Pendray Inn — Restaurant in Victoria

Charming Inn — But the “Comfort Double Room” (Loretto’s Loft) Is Overpriced and Poorly Designed

Pendray Inn overall is a beautiful heritage property. The garden is gorgeous, the common areas are elegant, and having breakfast while overlooking the harbor is a truly lovely experience. However, one room — the “Comfort Double Room,” also called Loretto’s Loft — was such a letdown that it significantly impacted my stay. I strongly urge anyone considering this room to reconsider, as it is vastly overpriced for what it offers. (Even though the manager emphasizes that this room is the most affordable one in the property, it still fall under 300-400 cad per night and we didn’t choose it because of affordability but availability)

Loretto’s Loft is a converted attic-like space that has been divided almost exactly in half — one half is a bathroom, the other half a bedroom with a sitting area. This might sound balanced in theory, but in practice, it leads to a deeply uncomfortable layout. The bedroom is long and narrow, with a sharply sloped ceiling that makes nearly half the space unusable. When lying in bed, your head is barely 20 cm from the ceiling. Moving around the sitting area is frustrating, as it’s easy to bump your head and hard to feel at ease in such a cramped, awkward space. There is little to no room for relaxation, and certainly not enough for two people to feel comfortable. No matter how the manager explains about the delicate design, the fact is that this is an uncomfortable space design.

Meanwhile, the bathroom is oddly large — far more spacious than the bedroom, which makes the whole layout feel even more unbalanced. What’s worse, this room doesn’t have a proper desk or table where you can comfortably use a laptop, which is something I expect even from budget hotels — let alone one that charges upwards of $300–$400 per night.

The furnishings and decor are also disappointing compared to the rest of the inn. While other rooms reflect the building’s historical charm and elegance, this one feels like a hastily converted storage space — poorly decorated and poorly thought out. The furniture lacks the warmth, character, and detail that make the rest of the inn so special. (emphasis: compared with other rooms of the property, which are only a little bit more expensive than this one)

The bed was another major issue. The mattress felt like a worn-out spring model with werid support — honestly, it was less comfortable than my $1000 mattress at home, and far below the standard I’ve experienced in Canadian hotels at this price point. I did not sleep well. (And the manager’s explanation was something like because this is a subjective perception so their mattress is still the best, which I don’t believe so. I did travel a lot and try so many mattresses, and I believe I know how does a luxurious mattress feel like. It won’t make you feel like hard but not supported. Truly can’t believe that this is a best Canada mattress)

In all my stays across Canada, I’ve never encountered such a small, cramped, and poorly appointed hotel room at this price range. It simply does not offer the comfort, quality, or value expected of a $300–$400 room. While I’d recommend the inn overall, this particular room feels completely out of place — more like a budget motel room awkwardly inserted into a luxury property.

I hope the management reconsiders offering this room at its current rate, or better yet, redesigns it to match the rest of the inn’s standard. Until then, I would strongly suggest booking any other room — or looking elsewhere altogether — for a stay that actually reflects the price...

All the charm and character you would want from a heritage hotel and of course, the location is wonderful. That said, it was still the least pleasant stay I've had in a Victoria hotel (although I'll admit, we've stayed in some very nice ones.) It could be that our experience at "Reception" when we arrived to check in was very poor, and perhaps that just set things off with a negative vibe. When we arrived to the separate Huntingdon Manor (where you need to check in if you're staying in the Pendray), there were 2 staff members at the desk, one talking to a woman who was complaining about the lack of cookies in the lobby, and the other observing. (Apparently, there had been cookies available on a previous day when she checked in, but there were none today and she was disappointed.) The second staff member was observing this polite exchange. Neither member made eye contact, offered to help us, or even welcomed us to the hotel. We waited long enough that we were seriously considering leaving before a 3rd, somewhat dishevelled and surly, man arrived to the desk. He proceeded to check us in, quite unimpressed that we had arrived early at 3:30pm. (Check in is at 4pm and I had called the day before - after having received an email from the hotel saying that early check-ins can sometimes be accommodated - and put in a special request for a 3pm arrival.) He also snipped at me for not having my driver's license which my husband offered to retrieve from the car, but it is only an interim license as I'm waiting for my renewal card from ICBC. He then gave us most of the code to access the parking lot and we left to park our car and find our room, which was actually ready for us, given that I had arranged it in advance. We managed to access the parking lot by pressing enough buttons that the bar finally raised and then we enjoyed some quiet time in our room before heading out for an excellent meal at Il Covo, and then came back to sleep. Unfortunately, all the pillows provided in the room were firm and huge, and we struggled to sleep - until about 2am when my very clever husband took the pillow cases off the pillows and stuffed them with throw pillows instead. :) So given that the hotel is truly lovely in some ways, perhaps it was just the lack of sleep and poor service that coloured my view and only served to emphasize the little things like the peeling wallpaper, linoleum floor in the bathroom, and rushed service at breakfast. At least Victoria does have many other fine options for...

A Deeply Disappointing Experience — Do Better, Pendray Tea House

We had high hopes for our reservation at Pendray Tea House — a long-awaited gathering of three generations of women in my family who hadn’t shared tea together in over seven years. This reservation was made well in advance, chosen carefully because our travel schedule (arriving by ship that day) left no room for flexibility.

Without any notice or courtesy, Pendrey changed our reservation just two days prior to us arriving in port. There was no outreach, no apology — just a sudden change that disrupted what was meant to be a special and rare reunion. When we looked at the OpenTable app, it was clear that many other reservations had been accepted, leading us to believe we had simply been bumped to make room for others.

That, to me, says everything about the quality of service and regard for guests we could expect. Ultimately, we chose to cancel and spend our limited time exploring other parts of Victoria — a city with far more to offer than a tea house that can’t manage its reservations or respect its guests.

This lack of professionalism and basic courtesy is exactly why they’ve earned this review. I hope future guests are treated with more care — but based on our experience, I wouldn’t count on it.

Follow Up to My Review While I didn’t expect perfection, I did expect honesty and accountability. Unfortunately, the venue's response to my review has only compounded the disappointment.

To clarify: last month, I made an 11:15 a.m. reservation based on our ship’s scheduled 10:00 a.m. arrival. When I learned that the ship would be arriving an hour later, I updated the reservation to 12:30 p.m. The venue then unilaterally changed our reservation to 11:15 a.m. — earlier than when we could even disembark — without any notice or consultation. That is not “proactive" service as noted in the venue's response. That is mismanagement.

The public explanation does not reflect what actually occurred. I won’t speculate on intent, but this wasn’t a technical issue — it was a deliberate action that made matters worse. And rather than take responsibility, the venue chose to revise the narrative.

Sometimes, the most respectful and professional thing a business can do is acknowledge when it has fallen short and allow a guest’s experience to stand. Unfortunately, that didn’t...