Best Western Dorchester Hotel

Uncomfortable bed (way too soft) - noisy next door neighbour that I had to ask to turn off their TV that was blaring until well after midnight, unhelpful staff, noisy bathroom fan, noisy mini fridge. All I expected was a quiet place to sleep. These room have very little sound-proofing between them!

Worse hotel in Nanaimo the new white manager is disrespectful rude don’t go to that garbage hotel and sleep in the dirty rooms or eat disgusting food from the restaurant ill Make sure to tell everyone so they don’t have the worst experience.

The hotel room had harbour view, very nice room. In the lobby there is a great restaurant specialized in burgers called Top Notch. The staff of the hotel and restaurant were helpful and polite.

Well. This was an interesting one.
After we had booked our rooms we decided to try and ask about an early check in because our flight was in the morning. Both my boyfriend and I tried for THREE DAYS to get a hold of someone. I had Googled the numbers online and tried three different ones. I could not get through. My boyfriend had gotten through and was left on hold for 15 mins before hanging up. I went on their website and started a chat. I waited for 2 HOURS before exiting without a response. When we got there the staff was nice. When we got to our room it was incredibly smaller than we had thought, and we noticed stains on one of the pillow cases that looked like pizza stains, as well as our toilet didnt really flush. We told the staff and nothing was done. We were also told that the rooms would only be cleaned if we made a request to have them cleaned. We did on the second day. The girl behind the counter looked at us like we were asking for a rocketship. Blankly starred at both of us. We asked again slowly in case she misunderstood, but that didn't seem to help and left for the beach.
We came back 6 hours later to find our room untouched and the stained pillow still there.
We went to bed.
The next day, we went again and asked them to clean the room and about the pillow case. This time, they finally showed up. They lady who cleaned our room popped in and was super sweet. Her name was Sawyer. She deserves a raise as she was incredible and seemed to be the only who cared to help.
The location of the hotel was amazing but other than that we would never stay there again.

The only reason this is getting a 2 star is because of the view! Now on to the bad
Room is small, dated and smells of stale smoke. Windows open fully so is a major safety hazard for my autistic child, The price is way to high 400$ two nights for the less than average experience. Staff were so so.
Beds are uncomfortable! Location not so good, parking is horrible. Asked for housekeeping in the morning at about 9 am when we left for the day and came back at 7 pm nothing was done. I really don’t want to bad review Best western as most of them I stay in are really good but not this one hands down the worst I’ve stayed at and will not return to this one and that’s coming from a diamond elite member (stay at a lot of BW) my final thought is (Dorchester BW) Do better!

This hotel is underwhelming. Parking is a nightmare as only two small unsecured parking lots adjacent to the hotel otherwise you need to park across the street in a parkade that doesn’t feel safe or secure. Staff are not as attentive as they should be asked that the bird droppings covering our window overlooking the harbour be cleaned they never were. The hallways and rooms smell musty. So I would not recommend this hotel except as a last resort.

- There was a lot of hair lying around in the bathroom, but the nice cleaning staff reacted immediately and removed it.
- The price per night was still a bit too high.

- The staff was very friendly.
We were able to sit and have a cocktail in the hotel bar.
- The parking lot was free of charge, but not directly at the hotel.
- The location of the hotel was good, it was easy to get to the beautiful Nanaimo Harbor.

Clean, bright and quiet room with an amazing view. Beds were comfortable with very clean bedding. Bathroom was perhaps slightly aged, but very clean with nice towels. Front desk staff very polite and accomodating. Free parking right around the corner, and possibility of stopping immidiately outside front door to drop off suitcases.
Ate dinner at the Top Notch Burgers downstairs and enjoyed the most amazing meal with great and friendly service by Angela.
Would definitely stay at this hotel again.

Jacob and the team at the front desk are always welcoming. Hotel is a little older with updates but all the rooms have been good and clean every time I stay.

Great location by the Harbour with parking right next door. Clean and well appointed rooms with Keurig coffee machines.

The best hotel to stay if you are in Nanaimo for business or pleasure.
Chey: Front Desk Manager will go above and beyond to take care of your needs.
Very central, clean and great energy.

We had a very bad experience recently. Management was supposed to get back to me but has ignored all my calls.
Our room was dirty, the floors were black and there was blood on the sheets in the one room. We asked for our shampoo/conditioner/lotion to be refilled twice and they weren't. Our AC was broken. Parking is incredibly limited. They were renovating on our floor and we couldn't close our door when we arrived as it was still wet. There was no hot water one of the three nights. The supervisor was supposed to phone me on Wednesday and the manager on Friday, but no response.

Please so not go to this hotel. It's really a waste of money and they do not care about the customer experience or hygiene.

It was alirght the service was great River was very helpful with everything we needed and the rest of the staff was friendly but it was a bit pricy for a hotel that didn't have much other then the room included

One of the worst, if not, THE worst hotel experiences to date.

Let me paint you a picture.

