Alpine Motel

The room we were first given smelled strongly of smoke, despite being marked non-smoking. We asked to move and ended up in a room with three double beds instead of the queen we’d booked. At first they said there were no other rooms, then switched us anyway. It felt like they weren’t handling the issue properly. Disappointing service and not a great stay.

The staff were friendly, but that’s about the only good thing. My room stank of cigarettes, and they said no other rooms were available. I was in town for work and picked this place because it was cheap. The bathroom didn’t even have soap, and there was no cookware in the kitchenette. The AC filter looked like it had been inhaling smoke for decades. The maintenance was a disaster. Spend the extra $20-30 for a nicer hotel if you can. Treat this place as a last resort.

Our last night ended with me contacting Expedia about the smoke detectors. The one in the living area didn’t respond when tested, and when I took it down, I found its wires weren’t connected to the ceiling wires and there was no battery backup. The detector in the windowless bedroom also failed its test, and its battery was clearly dead. Expedia tried to get reimbursement for putting us in an unsafe room. They later told me management said I’d been given bowls, and I received a $28 refund. That was my last straw, and I’ll never stay at this motel again. I can’t recommend it. Before that, we’d had a freezing arrival in mid-March after taking VIARail into town at 2:30AM for a five-night stay. My son is only eight, and I was exhausted after unloading the car, so I couldn’t face changing rooms. The heat wouldn’t turn on, so we went to bed fully clothed. In the morning, I found a breaker box in the room and flipped the heat breaker. It worked, and I don’t know how nobody had noticed the blown fuse. We’d chosen the kitchenette room, also called the Family Suite, so we could make meals instead of going out every time. But the cupboards held only one dinner plate, one side plate, three mugs, and no bowls. There was no dish soap or anything to clean dishes with. When my son and I asked the front desk for bowls so he could have cereal, the staff member said they didn’t give bowls anymore. After I repeated that there were none in our room and asked if we were expected to buy our own, she offered some from the back and told me to “rinse them out” at checkout. I didn’t ask for more plates or anything to wash dishes with. Instead, I went to Dollarama for plastic plates, dish soap, a scrub sponge, and paper towel. I didn’t trust the dishes or cutlery to be clean without soap. The next few nights were decent enough. The room seemed recently renovated, with new floors and freshly painted walls, but little else had been done. There was no bedside lamp, nothing on the walls, and the closet had two mismatched hangers that looked like they came from Walmart clothes. I’ve stayed in 3-star motels that at least had a lamp and hangers, besides the kitchen basics I’ve already mentioned. On our last day, my son pulled the blankets off the twin bed in the living area to do a puzzle. It was the first time I’d seen the sheet in daylight since he’d been sleeping with me in the bedroom. There was a faint but unmistakable sweat stain in the middle of the fitted sheet. I don’t think it was dirty, but it certainly hadn’t been bleached. A sheet with a human-sized stain like that should have been tossed out. I can’t fathom taking bookings for a “Family Suite” without working smoke detectors, providing just one dinner plate, or having no way to wash dishes in a room with a fridge and full stove.

The view was beautiful, and the owners and staff were very nice and helped with our parking needs. The rooms are dated, but they worked for us and had the amenities we needed for travel. 😃👍