Chameleon Hotel

The owner was very accommodating when there was a small booking mixup that was my fault, and even called the next morning to see if everything was okay. The room was spacious and the bed comfortable, and the customer service was great. It’s an old building, but it has a certain charm. I enjoyed staying here and would come back.

The bed was clean and comfortable, and my husband, baby, and I all slept well. We had plenty of room in both the bedroom and bathroom, and the shower pressure was good. I appreciated having soap and shampoo. The AC worked well, the wifi never cut out, and breakfast had a decent range of choices for such an inexpensive night. There were flies around the many plants, which I think is just something that comes with plants and heat, not a sign that the place was dirty. The damage deposit was higher than I expected, but as long as you don’t break anything, you’re fine. The building is old and creaky, but it didn’t feel dirty or gross. It reminded me of an old European-style hotel. For a cheap place, you get some pretty good things. I’ll be back. I’d heard good things about the restaurant, but we didn’t get a chance to try it this time.

The proprietor’s friendliness made up for the room not having A/C, which would have been welcome. It was clean and cozy, and had a private bathroom, which we appreciated. We left early, so we didn’t get to try the breakfast. This definitely isn’t a chain hotel, and that’s fine. We were having a hard time finding anywhere to stay on the way to our destination, and stopped in charming Castlegar. We hadn’t realized the Shambhala Music Festival was on that weekend, so everything was booked. We called The Chameleon Hotel and were told the only available room was very small with a twin bed. We asked them to hold it and figured we’d make do. The gentleman gave us 10 minutes to get there, which was no problem in a small town. When we arrived, he explained the room actually had a double bed and wasn’t normally rented out. He was so friendly, and the room did the job. If you want bells and whistles, this isn’t the place. It’s charming and the friendliness is hard to come by these days. I’d absolutely stay here again.

My boss booked this as a work stopover, and I’d stay here again in a heartbeat. The room was clean and had a charming, homely feel, unlike the cookie-cutter rooms at big hotel chains. The building itself is old, and the receptionist was friendly.