My boyfriend and I went to Victoria for a weekend as our Christmas present to each other and booked 2 nights at Abagail's hotel. Normally we wouldn't have chosen the quaint-type hotel but deciding to treat ourselves, we went for it.
When we got there at check in time our room wasn't ready so we had to wait about half and hour to forty-five minutes before we could get in. After a long trip to get there we just wanted to get into our room so this was a little annoying.
For a young couple, the rates are pretty high so this was definitely a 'special occasion' trip. We booked the Country Room as it looked very nice and bright on the website and was in mid-range of rooms. When we arrived we were told we had been upgraded to a Fireplace Room (which is supposedly a step higher than the Country Rooms.) It was in the Coach House, so very nice and private, but we were disappointed with the room itself. Very small and dark - even with all the lights on. It didn't have the look and feel that the Country Room seemed to have. The only time I wish we hadn't gotten an upgrade!
Nevertheless the bed was good and the large jacuzzi tub was nice, (although we partly had booked the other room due to it's claw-foot tub.) The room had standard amenities, nothing too spectacular, the cookies were a nice touch.
Over the two days we found the staff were very nice and helpful and were knowledgeable about whatever we asked them. We didn't partake in the evening wine and snacks as we were out and about doing other things.
The breakfast's were said to be the best part of staying here so we were very excited. They were delicious. The second morning we had to leave before breakfast was served so the staff very nicely packed one up for us.
One thing to be aware of is that from photos the hotel looks like it's relatively secluded and away from everything else. In reality it's in the middle of a residential area. Still it's a short walk to downtown Victoria so handy in that respect.
We realized (to no fault of the hotel) that this place is geared towards people 30-35 and up. Reading the guest-book in our room we saw that all the guests that had stayed in our room previously were older. The style of the hotel also reflects this - a quiet B&B with quaint decor. This is not a bad thing at all, but if you are younger as we are (early - mid twenties) this hotel probably isn't your best choice. We felt slightly awkward when in the lobby/lounge/breakfast room as no one else was near our age.
Overall, this is definitely a great hotel - but we were disappointed, probably due to the fact we were the wrong demographic for it.
Room Tip: Upgrades aren't necessarily a good thing - you might not get what you wanted in the first place...
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
24 January 2012
Dear PDove,
Thank you for taking the time to give us this review. The more people that contribute to this site the more information gets relayed to potential guests and the better aligned expectations become.
We are sorry to hear that you were disappointed with your room upgrade but are thankful for your patronage as well as the balance of your review which gives us favourable marks for our cleanliness, delicious breakfast, sleep comfort and service.
As you stated, we’re a heritage, Tudor Revival style, accommodation that may not be suited for young travelers wishing to stay in a more traditional style hotel. We do our best to describe our hotel on our website and the various external websites that we work with. If you find anything to be misleading or contrary to our experience, please let me know and I will do my best to rectify or clarify it as soon as possible.
If a guest is displeased with a room upgrade we will happily try to revert back to the originally booked room. With regards to your wait for check-in, please note that our check-in time is 3pm. We have not missed our check-in cut-off deadline in the memory of any of our current management, which extends to the last eight years. Perhaps there was a misunderstanding or miscommunication upon an earlier arrival? Please let me know if this is not the case and I will investigate further internally. I can be messaged directly through the TripAdvisor messaging system.
Best regards and safe travels,
Nick Saklas
General Manager
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC