Harrison Hot Springs Resort — Hotel in Harrison Hot Springs

Sadly, I never thought I’d be writing a 1-star review for this resort.

My family and I have been coming to Harrison Hot Springs Resort for over 30 years; multiple times a year. It has always been a place full of memories, especially for my son who has disabilities. We finally had the chance to return with him for a short midweek stay as an early birthday celebration.

Unfortunately, what should’ve been a meaningful trip has become a disappointing and frustrating experience.

When booking, we were told the only way to secure adjoining rooms was to book the most expensive accommodations in the hotel. The superior room in the East Tower or a cabin. No summer promotions were available at the time. (Or so we are told at the time). Despite the steep cost (over $1800 for two nights midweek, 2 rooms), we went ahead and booked, as this resort has always felt "safe" and familiar for my son. This is an important part of him being able to actually travel. We were very clear that my 17 year old son with disabilities was going to be staying in the room independently which is why we secured adjoining rooms. We clearly explained his specific needs and age at more than one point in the booking experience.

Later, we noticed a summer escape deal was posted on the website and called back. It apparently was available the 1st time we called to book but no one knew about it. (Its been posted since June). They applied it, but at a cost; $30 extra for a $50 food credit on my son's room and $50 extra for a $100 food credit on the second room that was double occupancy. It had to be 2 nights they mentioned, which is fine as we were staying 2 nights. We agreed, and we were very clear that our 17-year-old son would be in one of the rooms alone.

Fast forward to 2 days before our trip. We see that minors arent permitted to stay alone even if its an adjoining room. Despite the booking being made with full transparency about his age and needs. We try to call the night before but reservations is closed. When we were able reach someone today, we were told the room would have to be canceled, but that we would still be charged. We were told 48 hours notice would be the only way that it could be canceled at no charge.

Even worse; the extra charge for the food credit will not be refunded, but we also won’t be allowed to use the food credit since the room is canceled. We are paying more for something we don’t even get.

Even worse? Hotel is less than 60% full!

We’re now reluctantly proceeding with just 1 room, leaving our son behind; exactly what we wanted to avoid. On top of that, we’ll be planning and paying for another trip elsewhere, so he can have the birthday we hoped to give him here. But the only other option would be to pay for both rooms and not go, or pay for both rooms and stay in one of them. We then asked if we could cancel the second night of my son's room and that way we could have someone else occupy the room the 1st night while we occupy the other one..but nope, that's not allowed either. The only way to make that work they tell us is to cancel my son's room for the 2nd night, but pay for it anyways. Crazy

We hesitated with the booking in the first place due to the rising prices and declining standards; this place has always had such great memories but now no microwaves/housekeeping for short stays, run-down facilities, lack of pool monitoring, late check-in/early check-out, no baggage carts or tea service, and $700+ per night cabins with extra pet fees.

But we chose it because it was familiar, and more importantly, accessible for our son.

This whole experience has left us deeply disappointed, not just because of the money, but because of how little consideration was given to our situation. A simple policy clarification or honest communication at booking would have prevented all this. It left a bad taste and it makes me not want to spend a penny there even during our visit.

Increasing prices, cutting services, while leaving loyal families like ours footing the bill for your mistakes is not the way to build...

This review might be long as I want to cover all bases.

Checking in was a breeze, you can do it thru the link they send you via text, you will need to photograph your credit card and ID to do so. I opted on checking in in person. The line up was long due to it being 4pm, right when everyone else is trying to check in, but the line up went smoothly.

I was traveling alone and upon check in, the receptionist darted to the back and a min later, came back to tell me they upgraded me from a room to one of their cottages. I asked "Why" and she said "Because it's your first time and you're traveling alone." I was pleasantly surprised at the upgrade, never has that happened to me.

The cottages are next to the parking lot, behind the Copper Room restaurant and the back side of the resort. It's convenience because you can park your car right at the cottage you're staying at. However, the cottage itself was dated, and the curb appeal was lacking. I know there's a bush in the front, but the amount of cobwebs, and debris collecting on the exterior siding was a bit much. It could have been cleaned up a bit.

I found the cottage, not an upgrade for me. Why? because I was traveling alone, and also it was raining. So to get to the pools from the cottages, you of course, have to walk outside, in the rain, and through the back entrance. You past the parking lot and the resort laundry facilities and the employee entrance/exit. I found this to be off putting especially during the night and in the rain. As opposed to guests in the resort who can just walk out from their rooms in their robes, to the pools.

Upon entry, the cottage is dated, small, and 50 shades of brown. If you like that style, then it would work for you but I don't. But it was ok. The bathroom is the brightest and most updated part of the cottage. The gas fireplace was a nice touch as it was pouring rain the first day and rained the second day also. So I used it to dry my shoes and clothing and bathrobe (from going to the pools).

