Bracebridge Inn

We drive down from near Kirkland Lake to Mississauga every week for a medical procedure I really need, and this motel has made those trips easier. The beds are comfortable, and one room has a walk-in shower that lets me wash safely and more easily. Last week we got the final room available, around 6 p.m. Our rooms have always been clean, with temperature controls in each one. The staff are consistently welcoming and have earned their five stars. We bring our fluffy, long-haired dog, and they give us extra sheets to cover the carpet without charging a pet fee.

We drove four hours to the Bracebridge Inn only to find that the check-in arrangement we expected had not been honored. We understood that a third-party booking site could change things, so that wasn't the worst part. Later, we checked the bed by pulling back the sheets, as people do when looking for bugs. There were black marks along the edges that looked like signs of bed bugs, old or otherwise, and loose hairs made us doubt the sheets had been changed. The man at the desk moved us to another room. The marks there were less noticeable, but we found a flattened bed bug and took a photo. He got angry and said we had no right to pull the sheets off, and that the maid wasn't there to remake the bed. We had only placed the sheets together on a chair and hadn't made a mess. I pointed out that sheets should be changed between guests, but he was rude and unprofessional. It seemed to me he was embarrassed because the place wasn't up to standard. He had told us there'd been a bed bug infestation three years earlier, yet they hadn't replaced the mattress. Another woman working there more or less accused us of planting the bug and said we'd have to be bitten before they'd believe us. We're not high-maintenance guests, but we didn't want to bring bugs home. After we left for another hotel, its staff also said they wouldn't recommend staying here. It left our vacation off to a very disappointing start. I waited to see whether we'd get a full refund before posting, but we didn't. This happened a couple of weeks ago.

They advertised the inn as pet-friendly, but when my original plans for my dogs fell through and I needed to bring them, they got angry. I asked if I could pay a deposit or extra cleaning fee, since the reason given was that other people have allergies. He refused and called housing to end our stay while we were homeless and in crisis, me as a single mother with three kids. The worst service I've ever had, from the most inhumane business I've dealt with. As he put it, “we are a business of operation, not a shelter,” even though they were being paid the full room rate for us.

The room suited what we needed, and the queen bed was nice. I'd stay here again.