By The Sea BnB — Hotel in North Saanich

We have stayed in many B&Bs in many different countries, but this was undoubtedly the worst. The website shows views looking out over the ocean, but we were given a small bedroom (supposedly an upgrade) with the window completely obscured by tree branches and facing towards the busy Hwy #17, which meant we had traffic noise and car lights all night. The mattress was substandard and there were only two wooden chairs to sit on, one of them taken up by our suitcase. The venetian blinds were dirty, as was the cupboard under the sink and there was more dirt under the toilet seat. The stair carpet was also dirty and there was dust you could write your name in under the couch near the breakfast area. Despite this, the hostess asked us to take off our shoes in the house, even though it was perfectly dry outside. She later justified this by saying she didn’t want us to slip, but it was far slippier on the tile floors in our socks. She also fussed about where the friends who dropped us had parked their car, though I told her they would be leaving in a few minutes. Though we had been travelling since 6 am, we were offered no refreshments when we arrived and there was no tea or coffee maker in the room. When we asked if we could have a cup of coffee we were told it would not be available till 6 am the following morning. The hostess later said she did usually offer her guests a glass of wine, but no such offer was made to us. When I pointed this out at our 7.30 am breakfast, she asked me if I would like some wine with my breakfast! We were offered no choice at breakfast and since my wife doesn’t eat a hot breakfast, all she had was a small cup of yoghurt and granola. When I asked for some toast, the hostess said she didn’t make toast. There were no homemade preserves, bread or baked goods of any kind. We were not offered the use of any other rooms in the house and, since we didn’t have a car, we were effectively confined to our room from 6 pm until the following morning. The garden was barred by a big iron gate firmly closed and looked as if it was shut for the season. We did try walking up the busy road in front of the house but beach access was not easy. The hostess asked for payment immediately on arrival and our room cost $159. It wasn’t worth half that. All told, a very...

The B&B is much closer to the highway that backs on the property than the sea. They have a patio area out front to relax but the highway noise takes away from any relaxation. The exterior of the property requires some work, with many signs of deferred maintenance. We booked at this inn for 2 nights but we decided that one night was more than enough. After we checked into the room we noticed an odor, the owner told me that it was the sanitizer they use. There are odorless sanitizers they could be using. The room left a lot to be desired. We found hairs on the towels in the bathroom and the blinds in the bathroom were badly coated with dust & grime. There were tissues from past clients just under the bed. The bedding very poor quality, especially the sheets. At 10 pm the people arrived in the next room and we discovered the lack of sound proofing. We heard them hanging up clothes , talking and taking a shower. Breakfast was provided , I ate a portion of my meal but my wife looked at it and pushed it away. They couldn't even provide a decent cup of coffee. There are much better places to stay in the greater...

I reserved the room with paying at hotel option about 2 weeks ago. However, on the day before I traveled to Canada, the owner sent me a message said that I needed to call them to keep the room because they were not able to charge my credit card. Then, 15 minutes later, they said the room is not available and they moved me to another property, different room. The pictures of that place looked worse than what I reserved. Half hour later, I got an email said that the room I reserved was under maintenance so they had to change my reservation.

Why did they charge my card before I arrived there? If the room was not available on that date, they should have contacted me 2 week before. I did not believe the reason they gave me on the email. I doubt how they can get this high review scores if this is how they handle customers. Therefore, I refused they moved me to another property. I rather not stay there. I just found another hotel at last minute before I traveled.

Be aware of...