Best Western Plus Merritt Hotel — Hotel in Merritt

So my situation here is probably a little unique, but because of it my experience at this Best Western was gross feeling. I am an American who crossed the border into Canada in November through the extended family exemption. I quarantined for 14 days when I arrived. Why am I telling you this? Because checking in at this Best Western was more difficult than getting the paperwork and permissions completed to get into Canada.

Once the person checking in same my ID was from Washington he obviously switched into a kind of “uh-oh” mode, understandable. He asked me when I crossed the border, I told him November. He asked me if I quarantined, I told him I did, in November.

He told me he would need to see my passport and proof that I crossed in November. Fine, I gave him my passport and started pulling up my flight information from AirCanada on my phone. This was not going to work for him, he stated that he needed to see the stamp in my passport for entry. Well you don’t get a stamp coming from the US, my passport is blank, then the airline information was not good for him.

During all this he went in the back room a few times to speak with the unseen manager who was telling him what he needed I guess? I was never shown policy or really told what they needed? It went from seeing when I crossed, to seeing my passport, to seeing the written permission the government gave me, to asking me how long I was allowed to be in Canada? When I told him I was allowed up to six months he seemed skeptical and said he would look into it??

Look, I absolutely understand that there might be some new policy rules around Covid-19, that’s a huge reason why we wanted to stay at the Best Western, we figured they would follow great cleaning rules and such, and they did! By the way, the rooms were fantastically clean, the halls clean, all that good stuff.

But now I am here trying to check in with someone telling me they need to look at all these different papers, and each one is not quite good enough? And each one is for a brand new reason? Plus this poor front desk guy seemed super overwhelmed with the phones, with me, with the person huffing behind me wanting to check in, I was sitting there wondering why this manager was not coming out to help this guy, or at least deal with my situation because it obviously is not a standard thing. He kept apologizing to me, letting me know its because of Covid, and yes, I get that, but at certain point I would like to see their actual policies, because I feel like I’m handing over mountains of my personal legal paperwork to some random hotel in the middle of the mountain. And then they started making copies of them all, so now the Best Western in Merritt has so much information on me, whatever.

In the end we got checked in, because why wouldn’t we. I get the fact that they want to make sure everything is okay for me coming in, it honestly is best for them and those staying here to make sure I didn’t hop the border to come spread any nastiness around. How they handled it was just not best, it was such a mess and made me feel so weird, the manager should have come to take care of it if they were the ones that “knew” what to do, instead of letting their employee flail. I would rather have seen some support of the staff instead of the laziness and avoidance of sitting in a back room forcing others to take care of a situation they have obviously been set up to fail in.

Other than that, the...

The hotel itself was bright, clean, and the room was the same and spacious. Breakfast was above expectations, despite covid restrictions. Not a toast and muffin presentation, instead your choice of waffle, omelette, sausage, bacon, THE best grapes, strawberries, fresh. Coffee, juice, all the fixings for your breakfast (the host at breakfast was fabulous too). That said, it was not that that compels this review. We have never written a review previous as nothing has gone above our expectations quite like this visit. This review is written because of the most professional and adept host we have come across. Our host at the front desk, Danica, left us wanting for nothing during our 2 night stay. We were only booked for one night but were enjoying the stay so much we decided we wanted to stay another. Of course we were accommodated. In addition, however, she clearly had an innate sense of what might be next. I think we shared with her our trip up to Merritt, through the treacherous Coquihalla where the weather changes in a minute. It was a very precarious trip, to be sure. Upon checking out, Danica suggested we take the highway 1 route, though technically longer, probably safer and in the end same timing considering the snow on the Coq. We never asked, she just knew and offered. We had the most wonderful drive home (not one bit of snow) on a most scenic and carefree road, tunes playing and I think maybe we saw 6 vehicles all the way to Hope. It was a beautiful finish to a lovely covid weekend, thank you Danika. In closing, and in our several conversation with Danica, we came to learn that she has served our country, in the military and in Afghanistan. We want to thank you, Danica, for your hospitality, and for your service to our country. Could not have been a better trip. 🙏...

Best Western turned out to be a great choice for my recent stay. As someone traveling with a furry companion, I was pleased to find that they offer dog-friendly rooms - and that's exactly what we were given, on the first floor.

The room itself was clean and quiet, which is always my top priority. Even with the dog, there were no issues with noise or cleanliness. The only minor hiccup was that the door to the room was a bit confusing to operate at first, but we got the hang of it quickly.

One feature I really appreciated was the 24/7 free coffee available in the lobby. It was such a nice perk to be able to grab a fresh cup anytime, especially in the mornings before heading out for the day. The coffee was decent quality too, not just the typical watered-down hotel stuff.

Overall, the Best Western in Merritt provided a comfortable, stress-free stay. The dog-friendly room on the ground floor was perfect for easily taking the pup out. And the clean, quiet environment, coupled with the free coffee, made it a great value.

I'd have no hesitations about staying here again the next time I pass through Merritt. It's a reliable, budget-friendly option that delivers on the essentials - cleanliness, comfort, and customer service. Plus, the added benefit of being able to bring my four-legged friend along was the...