Ramada by Wyndham Campbell River

For the price, it was a pretty good deal. The room was large, as advertised, and reasonably clean, with nothing to complain about there. It’s dated and not glamorous, though not terrible. Nicole, I think, at the front desk was friendly and gave us useful information. The man looking after breakfast was especially friendly too.

The room was incredibly spacious, and there were three of us in room 319 for three nights. We even had space for an air mattress for the third person. The rate was remarkably reasonable, and the view was incredible. We were just seconds from the beach, and there was also a pool and mini golf course. Breakfast was fantastic. Joey, thanks for running it so well and for being one of the kindest people around. Your hospitality made our stay wonderful. We’ll definitely recommend this place.

The check-in staff were fabulous, but my husband and I left less than an hour after arriving. We travel a lot and have never done that before. Even after stepping into the dingy, dated, badly worn “deluxe” room, we were ready to try to make the best of it. We’re not fussy and have stayed in places from two to five stars. There’s old and run down, and then there’s old, run down, and filthy. This felt filthy. There was dirt and crumbs by the entrance, the bathroom looked unclean, its fixtures badly needed replacing, and the tub surround was dirty. The room smelled musty, the carpet had burn holes, and the kitchenette smelled of old greasy food. I was afraid to even look at the bed. The whole room was gross, dated, and very worn. I’d been looking forward to a hot tub, though I admit that was my own mistake for assuming there would be one with the pool. We still tried to make the most of things and went to look at the pool. It’s in another building, and you have to use an intercom so the front desk can remotely open the door. The pool room looked dated, worn, dirty, and just felt off. The water looked filthy. A hot tub seems to have been there once, but it was covered with wood and had a couple of chairs on top. I thought maybe we could use the sauna instead, but its door was secured with an old rusty padlock that looked like it had been there since 1975. No, just no. Back in the room, we tried calling the front desk to ask if another room was available. The online listing showed rooms with jetted tubs, so we thought maybe those would be nicer. The room phone didn’t work at all, no dial tone, and I’m not even sure it was connected. I used my cell phone. The other two rooms with jetted tubs weren’t available, and we weren’t interested in moving to another room anyway, especially since ours was advertised as deluxe. Again, the front desk staff were fabulous, and this wasn’t their fault. We packed up and checked out. Because we booked through a third party, Hotels.com, the front desk couldn’t refund us. When asked why we were leaving, I said the rooms were terribly overpriced for what they were and that I’d hoped to use a hot tub. I was trying to stay cordial and not make things difficult for the staff, since the property’s condition wasn’t their fault. Hotels.com later tried to get a refund from the hotel manager, who flatly refused. Hotels.com had told me they initially agreed with our reasons for leaving, which made the refusal even more frustrating. The manager and owner should be ashamed of the property’s state. Refusing even a partial refund was really poor form. I’m surprised it’s a Ramada, and can’t understand how they charge upwards of $200 a room under that name for a place like this. Unbelievable. We ended up at the Naturally Pacific Resort for about the same price. The contrast between this zero-star dump and a five-star, clean, modern place with immaculate amenities and next-level service was huge. If you’re in Campbell River, check it out. I highly recommend it. Don’t stay at the Ramada in Campbell River. Pay attention to the negative reviews. I’m convinced they’re posting any positive ones themselves. I honestly can’t imagine anyone reviewing this place positively. These are the worst accommodations we’ve ever seen.

After a month of going back and forth with management, we got back only about half our money. Really bad manners. We’d read older reviews mentioning bed bugs, so we checked both rooms when we arrived and found one in a room. Of course we didn’t want to stay. The receptionist was friendly, the only positive thing about the hotel itself, which is old and smells weird. I rarely write reviews, but felt this one was necessary.