B & B Border Inn — Hotel in Sumas

For those who live and work in Whistler, the term ‘holidays’ can be a paradox. Many of Whistler’s service-based careers become the busiest during the Christmas, Spring Break and Easter seasons. For the Whistlerites who diligently dedicate themselves to hosting guests, the ‘holidays’ are anything but a holiday.||||So, after two straight weeks of clearing bottomless in-box this Christmas, my wife Melinda and I resolved early in the New Year to make a quick getaway to Whistler’s cross-border neighbour, Mt. Baker. Leaving the luxury and familiarity of our home resort however, means dealing with unaccustomed accommodations. ||||They say not to judge a book by its cover, but from the moment we pull into the parking lot at Sumas Washington’s Border Inn, I immediately begin to understand the hotel’s ‘no pets’ policy; there are laws against animal cruelty. But, the night is getting late, so Melinda and I push beyond the orange exterior lights and venture inside. In the dimly lit lobby, we’re issued our room key and informed that check-out is 11am tomorrow morning. From what I’ve seen so far, dawn can’t come soon enough.||||It’s not until we witness our room however that the text of this book truly outdoes its cover. Our door opens with a creek revealing an interior decorating scheme somewhere between hideous and unhygienic. A once red carpet, now more of a muddy maroon coats the floor, insisting we keep our shoes on. Against the wall sits a King-sized bed barely fit for an Earl. Its concave mattress droops so much in its middle that if I had corn flakes, milk and a death-wish I could eat my morning cereal out of its bowl shape. Beneath the stained comforter lies a Swiss-cheese, cigarette burned blanket. Beneath that lies a once white bedspread now a sullen shade of ivory. Looking for a little creature comfort, I reach for the TV’s remote control only to realize that the dead device controls nothing remotely. I poke my head into the bathroom. Paint is flaking off the walls like a shedding cat, hair lines the bottom of the tub and the towel rack scores a perfect zero-for-six in providing even slightly unsoiled wares. ||||Melinda and I stand speechless in silence…or what would be silence were it not for the audibly porous walls surrounding us. Sounds of neighbouring televisions and conversations flood our room as if we weren’t alone. Footsteps from the second floor above creak like shifting tectonic plates. The mini-fridge hums like it’s diesel powered and the heater roars like a fire-breathing dragon. ||||Please don’t get me wrong. I’m no ‘Princess and the Pea’ patron. I’ve spent nights crowded into international hostels, shared a leaky tent on the wet West Coast Trail and camped in the Australian Outback while being stalked by nocturnal dingos. On each of those occasions, I slept more soundly than I did here.||||When morning arrives, Melinda and I forgo the shower for our own sanitary sanity. We quickly pack our bags, which we hadn’t really unpacked to begin with. It’s only upon our escape to the parking lot that our day begins to brighten. Bluebird skies and a dusting of fresh snow greet us, signaling our baptism by filth may lead to sweet skiing conditions only a few miles away.||||I look at Melinda through black-circled and bloodshot eyes. “Let’s NEVER tell anyone about this place.” I...

Walked in, found it to have the flavor of a mom & pop homey place. No odors (always a good sign), open feel. Manager and family live there. ||||Bedroom largest I've ever seen in a motel. When we was kids, we would have room to chase each other around, drive mom nuts.Two queen beds with pretty new bedspreads. Fresh paint everywhere. Real clean bathroom. Nicer vanity than than my own apartment. No hollows in the mattress, always nice, eh? And Carpet? Well, old carpet's old carpet, but he says it gets replaced soon. Says new mattresses soon, too.||||Startled me to be greeted by a border collie. Grew up there from a pup. They allow dogs and have a big area to walk them. ||||It's a block from the border crossing. The outside seems to be getting a freshening up. ||||Half a block from a Mexican restaurant, Chinese a couple more. Across the street from filling station with stuff like fancy coffees, big fresh donuts. Cross the other way, grocery with fresh made deli offerings. Down the road, real ice cream shop with a lot of flavors for real big creamy cones. ||||The good parts. Nice folks running it. Comfortable big couch and big tv in where the coffee was. Table and chairs to feed the family around. Laptop in the corner. Lots for the buck. If I'd crossed over to Canada, would have paid 2-3 times more for the same. Three vending machines, candy, snacks, soft drinks. And Bud beer? Or was that a joke? :) Everything from 50 to 70 cents if the signs are for real. Forgot to ask him.||||Benches outside in sun or shade to have a smoke or visit. Manager has a barbeque grill there and picnic tables in a grassy area. Playground set damaged in wind strom, but will be up again. ||||Stuff not prime - ||Well, when you see B&B, you think it means bed and breakfast, but there was only a pot of good coffee. The filling station and grocery for pastries, dairy things, fruit, juice. Asked him and said when he got here, place was really neglected. He's been working at making it nice, in and out, with the budget he gets. He's hoping to add a continental breakfast soon to get it back up to matching the name. ||||Sign faded and out of date, hard to see until you near drive past it. Train toots it's horn at a couple crossings during the night. Two trains. . ||||Would I stay there...

We booked the B and B for a quick overnighter as Vancouver Islanders on our way to ski at Mt. Baker. We should have shelled out the extra $20 to stay in Abbotsford! I'm not picky in the least when it comes to accommodation as I've stayed in my fair share of cheap motels and hostels, and even though some of them have been terrible none have been bad enough to compel me to write a review. ||||For starters, we were here on a cold (-6 Celsius) night and the room felt only a few degrees above freezing. When we requested they turn on some heat, we were informed to use the heater in the bathroom that runs on a timer. A 30 min timer! And the heat coming from the bathroom was barely sufficient to take the chill off in the room. Needless to say, we all slept in our ski clothing that night. Not that we would have wanted to sleep in anything other than Gore-tex, as the disgusting, smelly, torn and stained sheets had every number of mysterious stains on them. Beside the bed, there was a thick layer of dust and who knows what else, clearly indicating that vacuuming is a rare occurrence. Even moreso noticeable in the bathroom, where there was literally a pile of pubic hair in the corner. And candy wrapper trash left on the table! It's like they never even bother to clean. A giant spider crawled out from behind one of the headboards just before we went to bed - not a welcome visitor. The rooms stunk of cigarette smoke and every manner of disgustingness. The mattresses were drooping and concave in the middle. I didn't even bother to shower in the morning for fear that I would come out dirtier. By far the worst hotel I've ever stayed in. We felt ripped off even at the cheap rate of $59. All of us agreed that we would have been better off if we tent-camped in a parking...