My stay at the Alert Lodge was like home from home - Nina and Chris were very friendly, very informative and I was made to feel like one of the family.

I spent 3 nights at the Alert Bay Lodge. Chris, the manager, was very outgoing, kind
friendly and helpful. My room and adjacent bathroom were fine. The lodge, which is what one would imagine a most attractive rustic lodge to be, has
a great common area, part of which overlooks the ocean and there is always the lingering
agreeable smell of the wood burning fire.
Chris usually ate breakfast with the guests which certainly added to the most
pleasant ambiance of the entire experience The lodge is within walking distance to the main area of the town. If one so desires, dinner usually fish, fresh vegetables etc. can
be eaten at the lodge for a reasonable additional cost.

This is a quirky place, re-hashed from a small church that was originally built from a kit. The common areas are from the church, but the rest seems to have been added on. The owners live elsewhere, and the place is manged onsite by a live-in manager. The manager who is there right now is very nice and helpful, but has not been there very long.
Our room, #3, could stand some improvements. It's decor is drab but the beds were OK. The window is small for the size of the room; this, combined with the not-too-pleasant fluorescent lighting, gave the room a cold feel. There is a space heater in the room, which you might need any time of year, but is awkward. There is a real wood fire in the commmon area which you can enjoy.
Our biggest problem was with the reservations system. DO NOT MAKE AN ONLINE RESERVATION IF YOU ARE EXPECTING TO ARRIVE WITHIN THE NEXT DAY OR TWO. The website does accept online reservations, and accepts your credit card. However, unlike any other online reservations system I have ever dealt with, it does not provide an instant confirmation, even though you are committed by credit card and will incur a penalty if you need to book somewhere else instead due to not knowing whether you have a reservation with these people or not. This is because the owner, who is a long ways away from the establishment, insists on manually reviewing the reservation before confirming it. This process can take up to 2 days according to the info they give you at the time you are reserving, AFTER you have committed yourself. This is fine if you are booking further in advance, I suppose, although I think most of us expect an immediate answer when we have offered our credit card and are facing a cancellation fee, so that we may get on with a different booking if needed. Since accommodation on this small island is limited, it is all the more important that this be rectified.

Didn't quite know what to expect from this place but was thoroughly surprised and happy with our stay.

Getting the ferry across to this little island was lovely and it was easy to find. It has such a sense of character - being an old church - and the common area was lovely. It has a dining area, sitting area and big library, also a deck outside.

Chris who runs the place was very friendly, helpful and cooked a very nice breakfast. I only wish we'd been able to stay longer on Alert Bay and got to do some walks as it was a very pleasant sleepy island to visit.