Monte Carlo Inn-Oakville Suites — Hotel in Oakville

My partner booked a 2 night stay for us at the Monte Carlo Inn one month in advance. While driving to the hotel from over an hour away, 30 minutes before our check in time we received an email from the hotel essentially stating “there was an issue with your payment, to confirm your booking respond within 30 minutes or it’s going to be cancelled.” My partner approved the preauthorization with their bank that morning before leaving. We received the email while driving in spotty cell service out of country and were unaware of the notice.

Once we arrived and checked in, the front desk clerk tried explaining to us that the preauthorization on the card had failed and as a result and there would be a cancellation fee and that the reservation was cancelled. They stated they could take the $150 preauthorization now on a credit card and we could rebook again. They didn’t explain until the next day that the preauthorization would be refunded, they only stated that it was required to book the room right then. We were confused and the explanation wasn’t very clear despite showing our previous reservation so we just paid for the booking again.

The next day, we left the hotel for a day trip to Toronto and various other tourist-centric stops. Roughly 2-3 hours after we left we got a call from the hotel asking why our personal items were still in the room. Confused, we explained that we booked the room for two nights. The hotel stated they only charged us for the one night after we arrived and rebooked the room AFTER they cancelled the reservation on us before we arrived for the check in time. After some confusion we eventually returned to the hotel and just paid for the second night, finally resolving the confusion.

All of this confusion is before even explaining the severe lack of comfort and care within the hotel room itself. Carpeted floor combined with a jacuzzi queen suite makes for a very humid and musky smelling experience. The A/C and air vents above the jacuzzi and bathroom were not powerful enough to deal with any moisture caused by using the jacuzzi. As a result, the room constantly smelled musty and almost mildewy despite leaving the vents on for several hours. Pools of condensation would form around the window also. In addition the shower head was leaking pretty substantially any time it was turned on, spraying as far as the sink across the bathroom. Thankfully, this was resolved by tightening the shower head by hand, but it should’ve never been loose in the first place.

The room itself was also adorned with no modern or semi modern components. The jacuzzi relied on a manual timing knob hardwired into the wall, but was otherwise fully functional if just aged yellow in color and outdated. The TV was functional but with faults. It would frustratingly and randomly reset or turn off while watching movies or videos. As a result, I would have to struggle with the remote to reset and reconfigure the TV settings each time I wanted to get back to the movie we were watching. It was as if the TV was plucked from a store display that was a part of a first generation line of flatscreens released in 2012. I would also recommend bringing your own streaming device or laptop since the provided Chromecast device did not work in any capacity.

We also never received any sort of turndown service and had to reuse wet towels in our already damp room. Whether that was due to the booking mishap or otherwise, I’m uncertain. I probably could’ve complained to staff but I was already so drained from the confusion and the days activities that it didn’t seem worth it to pursue it any further.

In addition, the complimentary breakfast was severely lacking in variety and protein options outside of a boiled egg. While not inherently a bad breakfast, I would’ve rather just gone to Tim Hortons or something similar for a more fulfilling breakfast.

Overall my stay was moderately comfortable if not very flawed for the price. I would most likely not book again unless improvements were made to the hotel rooms, services, and staff...

Worst customer service... ever. Front desk staff (afternoon shift) is not knowledgeable of their own packages. Reserved a romantic package which INCLUDED a late check-out and yet we were told we would have to pay extra for a late check-out with their day rate, which was $60.

The website has all the information as to what this package includes, yet the man at the counter had no idea whatsoever! He actually upset my girlfriend who had a very important business meeting the next day and it was already 10pm. We got there at 10:16pm and didnt check-in until 11:15pm because of his incompetence. We were about to leave (even Monte Carlo customer service phone line told us to go to another monte carlo because this should never happen. They also forwarded us to the Oakville Manager's line, but it just went to the front desk) but I figured I would try to talk to the gentleman one more time.

