Valet guy was great but the rooms need some serious updating. I don't even think it's safe to stay there. Our room dipped down to the right significantly. Room service food was terrible. This place has a lot of potential if it was just overhauled and marketed right. The pools were ok and the location is beautiful.More
I stayed in the Main Hotel for a week in January as I was attending a course. My husband joined me for a couple of nights at the beginning of the week and came back for my last night. The first room I was assigned was very small. The bed was only a double and as my husband is not a small guy this was extremely uncomfortable. I went to the front desk in the morning and they managed to find us another room not much bigger but with a queen bed...this was marginally better. The room and the bathroom were still quite small and my husband managed to smash his knee on the bathtub...as my room was part of the package for this educational course I can't really complain! The room is a perfect size for a single person, just a little small for two people. We will be going back in the next week or two for a weekend getaway and will book a larger room. The hot springs pools are a great feature, so relaxing. They get quite busy but are worth it for a wind down at the end of a long day. We ate our meals in the Copper Room. The food was quite good. One member of my group asked why salt and pepper weren't on the tables and the response we received was "the chef feels he seasons the food appropriately and salt and pepper aren't necessary" I have to admire the confidence! (salt and pepper are available upon request) Overall I had a great time, hopefully will be back for next years education week. In the meantime we will be back for a weekend getaway in the next couple of weeks...
Stayed one night with the wife in the West Tower in an Exec room over the March spring break. After reading all the various reviews regarding the outdated decor of the other parts of the hotel, decided to spend a bit more for the view of the lake and the nicer section of the hotel.
Apparently, only this hotel has "private" access to the so hot spring pools. I did consider the other hotel but I'd only have access to the public hot spring pool unless I went for a spa treatment at the resort so consider that if your main reason for visiting HHS is for the hot springs which was the case for me.
The pools were very relaxing despite the fact we went over Spring Break and there was a wedding that weekend. We were also fortunate that whenever we were in the pools, the skies cleared up and there was no precipitation.
+ room: top floor in the west tower with a beautiful view. Bathrooms and bedding (king bed!) were clean and amenities were nice. Only knock on the room is that at night, the bottom door frame lets in a penetrating amount of light from the hallway. Great if you want a night light, but we had to move our shoes over to block the light.
- elevator: only two slow-moving elevators. When we checked out, the elevators were not working so we had to walk down six flights of emergency stairs which wouldn't have been fun if we had a lot to carry.
+/- pools: while the pools were never really packed, we found ourselves heading to the children's pool area beside the adults only pool. Reason is that the adults only pool was always full while my wife and I could always find a corner in the children's pool secluded enough. Even if you were in the adults pool, it'd still be noisy so it made no difference. We were still able to relax though.
I would return here again and given what's been said of the other sections of the hotel, I think it'd be hard to book in another area given the good experience we had in the West Tower. So why four stars? Despite the great experience, I still found it quite expensive and didn't see the value. As the only place in town which provides access to non-public hot spring pools, only your actual experience in the pools will determine how you rate the hotel
This hotel has 5 mineral hot pools. I live 90 minutes away and wanted to use them for a day. So, I phoned first to see how much it would cost. I was told that typically, you need to be a guest of the hotel to use them. Some conditions apply for walk-ins to access them for a hefty fee if the hotel is half empty (or something like that). I was then told that there is a public hot pool. For $9.
WARNING: The Harrison Hot Springs Public Pool is not inside this hotel. It is in a separate building a couple of blocks away, along the waterfront. The public pool has free parking. The hotel has pay parking.
I parked at the hotel, and when I realized I was in the wrong place, they kindly refunded my $5/hr parking.
The public pool temperature is 100 degrees fahrenheit. The female change rooms were quite nice in that there were private changing cubicles with a curtain.
Harrison Hot Springs Resort and Spa offers a wonderful experience where one can relax in one of the pools, have dinner and dance, enjoy a walk through the breath taking scenery and more. This is the 4th year we have returned and we can't wait until we return again. We were there over the March break but even with all the other guests there was room for all in the pools and no children in the adult section in the 7 days we were there. This being said the resort does seem busier over the years and would benefit from another outdoor pool. The customer service is second to none, the rooms were clean and well kept. You have to be very carefully when booking rooms here. We have stayed in all sections of the hotel and you definitely have a better stay in one of the towers, we prefer the West Tower facing the lake. Yes, there are some more affordable rooms in the older sections but in this case you really pay for what you get. The rooms in the older section are antiquated, noisier and not as well appointed. The food is pricy but good as are the cocktails ect. But you are provided a resort experience and the cost is definitely worth it. Located in a very small community, one can walk just about everywhere. We always walk over to Village Pizzeria, the food is excellent as is the service. We have been to Harrison Resort as a couple and with our children and have enjoyed it equally on all occasions. They provide an excellent opportunity to unplug, relax and enjoy, a beautiful thing in a crazy hectic world. Don't forget to bring your flip-flops or sandals!
This elderly hotel has the bones of a fine place, but she is in need of a facelift to bring her into the new century. The bathroom, with its deep tub and pounding shower, is great....although the paint around the mirror vanity was peeling quite badly and obviously poor quality to start with. The big tv in the room was a pleasant surprise, although we were not there to watch tv. The beds were....sufficient, and the bedding was nice.
My biggest complaints are that there was no air conditioning in the room; it was only the end of March, but it was still terribly stuffy in there. We opened the window and turned the fan on high, and it was tolerable by bed time, but I can't imagine how insufferable it would be in the heat of summer! There were only two electrical outlets in the room, which were nowhere near the mirror, so if one person is using the bathroom, good luck drying your hair or putting your makeup on in the main room. There was no light in the large walk in closet, not even a "stick up" kind. Lastly, the decor in the hallways was pathetically outdated. They need to get rid of the two-tone, two-texture wallpaper and the pouffy floral curtains/toppers. It's tragic.
The lobby was warm and inviting, and we were able to escape to the bar, where we nursed a couple of drinks and played crib in solitude for a couple of hours. THey had "tea time," which was a cute throw-back to places like the Empress in Victoria. The roaring fireplace was cozy, and when not crowded with kids, was another place of solitude to enjoy the ambience.
The pools were disappointing....they are not big to start with, and were totally crowded with families and rowdy kids. Like a previous reviewer stated, I agree that the adults only pool is not really a respite, because the area is so small and noisy. Someone left their coffee cup on the edge of the pool, and there was no one (staff) around to clean up or keep order. There was a sign that said the pool bar was open, but no sign of it or any employees. It didn't look all that well kept. The employees in the bar and the lobby were very friendly and attentive.
All in all, I didn't feel like we got great value for our money. The manager said in another post that it's about the "full resort/spa experience," but I'm sorry, for that I would expect more than a crowded kiddy friendly pool and a complimentary robe to use while I'm there.....the experience doesn't include massages or other spa services, so his comments were slightly misleading. Harrison is not, after all, a world class resort....it's a decent, BC resort. I'm glad I went, but I'm not in a hurry to return.
