The Albion Hotel — Restaurant in Bluewater

We booked a room at the Albion for a night away for three friends as we were doing a day of shopping and dining in the area. My expectations were not high as i know this is an older hotel that is used a lot for snowmobilers in the winter months. ||The room was clean, but there was only one small bed (maybe a queen, but looked more like a double). i had told them there would be three women and they had said they would give us the biggest room. i guess i had assumed there would be two beds, but that is not their fault, i should have clarified. They did provide two cots at my request. The cots had bedding that looked like it had seen much better days. Flannel plaid sheets and ratty comforters/blankets. There were no glasses or coffee maker or anything in room. There was no TV in the room, but we were directed to the one in the common area that looked like the decor hadn't been changed since the 80's, where there was a shared TV. In the room we were given just some towels and a bar of cheap soap. We were directed to the "common room" for a fridge which looked like it was from the sixties. The hot tub was not available as apparently some former guests had broken it. ||The breakfast they provided the next day was disappointing to say the least - some cereal, packets of oatmeal and four slices of bread and a toaster. There was coffee, but not enough cream for three people. The person who was doing breakfast didn't come and ask if we needed anything, and we were the only three people in the hotel that night and morning. ||||Now, if i was paying $100 for this place, i probably wouldn't be so negative. But with taxes in, it was over $186. For off season, i think this is way overpriced. If there had been more amenities, then it would have been worth the price they charged. ||||If they fix this place up they could easily charge more in peak seasons, but for the price at the time of year we went, i was very disappointed. ||||We ate downstairs for supper, and the food was good. No complaints there. ...

We booked a room at the Albion for a night away for three friends as we were doing a day of shopping and dining in the area. My expectations were not high as i know this is an older hotel that is used a lot for snowmobilers in the winter months. ||The room was clean, but there was only one small bed (maybe a queen, but looked more like a double). i had told them there would be three women and they had said they would give us the biggest room. i guess i had assumed there would be two beds, but that is not their fault, i should have clarified. They did provide two cots at my request. The cots had bedding that looked like it had seen much better days. Flannel plaid sheets and ratty comforters/blankets. There were no glasses or coffee maker or anything in room. There was no TV in the room, but we were directed to the one in the common area that looked like the decor hadn't been changed since the 80's, where there was a shared TV. In the room we were given just some towels and a bar of cheap soap. We were directed to the "common room" for a fridge which looked like it was from the sixties. The hot tub was not available as apparently some former guests had broken it. ||The breakfast they provided the next day was disappointing to say the least - some cereal, packets of oatmeal and four slices of bread and a toaster. There was coffee, but not enough cream for three people. The person who was doing breakfast didn't come and ask if we needed anything, and we were the only three people in the hotel that night and morning. ||||Now, if i was paying $100 for this place, i probably wouldn't be so negative. But with taxes in, it was over $186. For off season, i think this is way overpriced. If there had been more amenities, then it would have been worth the price they charged. ||||If they fix this place up they could easily charge more in peak seasons, but for the price at the time of year we went, i was very disappointed. ||||We ate downstairs for supper, and the food was good. No complaints there. ...

Several of our group of six often enjoy an evening at the Albion Hotel during the summer months, so we thought we’d get an early start on the season by reserving for dinner on Cinco De Mayo! ||The table was ready, our server was nice (despite her apparent lack of experience at the job) and the food was excellent.||Unfortunately, the “special” ($8) margaritas were awful. Four ounces of a greenish mix (Kool-Aid??) with absolutely no alcohol! Table salt around the rims. We made the mistake of drinking them anyway (they were, after all, refreshing – being cold and somewhat palatable).||||We noted our disappointment to our server at the end of the meal, and she summoned the manager. The woman was immediately aggressive, stating there was no way we would be compensated (we hadn’t asked for any remedy, since, in fact, we did drink them). Furthermore, she claimed to have personally watched the bartender mix all five drinks. She assured us she saw 1oz of Tequila and 1oz of Cointreau go into each one. (Of course, that ratio of Tequila-to-Cointreau is way off the normal recipe, but we’ll ignore that.) If she did indeed see the bartender pour liquid from liquor bottles, my guess is that someone had switched out the clear liquors for water. As a margarita lover for many years, I can assure you there was absolutely no alcohol in those drinks!||||Due to her combative stance, an argument ensued and some of our party vowed never to return – not because of the disappointing drinks, but because we had been treated so poorly. This manager had no sense of good customer service, nor even a modicum of tact for dealing with clients. Too bad. We’ll miss our summer trips...