When we arrived at 4pm, after traveling for 8 hours, we were told to "come back" our room was not ready. Check in time is 3pm. By the time we were given our key, after waiting in the absolute stinkiest lobby (it reeks of body odor and cigarettes), it was 5pm. House keeping was busy having a pizza party while we waited in the stench.
Our room was gross. The bathroom smells like mildew, the vanity or old bathroom cupboards and baseboards were dirty, dusty and quite frankly disgusting. The tub/shower is old and gross and I dreaded having a shower in the morning. The view from the window over the harbor was beautiful and the beds were comfortable enough but some staining on the bedding wasn't fantastic.

Walking the roof top patio in the evening, we were surprised to see two of the front desk staff visiting and smoking with other people - maybe other staff, maybe friends. Very unprofessional. The staff we dealt with was very unprofessional in general.

Parking here sucks. The parking lot is tiny. And the harbor side entrance is stairs so enjoy hauling up your luggage into the stench permeating from the front desk.

When writing an email to give feedback, we received a "sorry about that" type of response. Customer service is a delicate thing. There was no effort and that's when reviews go up.

Don't stay here. You'll pay more and be rewarded with that dirty motel feeling.

Great staff and accommodation. The Burgers downstairs at Top Notch are worth the stop alone!

Pretty gross.the halls and room reeked of stale cigarette smoke and mold… smells like it hasn’t been deep cleaned since the 60’s.our room was also pretty gross.the bathtub had pink mildew all around it which means it hasn’t been cleaned in some time, and there was even hair from the previous guest.the sink was pretty gross looking too and was clogged.the bed was comfy and you can’t beat the location, but it was definitely the grossest place i’ve stayed.

Although rooms are being somewhat renovated hotel is old and has a stench to it, up and down stairs to get to your room and the floors are all uneven, A/C does not function properly, way overpriced for what you get.

We stayed in a 2 double room that overlooked the Harbour. Beautiful view. One of the blankets had dried blood on it. Hopefully they at least washed their blankets between guest!
Front end staff were not friendly at all.
It was our first time there and when we asked about the parking pass the person didn't explaine how the system works (for example leave it in your vehicle).

Would not go here again, would not recommend.

Great location and good value for the price compared to nearby hotels. Old building but the room was clean and the bed was comfortable. Friendly staff

The most confusing & embarrassing experience I have ever had here at Top Notch Burger. We were staying at Best Western for a three night stay to visit family here in Nanaimo and have been at Top Notch Burger numerous times by now during our three night stay with outstanding service up until tonight. We were given a recommendation to dine at The View next door so we made a reservation for our last night. After we had a spent $400 dollars on an amazing dinner at The View next door and moved over to The Top Notch Burger for an after dinner cocktail (8: 45p.m.), we were treated with the upmost disrespect from two waitresses, one named Angela and the other having served us the night prior. We were refused service for no valid reason, apparently we were too intoxicated for this family establishment after sharing a bottle wine amongst four people during an almost three hour dinner experience next door. All we did was walk over from The View and were greeted with degrading behaviour because they were annoyed that the table we would have liked to sit down at had to be bussed and reset right away for us to sit at as the bar seats were full. They could have just told us it will take about 15 min or so to get a few tables cleaned but instead we were treated in a condescending manner. I feel sorry for the staff that had been great to us that evening especially the lovely man behind the bar that was trying to accommodate us. I never been refused service in my entire life until today here at Top Notch Burger. Having worked in this industry for 10 years, this is definitely not a way to conduct business. Best Western and your two restaurants have lost our business forever. Would NOT recommend to anyone.

I wish there was anything nice to say. They didn't have a parking space for us. The mattress is broken so despite being young and never had any back pain before, I got 2 hours sleep and can’t walk this morning. The room is so small there’s no space unless you block the doorway with your luggage. They won’t give us a cot to sleep on which might have helped the comfort. Too much space is taken up by unnecessary dresser and desk. No couch or anywhere to sit. Very dusty. Blinds don’t close so everyone outside can watch you get dressed and sunlight wakes you up at 5: 30 (and heats up the room). Fridge wasn’t plugged in. The fridge and lamps don’t even have outlets, they’re all on a power bar under the desk and if every room does this I wonder about fire codes. Hallway is being painted so everything is a sticky dusty mess. Peephole is taped up so I can’t see who is there. The room is only accessible by stairs. Giant tv sticks out from the wall so you bump it when you wake up to pee. Absolutely the worst hotel I’ve ever stayed in, and nearly $200/night for a tiny backwater town! Oh actually that’s nearly $400/night because I’m being double charged on my visa. Without even having checked out yet.

Very nice updates in the rooms since my last visit. Front desk staff extremely friendly and great restaurants on site made a late arrival easier. Free parking is a nice bonus and the hotel provides a nice start point to visit shops or walk the boardwalk along the harbor. Definitely recommend getting a harbor view, thankful for the upgrade.

Cons:
Poor room service/housekeeping
Bathrooms are not in good condition
Noisy air conditioner

Pros:
Great location