Riverside Inn Hotel - Lake Cowichan, British Columbia

A H.

Wir waren im Serious Cafe des Riverside Inn zum Frühstücken. Es gab eine nicht zu große Karte mit diversen lokalen Frühstücksgerichten. Unsere verschiedenen Gerichte mit Ei waren lecker und von daher können wir einen Besuch empfehlen, auch wenn das Essen ein wenig Zeit braucht. Aber die soll man sich beim Essen ja nehmen und die Eierspeisen genießen.

Zoya L.

Extremely satisfied stay! The location is convenient in the centre of town and close to food and services and even though the property is older, the rooms are clean and beds are the most comfortable I have ever slept in. Service - incredibly friendly and accommodating. Every employee we encountered in the hotel, pub and cafe were amazing. There was never a problem for them to drop everything to help us. We will be back!!

alex M.

Room had hardly any light....needed a flashlight to make coffee. Noone gave us the Internt password and the front desk was closed. No connectivity. Simply not good enough for $200 a night.

Karyn B.

My 83 year old aunt stayed there last night. A man broke into her 2nd floor room in the middle of the night, using the fire stairs to come through the window. There was no staff on site, no one answered her calls and when she went to the cafe for help at 7 am - when the paperwork in the room said they opened - there was still no one in sight. A chef in the kitchen called for assistance. The police were contacted when it happened at 4:30 am and again when my aunt finally found an employee. A report was taken. Motel staff was not helpful or supportive and demanded she pay for the room because she couldn’t prove the man broke in! The police didn’t question that it happened since the fire stairs made access very easy. The most staff would offer was a 15% discount. THIS PLACE IS NOT SAFE AND THE STAFF DOESN’T CARE!!! Thank goodness my aunt is safe!!! How sad that they would take advantage of a scared older woman traveling alone.

Tina T.

Huge thank you to the wonderful staff. We had a sllight issue in our first room but they were quick to fix it and move us to another room. Highly recommended the balcony room, it's big, clean and has a beautiful view of the river.

Laura M.

Awful food, we won’t be back.
I had a salad, $25 with 6 small pieces of chicken, less than a handful of peppers, onion, & corn. And then enough lettuce for an entire week for a person. Really not good value. I could have bought 3 large clamshells of lettuce from country grocer for less than this one salad cost.
My partner had meatloaf, which he said tasted like pressed cardboard. Son had Mac & cheese which he said was tasteless.
In all, we will save our money next time, having learned just how truly awful the Riverside inn is.
A sandwich or a scrambled egg at home is loads better than this place. Instant oatmeal is better.

The service was good, yet slow. Thanks for trying.
Not a single good restaurant in this town.

Regis D.

Good rating from me because management was kind and flexible, even letting us check-out late at no charge after a gravel ride fondo. On the other hand the place, which has been nicely renovated, could use more attention to detail. Our room's toilet had not been cleaned from previous occupants, and the bathtub drain was too slow, it needs to be unplugged or fixed. Overall I still recommend this hotel in Cowichan Lake.

Tanya K.

Fyi this is a very noisy location on the corner of what seems like the busiest intersection in town, next to the liquor store and the Tim Hortons guaranteeing late night and early morning traffic outside your windows.
Do you like awaking to natural light like me? Well no such luck here as there are 5 bright street lights shining in your windows all night so it's bright as high noon all night. It's very disorienting because the bright light shines all around the curtains so you can't tell if it's day or night.
On a more personal note, my husband and I attempted to enjoy a glass of wine during sunset in the unoccupied area of the hotel property patio. This part of the patio is fenced off from the other patio areas, is obviously unused and covered in cobwebs, so imagine our surprise when Julie from Riverside Inn Pub harassed us about breaking your unwritten rules regarding alcohol consumption and ordered us to dump our wine out, and then had the nerve to advise that we purchase new drinks from your bar.
The only listed rule states no drinking alcohol in the lobby, (picture of Riverside's own sign included) but Julie repeatedly insisted no open containers were allowed thru the lobby or on the patio, except what was bought from her and acted like we should have known that.
She repeatedly insisted that we dump our own wine and buy more from her bar, and that these rules were listed (they are not) and are in accordance with the local law (how many travelers you all see thru your hotel that are aware of all the local laws?).
Overall horrible experience, rude staff, loud location, difficult to sleep with the noise and light issues, topped off with an emergency vehicle driving by with full sirens at 6am.