I wish we had read the reviews before our group's 2 night stay at this "resort". Most of the negatives that other people wrote were part of our experience in Lodge #2, and there were few positives:
--friendly staff
--beautiful area around with Sandbanks around the corner
--dilapidated rooms with old dilapidated furniture
--poorly fitting stretchy slip-covers over chairs
--one light (!!) in the living room, so had to bring one out of the bedroom, but this was ok since the outlet in the bedroom didn't work anyway
--hard and extremely creaky bed
--the only servicing the room got was to replace towels and cups--bed wasn't even made, "firelog" that we used the first night wasn't replaced--a bit annoying since a 15% gratuity was added to the bill!
--room coffee maker didn't work, but leaked water all over the desk
--unreliable WiFi
--outside we saw a number of bricks missing from the top of the broken chimney, and were actually nervous of the fire hazard that second night. Fortunately there are smoke alarms
--old furnishings, missing chunks of wood, missing drawer knobs
--curtains and blinds that didn't always cover the entire window
--musty smell in all 3 "suites"
--no sound insulation in ceiling, so it sounded like the Cirque de Soleil was staying above us, crashing around until after 1 a.m.
--neighbours came back around 11 Saturday night, and began cooking a meal whose garlic-aromas permeated one suite all night
--shower heads that directed most of the water backwards, and since they were loose, probably into the wall cavity
--bathroom amenities on what appeared to be an old tv/media cart that had seen better days
--tarp covering the roof of a neighbouring cottage gave a hint of maintenance that hadn't been done
--breakfast was ok--hot buffet, service adequate
--dinner (part of our package) was a "winemaker's dinner", with a local vintner attending and pairing wines with the meal--one of the reasons we chose the package; meal was ok, but all courses were very rich: large bowl of rich, creamy-cheesy soup to start, then scallop and salmon ceviche (definitely an acquired taste, and not one our group had yet acquired), trio of tenderloins on crostini with a sauce that overpowered the meats, which were fairly well cooked; sticky toffee pudding that was more like a dry muffin in a puddle of lukewarm custard. The wines were fairly good and the representative of the vineyard very knowledgable
In summary, we were charged an astonishing amount of money for a 2 day package considering what we got in this run-down establishment. It may have seen its heyday in the sixties, and in those days would likely have been a super place to holiday with family. It doesn't seem like maintenance has been done since those days, and although it was quite clean the shabbiness was unforgiveable for the price they charged. Their price structure really needs to be seriously adjusted to reflect the level of accommodation that is actually provided. There was no point in complaining about most of the things because there would be nothing for the management to do except refund a lot of our money, or pay to have us relocated to a hotel that actually delivered what you'd expect for the money they charged. We have traveled a lot in North America, and for in excess of $500 for two nights we expected to have a resort-like experience, not an uncomfortable weekend in a shabby, undermaintained hotel.
- Isaiah Tubbs Hotel
- Isaiah Tubbs
- Isaiah Tubbs Picton