The pools were good. Nothing to rave about. I prefer the indoor hot tub and steam room more. The indoor area is supposed to be a QUIET space, however, the 4 times I've gone there, only 1 time was it every quiet. And that was around 8:30am. The rest of the times, there were kids (even though it's 18+) and lots of talking amongst all the guests. The hot tub is warmer indoors than the pools outdoors.

The pools outdoors aren't so warm, as I heard other guests mention as well. But now that I think about it, it's probably best it's not too hot because you wouldn't be able to spend as long as I saw some people spend in there.

There is an adult warm pool and a general pool. Both are ok. The adult one has music place and I saw some people with drinks? The pool bar wasn't open.

One thing I noticed was there aren't any outdoor showers. And the few times I've gone into the shower area, no one else was using it or even in there. So, think about this, no one is showering or rinsing off before even stepping foot into any of the pools. Which, if you've gone to a community pool, they always ask everyone to shower/rinse before using their pools.

The Islands Restaurant is the only one I used on my first day but missed Happy Hour by a few mins. It ends at 5pm. However, breakfast doesn't start until 7:45 or 8am at the resort. Not bad but if you're a early riser, you're out of luck. I drove to the nearest Tim Hortons 20 mins away for breakfast at 6am.

Overall:

Cons: -Cottages are outdated & seems too distant if you want to use the pools often. -You also walk past the parking lot (esp at night), it can feel a little unsafe. Even though it's not, just dark and can be better lit. -Restaurants open later in the morning for breakfast (which I didn't try) -parking can be far from the entrance

Pros: -Staff were friendly -It's a quiet town -Spa was amazing -Gym, although older machines, is very large and equipped with everything you need -Indoor pools, hot tub, and steam room are the best feature (when...

It's always been something I've wanted to do, stay at Harrison Hot Springs RESORT. Decided to do a trip to the Valley from Victoria where we live now. I'm glad I read many many reviews or I may have actually been really disappointed. Due to reading them I came with some tempered expectations, but an open mind. Staff wise we were very happy. Our check in around 4pm the Tuesday we arrived was very quick and friendly. We had a lovely valet help us with our bags. We had chosen the Bed and Breakfast special so we're in the wing above the pools, which was fine, the sound of kids playing did not bother us. Now is where things get lower on the rating scale. This section of hotel isn't the heritage part, it's the FIRST addition and it is showing it's age The wallpaper is dated, the valance over the curtains puts the age around80's to very early 90's, and it appears as though nothing has been updated since. The only chair, is quite old and worn, the TV stand and desk also appear to be from the same time period and showing their age. The TV is a flat screen but NO HD TV!! So very basic analog TV, with a guide that doesnt match the channels. HD cable and a smart TV should be an amenity. The bathroom is dark and kind of dingy. The shower had great pressure however. The toiletries supplied were pretty basic. Nothing that said RESORT. Imo. The bed was okay, we slept well, but I thought it interesting that no actual true fitted sheet was used on the bottom. It was a flat sheet over a super thin mattress cover. Although we slept fine I could tell the mattress was getting on in years. There was definitely sagging happening. There were 4 pillows, but you'll want more. It took me a day to notice that the desk had not been dusted, and the desk chair was also quite dusty and dirty. Daily housekeeping is NOT automatic, only done if you ask. This didn't bother us too much even though we were there for a few days. We made sure to get extra toilet paper from the ladies when we saw them on our floor. Speaking of toilet paper, it is one ply paper. On the upside the kleenex was two ply. The walls are thin and you will hear neighbors. I'd read a lot of reviews about AC not working or not being in some areas, so we called before our trip and were told it's available in ALL areas. First night it wasn't warm outside and we were fine. Second night, it was warmer outside and although we had set our AC quite cold it never got cold. It was warm inside. We kept the patio door open with just the screen for air movement. We only went into the adult pool and it felt really nice. I could see that the bottom was starting to crumble and of course the plants around shed into the pool so you will contend with those. Not sure how often the pools are skimmed or if there are filters. Food wise, we had the breakfast buffet included with our room price and it gave us a small discount off the cost it would have been each. The food was fine. Nothing fancy, just fine. Again, the price felt better in the package than if we'd paid it separate. We tried the dinner buffet. Price is $45 per person. This is one I feel the price is high. My thought was that for $45, fresh cut prime rib would be on the menu. It's a fairly basic buffet, one to two beef dishes, one pork, one chicken, one fish, a potato dish, a cooked vegetable dish, one to two pasta dishes, salad bar, up to three to four cakes and pies, squares. So basic, nothing that to me feels like $45. My overall thought is that this RESORT was probably grander in days past and it is really showing it's age. I feel like other reviewers have mentioned, that it could use an overhaul and some serious money spent. For the prices that are being charged for food and room, what one receives does not match.

I'm happy we came, but if we come back to Harrison I am not sure we will stay at the RESORT. I urge the owners to invest on upgrades. More money would be made in the long run. Currently a lot of people just won't return, and may have been semi regulars in the...