Bras d'Or Lakes Inn — Restaurant in St. Peter's

I have two very basic expectations of hotel rooms - they need to be clean, and the advertised services need to be available. The Bras D'Or Lakes Inn failed on both fronts.

There was someone else's hair on the bed pillows, a used facial tissue behind one of the night stands, and used coffee supplies behind the (cheap plywood) microwave stand. When "Housekeeping" (a term I use loosely) went through the room the first morning, the fresh sheets we requested weren't provided, the bathroom wasn't cleaned, and there were no face-cloths left for our use. We mentioned to lack of attention to the front desk staff, expecting the matter to resolve. Nothing had been touched in the room when we returned several hours later.

There is absolutely no internet connectivity in the rooms. The wi-fi they advertise apparently works just in the lobby. There are also no hard-line connections in the rooms to plug in a laptop. The facial tissue I mentioned above was discovered while searching for an ethernet jack. Several conversations with the front desk staff, including a request to change to a different room were fruitless. Their attitude was apathetic, at best.

No wonder they made us pay for the full stay up-front. I'd have left the first morning, if I'd known what I was getting into.

There are a few smaller complaints, as well:

There are no sheer curtains on the windows for privacy; only heavy room-darkening shades. The room is either dark, or completely open to view from the highway.

The hallways, doors, and floors are very loud and creaky. The doors slam at all hours of the day and night.

The decor hasn't been touched in 20+ years, and is in desperate need...

Wowzers

This place is a diamond in the rough. Seems like a hometown restaurant but with BIG CITY tastes.

The dining area has quaint tables outfitted with elegant black and white tablecloth’s with wine glasses, water goblets, and cutlery, all laid out for you and waiting. The view overlooking the entrance to the Bras d’Or Lake is breathtaking from where you sit.

The staff were very attentive, friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable about the menu.

The bread basket (with EPIC tea biscuits) were hugged in a black napkin with pats of real butter softening in the basket. These were the best biscuits I’ve ever had and if they put fresh strawberries and fresh whipped cream on them in season -I’d pay good money for that!!

The main meal presentations were mouthwatering. When I say it made my mouth water it is an understatement!! The flavour burst in my mouth and made my eyes close. Soooo good.

I’d say with out a doubt the chef (Jason) knows what he is doing and has equally talented staff behind the scene.

The portions were perfect and filling enough but when you peek at the dessert menu you’ll find the room. (Hollow-leg-anyone? - yep right here!!!)

The in house made ice-cream is melt-in-your-mouth-amazingly-delicious and with the home made warm brownies with hot fudge sauce made me (well Ya-know 😉)

All in all this is a stop I will go out of my way for and YOU should do the same.

Thank you for a memorable evening!!

Note: Sorry, no picture of the dessert I had. Too busy eating it to take a...

We rented the cottage that is located behind the hotel. Very cute and the view was absolutely beautiful!! Saw lots of wildlife. We had 2 adults and 2 kids and we felt it was too small. More appropriate for 2 adults and maybe a child.

I wouldn’t not visit again, but there were certainly a few things that left the stay feeling a bit underwhelming.

Pros • good location • beautiful views • updated rooms • reasonable pricing • very clean • ample parking • complimentary kayaks -amazing ! • beautiful dock with seating

Cons •We went in off season and staff hours are limited. No one on site until 11am. • Restaurant has limited hours, and was closed on Mondays. • The body wash container was empty and the multi head shower system was so rusted that it’s all you could smell in the shower. • Hot tub was very small. Four seats but comfortably fits 2 adults. Which is all the room needed, but we just found it a bit cramped. • The biggest concern was that there was a board missing from the steps into the hot tub and two rusty screws were sticking straight up that could be easily walked on. Would have told them in person but no one was around. • The pull out was unbearable. All you could feel were the springs. I actually had a spring imprint across my face in the morning. It’s a nice extra to have one, but this one wasn’t even suitable for a child. It could use a...