The Grand Hotel Nanaimo

We switched from downtown hotels to The Grand recently, and wonder why we didn't do it sooner! Wonderful staff, awesome dog-friendly atmosphere, and great location with tons of parking. Also, I left my cosmetics bag behind on our most recent trip and when I called in a panic, they had retrieved it and packaged it for me to pick up. If you've forgotten something in a hotel before, you know chances are slim you'll see it again. Thank you, Grand Hotel! See you soon! We and our doggy love you <3

Very reasonable rates during off season for pet friendly accommodation. Staff friendly, easy-going. Quiet at night. No complaints.

Went for high tea for mothers 74th birthday with family. My daughter is celiac, and they did a beautiful job of gluten-free for her. She is also Autistic, everything was lovely until someone started vacuuming the tile lobby floor during our very expensive high tea. I tried to find a server with no avail, finally I tried to tell the front desk people but by this point we had no choice than to leave as the sound of the vacuum was impossible for my daughter to ignore. When I did tell the front counter staff, it felt like they didn't really care or understand why it was rude or disruptive. I can see why there were 2 tables during the entire time we were there if this is how they treat customers. There are 24 hours in a day why a lobby needed to be vacuumed at 3pm is really confusing to me. Also, I have worked in hotels, restaurants, and housekeeping before. It was all just unacceptable, and I wonder how this place stays afloat.

My personal experience has been nothing short of incredible. Everything from the rooms, to the food and hotel service, this place is very high-end and classy, without being all hoity-toity. The location offers the only Whiskey Bar in Nanaimo and is within walking distance to Long Lake, a premium spot for suntanning, swimming and fishing. With a vivid display of exotic plants, the garden is packed full of sweet little treats. Stay here if you want to experience a service driven towards the customer.

It was clean and quite.

Vert cluttered and a fair bit dated, but that's the look they were going for:)

It's affordable too!

Highly recommended if you need a place to stay in Nanaimo! Bed and pillows like sleeping on a cloud

In Company of my 90 year old Mom, I attend the Grand Hotel Tea when visiting Nanaimo. As always, it was a Pleasant Restful Delightful Experience, and the Gentleman Host was (as always) Gracious and Friendly. The House Canine Barkley was a Joy, and service was Spectacular. Since last visit, price has increased close to 50% so this is A Very Special Treat.

I loved the staff, they helped me with a project I was working on! Such a lovely environment.

There with 5 ladies for afternoon high tea. Fabulous service, delicious teas and food. Taking my mom soon.

Hot tub didn’t work. Fireplace didn’t work. $590 hotel bill for a single night. I won’t return.

Such a nice hotel. The Grand is the perfect name as it really presents as a grand older style hotel from a bygone Era. It's not tires at all in my opinion although the decor is certainly a bit dated. I found everything to be very relaxing, clean, and well cared for.
If you are whiskey drinker a teip to the whiskey bar is a must with over 150 varieties on offer.
The room was a little bit used up but still just fine. Brass appointments call back to the older style of decor but again everything was in great condition in my room with the possible exception of the carpet which was in pretty rough shape. Bed was very comfortable and the hotel was very quiet at night.
Considering this hotel is cheaper than the modern ones in the area I think it's a great choice! Embrace the grand and give the big yellow lab a scratch on the head in the lobby!

Adorable hotel! Feels like it has major history and there is a Dog bell boy who is apart of the hotel and it’s just so pleasant. Will come back

Stayed in an okay hotel room. When I took a shower, the water built up in the tub even though the drain was open and it took awhile to get hot water… overpriced for what we got out of it for a one night stay.

Lahiru and the other employees I spoke with at the hotel were incredibly kind, patient, and supportive. This is a wonderful hotel, but the best part about it is that the staff obviously cares about their community.

I had a grade A experience here.the staff was wonderful and there is a PUPPY IN THE LOBBY. A+ I wanted to play the piano though.

