Lockview Motel

It was a pleasant surprise. From outside, the hotel may not look like much, but the rooms are spacious and clean, the bathrooms well stocked, and the front desk courteous and helpful. The location is stellar, right across from the docks and within walking distance of places to eat, drink, and shop. I’d wanted one of the cottages, but we stayed in the two-story building closest to the street. I’d recommend the hotel and would stay here again.

The first impression was good. We liked the Lockview Motel’s location, and the front desk staff member was friendly, professional, and thorough at check-in. Then, as I always do when traveling, I checked the mattress before bed and found clusters of bed bugs in different life stages. We were disgusted and checked out right away. The staff member on duty that night handled it professionally and gave us a full refund, which I appreciated. Given how distressing and unacceptable this was, I expected some additional compensation. Management could have done more to make it right. I rarely leave bad reviews, but this was horrifying and seemed preventable with proper maintenance and inspection. With so many bugs at different life stages, it seemed like the problem had been there a while. The motel was fully booked, so I hope this was isolated, but I would have appreciated a warning before booking or checking in.

The place was clean and the location was great, but I’ll never stay here again. I visit the Soo 2-3 times a year and have been coming for about 9 years. I hadn’t stayed here in a decade, and this trip reminded me why I won’t return. The biggest problem happened when I came back from being out in town one afternoon. Someone had a car up on jacks in the open area next to my end cabin, like a full auto repair shop. The car’s tire and wheel were in front of my steps, and a power cord ran from my room, under the door, to the car. I asked the person if that was his cord coming from my room. He said, “I’m maintenance,” which I assume meant for the hotel. He followed me into my room, unplugged it, and left without explaining or apologizing. This was right beside the motel’s garage, which has lights, so I assume there’s power there. I’ve never had someone enter a room I was paying for and do something like that without asking. At checkout I asked for a manager and was told he was on vacation. The front desk person didn’t ask why I wanted to speak to one. Check-in was another issue. I arrived around 3:10 and was told, along with others in the lobby, that rooms wouldn’t be ready for about 30 minutes. Check-in was at 3:00, so I’d expect some guarantee or compensation for the delay. The room was ridiculously small in every way. On the toilet, I had to sit at an angle to keep my knees from hitting the wall or toilet paper holder. The faucet was angled so I couldn’t get my hand beneath it without touching the sink bowl, and only one hand at a time fit. There wasn’t a chair or even a luggage rack, so I had to put my suitcase on the fridge. Both charging outlets on the lamp were broken. Hot water took 5+ minutes to start warming, and probably a solid 10 minutes to get fully hot. Parking was tight, with cars on both sides making it hard to drive down the main driveway. Another guest used my spot for an entire day of the trip, so I asked the desk where to park. They don’t record plate numbers or tell people that extra cars should park out back. The room next to mine was vacant, so I was able to use its spot that day.

We usually love this place and come nearly every year, but this visit went poorly. We pay full price and book directly with the front desk so we can reserve room 242. They didn’t hold that room for us, and the young man at the desk was as unhelpful as he could be. No greeting, no thanks, and no apology. We were very disappointed. Update: After speaking with the manager, Lowell, he credited us the difference between the full price and what we could have saved through a site like tripadvisor. That seems like the best outcome for this situation. Hopefully things go smoothly next year.