Bowmont Motel — Hotel in Penticton

This was a horrible experience. They overcharge you, and many of the rooms are in shambles, dirty and broken. We had previously stayed at the Bowmont hotel on June 27-28, and had a good night in the retro decorated room. We decided to take a family vacation at the hotel for the long weekend of September 4-6th. On july 15, my wife booked a room for $$498.00 to accommodate 4 adults, two kids and 2 dogs. We received a confirmation email with the #654734806927 that said we had a courtyard deluxe queen.. My wife called the hotel the same day to confirm it was a pet friendly room and she was told by a gentleman that it was. A few weeks before our reservation, my wife called to confirm our reservation in light of the many fires in the interior. She was told that the room was now not pet friendly and that there was only one pet friendly room available that slept two adults. She was informed she could book this room and a second room to accommodate all of us. The second room would accommodate two adults and two children. She made it clear that she did not want to pay for a suite for 6 people, just a regular room for 4. When she asked about the cost she was told that the pet room would be $250 on Saturday and $136 on Sunday night for a total of $386. The regular room would be $220 on Saturday and $125 on Sunday night for a total of $345. That would be a grand total of $731 before tax. That would work out to $233 more than we initially agreed, but it seemed our only option. Then things got worse. Upon arrival to the hotel we were charged $498 for one room and $396 for the second room. $898. We were informed that deluxe suite was now the only room available. This was absolutely unacceptable to us, and to be honest, I feel like a victim of a scheme or fraud. This was further exacerbated as I tried to purchase one of the hotel visors, which was clearly labelled on a sticky at the computer being $15, which she tried to charge me $20 which I pointed out was supposed to be $15 and she crumpled up the sticky, thats pretty shady. The lady at the desk was unwilling to accept responsibility for any of the issues and told us she would contact the management and get back to us, which she never did. This is just the money and booking issue. On the first night, the bed my son was sleeping in collapsed and he managed to fix it. I had maintenance come and look at it but said there wasn't much he could do as the previous guest were “very large’. In our room, the freezer above the fridge defrosted during the night, though no one had even opened it, and left a large pool in front of the bathroom door on both nights, which my wife slipped in and hit the wall, as she was heading to the bathroom. We couldn't use the air conditioning in the room as the fan was binding and screeching in the housing, causing a horrible noise, I have video. The bathroom was filthy. We will never...

Absolutely Disgusted – Rudest Staff I’ve Ever Dealt With

I have never been treated with such blatant disrespect by a business. I’ve been staying at The Bowmont, Tiki Shores, and Spanish Villa for years — all run by the same owner. But the way Sharon (the receptionist) and the manager at Bowmont Motel handled my situation was completely unprofessional, rude, and downright unacceptable.

My reservation for July 31-August 6th was cancelled through a third-party site the day before I was to leave, and I was hit with a $300 cancellation fee — even though the cancellation wasn’t my fault. Booking.com acknowledged the inconvenience this caused and agreed to waive the fee, but said they needed approval from Bowmont to process the refund. I reached out immediately, thinking this would be a simple misunderstanding they’d be willing to clear up. Instead, I was met with attitude, zero accountability, and a complete refusal to even have a proper conversation while I was in tears trying to figure out what I was going to do. The Bowmont did not lose money over this cancellation - the room I was to be in was booked up by the time I realized my booking was cancelled. I had to stay at 3 different hotels during this time and yet, even after all of this, I still ended up supporting the Bowmont and staying for three nights. You’d think that kind of loyalty and patience would matter to a business. Clearly not.

Sharon was dismissive, and the manager was even worse — cold, short, and clearly not interested in resolving anything. They talked down to me like I was trying to scam them, when all I was doing was asking for fairness in a situation that I didn’t cause.

But it got worse. When my sister went into the office, staff thought I was her and were treating her very poorly - making fun because I had sent an email after this happened to explain in more detail. totally unprofessional and petty behavior. What kind of business insults loyal guests behind their backs and then mistreats their family too?

Let me be clear: this motel does not care about its guests — only your money. Policies are one thing, but when a cancellation happens due to a system error or a third party, basic human decency would say you don’t punish the customer. I wasn’t asking for a free ride — just basic respect and accountability. They showed neither. They’d rather keep my money, badmouth me to my sister, and treat long-time guests like garbage.

Save yourself the headache and stay somewhere else — at a place that actually values its guests, shows basic decency, and understands what real customer service means. I won’t be back, and I’d strongly caution anyone else...

Recommend YES!!!! I can say this hotel is so very special, from its seemingly retro feel to its commitment to a travellers goal of location, charm an awesome sleep and a great clean stay. As we learned as you will lean too, very fast that there is a actually thought out and clever balance/ mix of modern and vintage at the hotel. Older doors and walls but new mattresses, bathtubs and awesome touches like super cool chairs and lamps! Mega big outdoor pool, stunning courtyard with high end bbqs... it’s so cool! I packed my own pillows, as from past experiences traveling with kids, and my need for sleep... but seriously... the pillows they have in our room are better than my own! The mattresses are amazing and the bedding is exceptional. In the bathroom they even had soaps and shampoos that are beautifully displayed and a hair dryer! Their rooms are immaculate if you are concerned about cleanliness. The carpet was new in the bedrooms and the flooring in the kitchen was really tasteful. The fun part of why this hotel is charming is there was a mix-match of plastic coat hangers and metal ones.... soooo if you need conformity for that kind of stuff you are better off in a chain hotel but if you love a family run business with an exceptional vibe and standard Stay here! Try it out!! Modest and maintained with so much care to details. Upon booking I saw that they had some rooms with full kitchens and they are very close to some of the most loved beach fronts and restaurants in Penticton! They are also within stepping distance from an awesome eco adventure park and family biking/ walking trails! The staff member who answered my phone call was so delightful, I thought ok... and am gonna up-front book my five night stay for my two kids and I am so happy I trusted my instinct! This place is outstanding for its price point! Like seriously awesome. Give it a try! We will definitely recommend and...