At the end of the night, the gentleman must've figured he was wrong and gave us what we paid for (probably to save his own skin. He acted like he was doing us a favour by giving us everything that should have been included. What we PAID for). Yet some how, the chocolate covered strawberries and champaign had to be taken from another room that had apparently cancelled, which leaves the question: what is the point of a reservation? Obviously there were no chocolate covered strawberries nor was their champaign waiting for us, but alas, it had to be whisked away from another room that supposedly "cancelled" and was given to us.

The bathtub seemed clogged, as a puddle remained in the tub during the whole shower... nasty. And.... to top things off, the toilet clogged with toilet paper. So glad it wasn't during relieving myself but just because of a couple of sneezing fits, the tissues did get clogged. Told the front desk, and was given a plunger with a broken handle with jagged wood splints and had to unclog it myself. Oh doesnt this seem like a lovely romantic stay already? Doesn't it make you want to come here? Even if everytjing else went perfect but you had to unclog your own toilet because there was no overnight staff that could do it, that would still ruin the experience.

I do have some praise though. The strawberries were the most perfect, juicy, sweet, large and chocolaty covered hand picked strawberries I ever did see or taste! One of the day staff ladies was so kind to me the next morning after hearing this situation. She had an accent and was older, I do not know her name but she was lovely! Big props to her, I wish all staff were as friendly and knowledgeable as her.

The manager did try to sort things out, but he only offered us a deal (free upgrade to the romantic package, why not just kick-in my teeth?) for the NEXT time we (pay to) stay there. To not deal with our current stay was a mistake as we will never go back there, and who would with an experience like that? If he had done something about our current stay that would've seemed more fitting and actually would have made us want to come back. But to offer something equivalent to a coupon was a poor choice.

It's like buying a big mac meal, paying for it then finding out there are no fries in the bag. And instead of reimbursing/refunding the current product, give us a coupon for our next visit. Not a free meal coupon mind you, maybe just a free up-size of your fries. That pretty much sums up how I feel this was handled.

We paid full price for this horrific visit, I guess the...

Staff was friendly & patient. The hotel was abit dated but nevertheless cozy. Stayed for 3 nights in the Deluxe king jacuzzi Roman suite. Also purchased the "sparkling romance package" which was everything but sparkling. One of the big attractions of this package was the 1 PM checkout, but while checking in and preparing for our stay, the man at the reception desk confirmed our checkout at 11, I proceeded to correct him with the promised late check out to which he responded 12, I then, a second time corrected him that the package deal said 1 PM check out and he looked confused, as if he wasn't even aware of this package detail. He also acknowledged that our room was not prepped with the package which was fine since we had not contacted them prior to arriving but instead he made up the excuse that he just got there for his shift as if to pawn the responsibility off to someone else.

Once we finally arrived to the room, they sent up which I believe was a maid, who arrived with red or white wine option and a box of Lindt chocolates. The white wine was honestly hard to get down and the so call "Gourmet Lindt Chocolates" were old, melted & stale. The maid proceeded to ask us if we needed or wanted anything else, or some water bottles, to which we replied no and thanked her, she then proceeded to disregard our answers and say she would go get us some water, nice yes but she almost lingered when she returned with water bottled as if waiting for a tip or something?

While the room was quaint, we found multiple long, dark hairs scattered around the room, including in the bed & tub. When we went to use the TV, it was not working because for some reason it had been unplugged? The worst part about our stay was the fact that we had opted for this room specifically for the jacuzzi which we barely used because it was so disgusting, for a nice hot bath, sure it did the trick, but the moment you would turn on the jets, disgusting dark coloured gunk would fill the water. We tried over and over trying to clean out the flakes but it was a never ending supply.

I had the Monte Carlo Inn on my bucket list for quite some time, I did my best to overlook some of the flaws it had but it definitely was not what I had expected. It also was not a "You get what you pay for" situation since the stay was not a cheap one. I am hopeful that one of the other "busier" locations, might make for a better...