Canadas Best Value Inn & Suites Castlegar

The bed was fairly comfortable, though the rooms have hard floors, which can feel chilly. That may work well if you’re traveling with pets. It’s an older place, so you get what you pay for. Having a vehicle makes the location handy, close to the highway. A cab to the airport is about $25 and takes 10 minutes; the bus goes the long way and involves a bit of a walk with your bags. Since the owners changed, reaching them by phone may be difficult. Even Expedia had trouble. Walking in to book may cost less than using Expedia or another online service.

We were charged the full amount for a room that shouldn’t have been rented. After reporting the condition, we were told to come back in the morning, but then got sent between the front desk and the third-party booking agency, and neither took responsibility. I don’t expect luxury, just a clean room and basic hospitality. We got neither. Save yourself the trouble and book somewhere else. We’d only wanted a clean place to sleep after a long drive before continuing our trip. Instead, we walked into a musty, foul-smelling room that was hot and humid because the AC was off. The carpet was soaking wet. The mini fridge had been left open, and its freezer iced over and leaked onto the floor. The bathroom sink had a spider in it and was clogged. There was hair all over the counters, and the bed sheets were visibly dirty. When we opened the balcony door to air things out, we found spider webs covering the balcony. The whole room felt neglected and unsanitary. We told the front desk, and a staff member named AJ came to inspect it. He stepped on the wet carpet, agreed the room was filthy, and said it was far below acceptable standards. We appreciated his honesty.

The room was boiling when we arrived because neither the AC nor the fridge had been turned on. Looking around, I also found stains on the walls and a wall light that didn’t work. The lift switches are awkwardly placed, all by the room door. Somehow the place feels both updated and completely out of date, so I wouldn’t call it “best value.”

The room was spacious and the bathroom was fine, but there were no lids for the kitchenette dishes, and the TV remote didn’t work. The rooms and hallways have very little soundproofing, so we could hear people talking loudly next door. It also seemed like the people running the place didn’t know much about hospitality, and they should use a checklist for the things guests need. When we arrived, the room was super hot because the AC wasn’t on. Once switched on, it was so loud we had to turn it off to sleep. The front desk tried to charge us $90 more, but we had the Expedia email to prove the price. I’d book through Expedia rather than directly. The menu next door was outrageously priced. Castlegar is beautiful, so I’ll be back, but hopefully I can find a better place by then.