Best Western Colonel Butler Inn — Hotel in Niagara-on-the-Lake

Every time we have stayed in Niagara-on-The-Lake, several times over the past 30 years, we have always stayed at the Colonel Butler Inn Best Western and have been happy with our stays. Not so much this time. First, allowing a slightly earlier check in would be nice. We attempted at 11:30am but understood this was really early and no rooms were yet available. We tried again at 2pm but had to wait until 3pm. Not a surprise, as definitely states that check in is at 3pm on the website, but usually we have been able to get in an hour or so before in the past. We are always been given a second floor room; I did not ask but now wonder why we never get a first floor room, because now we are seniors over 60 and we had a fair amount of luggage so we found the stairs a bit more difficult. We were aware, however, there was no elevator in this Best Western. The rooms have been updated (nice new furniture etc) since our last stay, however the layout would be better if the desk and computer chair were situated closer to the window wall instead of immediately placed as you enter the main part of the room (at the foot of the first double bed) reason being that when someone is sitting in the computer chair it is difficult to get by and go further into the room without making them get up or move out of the way every time you need to get by. This is the first time I was not happy with the cleanliness of the room. Long grey hairs (not ours) were on the mini bedspreads and bathroom floor when we checked in. Also, no screen on the window (not so bad at this time of year) but when I opened the window I notice many dead fruit flies behind the curtain on the inside window ledge. Also, provided there are two glasses wrapped in paper and a glass carafe turned upside down on the small round table beside the upholstered chair. The dust on the bottom of the carafe indicated that it must not have been touched for quite a while, however, when I turned it over the lip had a smudge mark that looked like someone had drank directly out of it. Lastly, the bathroom sink had a draining problem for example, it would be half full by the time I finished brushing my teeth. No ... we did not complain ... it is just not how I wanted this stay to go and I didn’t want to get into any unpleasant situation about it. I just cleaned everything up myself (except the drain problem) and made do. Stupid, I know. To end on a positive note, the location of the hotel is great, parking is available and the outside appearance is lovely. Also, the staff we encountered were very pleasant; the lady who checked us in, the housekeeper on duty our first morning (we stayed two nights) and the kitchen staff we met. As a matter of fact, even when I called a few weeks before to confirm my reservation I mentioned that we were coming to NOTL to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary. The customer service rep was very nice and said, “oh, I will make a note of that!” to which I replied jokingly, “well, if you are able to give us an upgrade to a king bedroom (only double bed rooms were available when I booked) we would greatly appreciate that!” However, on arrival, if anything was noted about our anniversary, there was no mention of it at all, lol! For the price of the room, next time in NOTL, I believe we will consider staying in one of the local Airbnb rentals, which we nearly booked this time but decided (because of loyalty and familiarity) to stick with this...

NOTL prices without NOTL quality Upon entry the smell in the lobby is terrible I’m not sure what the smell is but it needs to be addressed. The halls smell too as did our room but not as bad as the lobby. The receptionist was not remotely friendly or welcoming. When I said hello she just looked at me, there was uncomfortable silence until I said I had a reservation. I don’t believe she smiled even once. There is no elevator and at the top of the stairs there were things stored right out where people are walking by The balcony at the end of the hall has no chairs and is dirty. Obviously plants are watered and when there is dirt spilt out of them it is just left there. It is ingrained in the carpeting The air conditioning smelt in our room and was ridiculously noisy to the point of waking us repeatedly. The furniture in the room is too large for the room. The pillows were lumpy and in need of replacing. In the bathroom a hair dryer or mirror has been removed. The repair needs repairing since it is all lumpy and isn’t even painted. It’s just left as a big repair on the wall When we were leaving the next morning we were met with the unpleasant view of a storage room. Looking at the photo I have a pretty good idea of what the smell is… Niagara on the Lake is an expensive area because it’s bar is set high. Tourists expect to pay more than average because they receive higher than average. In this situation I paid higher than average and received way below average...

Construction! Construction noise. I had mentioned during reservation that I wanted a quiet stay. Nobody said anything at all to me about the ongoing major construction! I first found our upon check in from a small paper posted near the front desk regarding it. Too late --after you have already booked and travelled from afar to the hotel. I'm not sure why this hotel is open during construction. It's actually a decent and clean little hotel/Inn. Unfortunately the renovations of all the washrooms in the hotel have made it an unpleasant stay. There were only a few guests in the hotel when I stayed here recently. They have renovated 9 washrooms to date and are completing them all. GOOD MORNING you will be up and awake from the construction noise that starts at 7:57 am sharp whether you want a quiet morning rising late on a vacation or not. Best Western needs to close this down and do the washrooms all at once, then reopen rather than inconvenience and annoy guests. Or simply mention upon reservation that there is ongoing construction throughout the hotel. I would not have stayed here had I known about the ongoing construction--it is simply unfair to guests to not mention this fact upon...