed in a timely manner. (How’d your staff check the hottub prior to us staying if they can’t use the controls) …. And also the guy that came and felt the water said “ya this is cold” These things all could have been talked about when we tried to reach you by calling, emailing, and asking your staff for you to contact us directly Paul. if you had of communicated with us this review probably would not exist we are very understanding people hence no review left after last years dog hair incident I hope you can communicate better in the future. Regarding the 50% off rate I don’t know anyone that would pay over $1000 a night for a backyard that smells like sewage, work and drilling going on in the backyard during a person stay, mold underneath the tub plugs, terrible water pressure, broken AC, and a...

I highly recommend that you book somewhere else and never stay here. Everything that could go wrong, went wrong in our stay.

Booking: They booked our stay under someone else's name. Told us a different price when we called in for a pet fee and charged us more when we got there. We were charged an incorrect amount as a whole and had to pay more the next day, which would have been fine if they didn't treat us badly about this whole mess. We had family staying in their own cabins too and for one member, they never booked the cabin and when they called in to double check a few months later the person on the phone said "oh that must have been my mother you spoke to because she always forget to write it down and enter the booking". Another tried to book the 3 bedroom way ahead of time and was told to call back Jan 1st as that's when they do the booking. Called that morning early and it was already booked. Guess what was available when we arrived?

Customer Service: This is what irritated me the most. I understood that with the area it clearly wouldn't be like a 4 star stay. However, I did expect some common decency and respect from the people that worked there. Everything was an issue with them and felt like pulling teeth. We had an infestation of bees in our cabin and found that there were bees nests in the vents leading inside to our bathroom. After killing 4 of them that wouldn't leave us alone, we went in asking if someone can remove them. A guy came by asking where they were. We showed him and he said, "Oh you're from Washington state. We have bees here and you must not be used to it." And then tried to walk away and not deal with it. I had to stop him and say this is unacceptable and request he remove them as soon as possible. FYI Riverside Resort - we have bees in Washington state too. What if we had an allergy to bees and were stung?

Accommodations: Again, didnt expect much from it being a 2 star campground, but with the price we paid I definitely expected more than we got. The bed was broken, the counter tops were torn apart. Utensils were garbage and if you want to cook while staying here, you better bring everything you need. Seriously the can opener didnt even work. Immediately when we walked in, we were hit with a small that was a mixture of heavy smoke (in a nonsmoking room) and something rotting. We kept trying to air it out, but it wouldn't go away and it was tough as the screen door was broken.

Overall, I just wouldn't recommend this experience to anyone. It seemed exciting because they had a pool, slide and golf area but you had to pay to use these things separately. It seemed like they were just constantly trying to find ways to make you pay more out of pocket and didnt give you any essentials. Oh and make sure you wash every dish you leave behind as that's an additional 35...