Homewood Suites by Hilton Waterloo/St. Jacobs

I haven’t stayed here yet, but the way the management team handled my situation made a strong impression. I had to cancel a non-refundable reservation because of unexpected personal circumstances. The manager reviewed what happened, spoke with the General Manager, and made a compassionate exception. Jodriane was wonderful, and I’d like to thank her especially. This kind of service puts people ahead of policy. When I visit the Waterloo area, I’ll book directly with this hotel. I highly recommend it based on the customer service I received.

The rooms were comfortable, with cozy beds and extra beds in good condition. Everything looked clean and modern after the renovation, housekeeping did a good job, and the staff were consistently friendly and polite. Breakfast was fine, though we had to ask a few times for yogurt or sausages to be replenished. The ventilation was the main problem. The windows don’t open, and the AC was so loud that adults and children couldn’t sleep. The air felt sealed and stuffy, to the point that some guests on our floor left their doors open at night for fresh air. There was also a strong synthetic smell in the hallways on every floor, perhaps from the carpet or wallpaper. It wasn’t noticeable in the rooms, but the chlorine smell from the pool was overpowering across the whole first floor. Our kitchenette had almost no dishes, so cooking or even reheating food wasn’t possible. There was no shower gel, pen, or notepad in the room. The door locks made a loud metallic bang when they closed, and the handles can’t be pressed from outside, so we couldn’t shut the door quietly. At night we kept hearing other rooms bang shut. The room lighting was dim even with every light on. The large TV had no smart features, so streaming from a phone wasn’t an option, only HDMI with a laptop. For four guests, we had a sofa and just two chairs, and another chair would have helped. The staff’s tight gym-style uniforms also felt out of place in the breakfast area. The hotel has potential and many things about it are nice, but not being able to open the windows made our stay extremely uncomfortable and overshadowed the positives. I hope management improves the ventilation or lets guests open the windows.

The front desk experience set a poor tone. We arrived late after moving out of our Waterloo home and felt treated like a nuisance by staff who seemed overworked and annoyed. When I offered to pay for an upgrade, they assumed I wanted it for free and eventually suggested rooms that were downgrades from what we had booked. As a Gold member, I asked for two bottles of water. It took 10 minutes to get a response because manager Manish had a strict policy against giving out water to save a few cents. I was willing to pay $16 for 4 bottles, but the cold made carrying water in the car difficult, and my spouse avoids tap water for a medical reason. A hotel that cuts basic guest comforts to save a couple of bucks shows poor management and hospitality. I strongly advise looking elsewhere.

We were traveling for a wedding with children, so the studio they offered as a downgrade wouldn’t work for us. We’d booked months ahead, but at 2PM on our check-in date we were told by email that our room was overbooked, while a phone call gave a maintenance issue as the reason. With those conflicting explanations and no suitable room, we ended up staying at another hotel.