Hotel Kenney Rideau — Hotel in Rideau Lakes

My partner and I did a 2-day kayaking trip on the Rideau Canal and thought it would be nice to stay at this famous and historical Hotel for our last night, so we could have a nice warm room to sleep-in.

When we arrived, we got off on their dock and were approached by the owner I believe, stating that we could not use their dock. Confused, I asked if this was a "Private dock"? I was simply told that we could not use it. I explained that we just wanted to load-up our kayaks on our truck. We were again told that we could not use it. After asking a third time why, we were finally told that it wasn't safe. By then, we were both out of our kayaks and exhausted so we told him we would accept responsibility ignored his rudeness and loaded our kayaks onto our truck.

Then, we check-in at the reception and asked if they had hot coffee so we could warm-up. Nothing! They had no coffee in the lobby for their guests. We were told to go across the street to the canteen. I asked if we could go get a coffee there but come back and sit in their beautiful lounge. To our surprised, we were told No. Assuming that I had been misunderstood, I repeated myself and said; No, if we get a coffee from the canteen, can we then come back here and sit in your lounge. Again, we were told that we could not because the restaurant wasn’t opened. We couldn't believe that “Guests” are not allowed to sit in their lounge because the restaurant, which is in a totally separate room, was not open. This was our “Welcome to Hotel Kenney."

When we are shown to our room, we learned that we were not in the main “Hotel”. Instead, we were taken to the old rundown “motels" at the rear. Other than a fresh coat of paint, the furniture dated back to the 60’s. The carpet smelled of the 60’s. The bathroom floor was rotted and soft around the toilet. The bathroom tiles were falling off the walls and on the floor. We did not even bother to take advantage of their complimentary breakfast in the morning. We simply packed-up & left.

If I may make a few suggestions to the owner(s): If you don’t want people to use “Kenney Dock” identified on your map, then take it off the map and put a sign on it; If there was another location you would like kayakers or canoers to use, make it obvious and put-up signs. You have complimentary coffee in your rooms. Why not have complimentary coffee for your guests in the lounge and "let them use it aside from restaurant hours”. This just blows me away? You have this beautiful historical lounge/reception area and you tell your guest that they are "Not welcome" to sit there. Really? Finally, when people call to make a reservation, let them know the Hotel itself is still under renovations and that they will actually be staying in the old “Motel” next door, and charge a more reasonable price than $230. Hotel Kenney is a beautiful historical building located in a unique location next to Jones Falls. It’s been referred as the “Heart of the Rideau Canal.” You need to market that. Have a television set-up in the lounge/reception area with documentaries on the “History of Hotel Kenney and the Rideau Canal.” Maybe even some of the renovations you have done and plan on doing to let people know that it’s a work in progress. Let people know how special and historical your Hotel is and “let them sit in your beautiful lounge to watch it.” Right now, all you have is an old rundown motel with nothing much more to offer other than poor attitude. Start up a volunteer organization called: “Friends of Hotel Kenney” made up of people who would be willing to donate their time to help renovate the old Hotel; Set-up a donation box in the lobby for people who would like to see Hotel Kenney brought back to its former glory. You have guests stopping-in every day with huge Yachts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. It is to their advantage to see Hotel Kenney stay open. It’s really too bad because we did not feel “Welcome” at all during our stay and will NOT...

Owner is horrible. Unfriendly and actually quite rude! Does not greet people at the property!! On June 24/23, we visited the place to grab lunch to go. It was our 2nd time there this year. While we were waiting for our burgers to be cooked, my husband and I were asked to wait outside for our burgers. The employee said he would bring it out to us. BTW, your employee charged us for 1 burger even though he was making 2 and didn't realize it.....I actually advised them of the error. While waiting, we decided to check out the hotel/resturant which we assumed was right across, when a man (owner) approached us as we were about to enter the building...he asked us in a very stern voice "May I help you?" When I said I wanted to check out the hotel, I was rudely advised I was not allowed to go into the hotel because people were eating. I was shocked at the response. It wasn't like sorry but unfortunately we don't want to disturb the patrons while they are eating...is there something I can help you with? Keep in mind when you are at a restaurant...people are eating so what kind of response was that.

I wanted to see the restaurant for a possible future booking and to check out the menu. I was dumbfounded by the response. If he doesn't want people to go in, then perhaps a sign should be posted at front of the building. After that my husband and I decided to wait in the ice cream/food shop for our burgers when we saw the same guy walking around and he passed us with his head down. While waiting, we also saw 2 ants crawling around the baked goods. We left and I decided before I write a review to call as perhaps there may have been a misunderstanding. I called and the owner answered (the same guy who I dealt with...he confirmed this). When I started to share my experience, he started yelling & berating me over the phone to say people are eating and you can't just walk in there. I wasn't going to go through the restaurant to the kitchen...like duh!! Then he proceeds to hang up on me. I'm telling you this, the guy has anger management issues. Never again will I go back....I wanted to support the local business but this guy clearly does not want it.

Good luck with being in the...

As a lifelong visitor of Hotel Kenny, I’ve been excited to see it under new ownership and stop by several times a year for ice cream. On a recent ice cream stop, we noticed a huge OPEN sign out front and decided to pop into the lobby to check out the renovations. Didn’t seem like an odd thing to do at the time, since we used to pop into the old lobby every now and then and even chat with the staff who were always super warm and welcoming.

We barely made it in the door before being aggressively confronted by the owner and a staff member asking us what we wanted. When we said we were just locals checking out the updates, the owner rudely told us they were closed and we had to leave. We said okay, we just assumed they were open because of the giant OPEN sign out front, to which the owner abruptly said, “well, we aren’t.” Again, we said “no problem, we just wanted a quick peek” and he shot back with “We don’t do quick peeks,” before storming off.

This experience was shocking and offensive. While I understand the property is under new ownership, it has been a community pillar for generations and means a lot to locals and visitors alike. And after reading other reviews, it seems we’re not alone in having a jarring experience with the new owner.

I will not support this business under its new ownership unless there’s a serious attitude adjustment, and will no longer recommend it to my friends and colleagues. I recommend visiting The Opinicon for your snack, dinner, and ice cream...