Sharbot Lake Country Inn & The Crossing Pub — Restaurant in Central Frontenac

On August 14th, 2025, I had the pleasure of taking my 11-year-old grandson on his first overnight fishing trip. I booked the Sharbot Lake Inn for our overnight stay. We arrived earlier in the day and proceeded to fish until check-in time. I have fished the lake many times over the years and am very familiar with the weeds in the East End. Being mindful of this, I was expecting the owners to have at least cleaned up that area, as it had been on my last stay prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. As I approached the dock to tie off my boat, the weeds had not been cleared from this area all summer. My boat literally got stuck. I had to use the paddle. If this had been the worst of the trip, that would have been acceptable. However, after struggling to get my boat in close enough to step off, the dock collapsed under the weight of my foot. The boat dock had been broken prior to our arrival. I would have expected that with damage like that, there would at least be caution tape or signage to advise not to use this portion, as it is hazardous. Because I had one foot in the boat and the other on the dock, I hurt my back. I knew immediately that this could be a trip-ending injury. I did not want to disappoint my grandson, so we made our way up the back stairs of the motel, which are almost completely overgrown with weeds and vines. This is very unlike the photos you see posted here on TripAdvisor, including the water in the docking area. As I proceeded to check in and pay for the room, I was already experiencing a lot of pain. I advised one of the staff of the condition of the dock and how dangerous I felt it was. We were escorted to our room, and upon entry, I immediately took ice to my back. With the original plan being an evening fishing trip with my grandson, we made our way to the restaurant for an early dinner. As we entered the restaurant, an overpowering smell similar to a septic bed being pumped overtook me. My grandson even commented, 'It's like somebody had just taken a big poop.' By this point, my back was bad enough that I had to bring an ice pack with me to the restaurant. I would have entertained going somewhere else, but that was not an option. By now, I was having difficulties with my mobility. The idea of eating outside was an option to escape the smell; however, I don't think the outside chairs had the back support to hold the ice pack, so we stayed in and used a booth. We placed our order; our meal came with chicken wings and fries. I had to ask for cutlery, and when I asked for napkins because we were not supplied with any, we were delivered one each. The fly's crawling on my legs during the meal we're almost unbearable I could not wait to get out of the restaurant. After a late lunch/early dinner, we made our way back to the room. It was at this point that I had to break the news to my grandson that the fishing trip was over. It broke my heart to have to tell him that, but I was physically unable to stay. We checked in approximately at 3:00 p.m., and at 6:00 p.m., I had made my way back to the bar/restaurant to check out. In all fairness and to be honest, they did reimburse me the $258 for the room. I'm not sure if that's just good business or fear of other reasons. The Luxury Lakeside Suite I would not recommend. It is a good-sized room with a big counter, refrigerator, dual induction plates, but the only coffee maker is a plug-in percolator kettle. The TV is in a very tiny little nook with a little two-cushion dated couch; that's it, about four or five feet from the bathroom door. When the door is open, you are looking at the toilet across from where the TV is located. How nice. I could go on and on however I'm sure it paints a picture....

This elistablishment appears to run on a fly-by-night basis. When I phoned a month before the three night booking I wanted and provided the credit card information etc. there was some confusion about whether they had three nights vailable. Two nights were okay but the owner, Gobi Brian, ensured they could put me in another room for one night. They did not send me a confirmation number by email as promised but I assumed they would have called to do so if there had been a problem. I was quoted a total for the three nights. I phoned them again a week or so prior to the booking to inquire about another matter and surprisingly found out they did not have me booked. I was then referred to Chen (phoned him) who apparently was working on the booking system. He eventually found me and assured me I had te three nights but the first night would be in the "main building" but I would be sharing a bathroom. On arrival I found that this room was part of staff accommodations, no lock on the door, and rather adhoc. I was never presented with a booking invoice and I assumed this room would be at a reduced rate under the circumstances. The inn shared a desk with their restaurant and only opened from noon onwards. Since I was out all afternoon/evening those days I was not able to see anyone when I was there and even on checkout, with no invoice provided, I did not have the opportunity to see what they were charging me. I phoned a number of times to confirm what to do but never saw anyone on checkout when I left mid morning. I did get charged on my credit card, an amount I would like to challenge or at least comprehend. No luck, no...

Overall we had a very good experience here. The room was well-appointed although a little bit dark in terms of wall color. My understanding is the new manager will be making a few changes and those will be welcome. When we arrive there was no one on site so I had to call to find out how to check in. There are keypad entrances on each room so I was texted a code. That made it easy. We did eat at the pub twice the food was good. Typical Pub Fair. I understand the new manager has a lot of new ideas hopefully those will be implemented. It is a little bit run-down and rough around the edges but the location is lovely and it is worth staying. There is a great Cafe across the street that is open from 6:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily it serves ice cream in the evenings and there's a nice walk down to the lake both from the hotel and also across the road behind the cafe there was a lovely park and Beach just down the hill.

My recommendations would be to make sure that when they say the pub is open it is open and to up their game on some of the foods and a little bit of updating in the rooms wouldn't go amiss.

Overall a good experience and we would go back again.

I don't have any pictures of the room but I will share pictures of...