Apparently there is a swimming pool, but it was not open. Rooms were Ok. Staff was pleasant. Quiet location, but central to anything in Nanaimo

We booked through booking.com no where on the website did it say that the deposit has to be paid via credit or debit it asked me pay now or pay at property which it usually only gives you that option when they accept cash. We checked in at 1am after over an hour of screwing around me sending email after email they refused to rent us a room

I took my 8 year old daughter for a girls night here on the weekend. The staff couldn't have been more welcoming and friendly. My daughter was so excited to see there was a resident dog also. We lost hot water for a little bit (no big deal at all as this happens) but the wonderful lady at front desk was quick to action and very kind even though she was being given a hard time by other guests about it. Will definitely be returning. And remember people, be kind to people in the hotel industry. They are doing their best and being jerks to them doesn't help anything. Thank you Grand Hotel for giving my little girl the best weekend.

Great staff.
Construction next door, starting at 7: 00 am rock hammer on Hitachi excavator.

Best Chowder I have ever had.

This hotel forgot too mention to us of loud construction that sounds like its knocking on our window at 8: am. Not to mention this hotel overprices their room. Rooms aren’t terribly dirty but we did find strand of hairs in our bath tub.

We paid over 200.00 per night for a room that we couldn’t check into for 5 hours passed due time - had garbage left in the bathroom waist, used soaps, makeup stained bathroom linen, hair on the bathroom shower, a tub that wouldn’t drain, unvacuumed floors, a bed that look like reused crumpled sheets, the fridge froze the drinks, and construction right next to the building using heavy equipment jackhammers, not to mention the room smelled horrible like something rotting and the best part the staff and manager didn’t really care and offered nothing in compensation - this is not a three star hotel.

Took my mother here for their mothers day brunch. Wonderful out door sitting area with friendly staff and great food. We were pleasantly surprised with how great it was and will definitely come back

I was looking for a cheap place to stay somewhere in the city for a single night and this place delivered.

Odd layout for the room and none of the ice machines were working which was annoying but I had a good night sleep and was well rested for my next day of adventure.

Added the standard $200.00 on my credit card that I will get back 2 to 5 business days for incidentals that don’t exist from Sunday to Tuesday due to Covid (which will magically disappear in three days July 1) Told us there were restaurants across the street when we called to book, they lied. Had to search for food upon check in. The sheets are so old they are paper thin, pillows are like bricks. Not to mention the hard springy mattress. Air conditioner rattles. My favourite part is the tin hunter green blinds that are all bent out of shape, room is nice and bright by 5 am. Fml. Then the fun surprise of construction right outside our window at 6: 30 AM, was not informed of this when called to see if they had a room. Not impressed.

An absolutely wonderful time spent at the Grand. Truely the Grand Dam of Nanaimo hotels. Truely dog friendly, me and my pups felt like felt very welcomed by the staff and their staff dog dog Barkley. Great value for money as well. Highly recommended to anyone traveling to Nanaimo

Room is big but also dated and needs improvement, especially around the desk. The chair is not comfortable and no sockets to charge your electronics. They did provide an extension cord but it's type A (2 pins) when a lot of electronics in North America is type B (3 pins).

Went there for High Tea and it was a lovely experience made more so by the superb service. The food was so so but ambience more than made up for it.

Enjoyed my visit and found the location ideal for all amenities. The stay was very quiet and relaxing. Took advantage of BC resident discount during these covid-19 times. Felt very safe and at ease. Friendly staff.

I attended the "Wee Tipple Whiskey Festival" at the Grand Hotel and the event had fabulous catering with tasty appetizers. They also have an amazing whiskey selection in their bar. I especially love that the Hotel has a wonderful resident dog, who greets you in the lobby. I did not stay over, so I cannot rate the rooms but loved the front staff.

Neat hotel has a lot of charm to it. Not a new place but you can definitely tell that it was likely quite luxurious when it first opened. Nice clean room. I did not have time on this occasion but if I stay here again I hope I have a chance to check out their whiskey lounge.

The worst hotel I have stayed at.such an old and dark building. Staff and management are not respectful and believe they have a 5 star hotel and it's just 1 star hotel to be honest.

Shocking how bad this place is.the type of hotel where you don't take your shoes off in the room.
Very dated, damage all over the room, floor, walls. Staff looked almost annoyed to check me in.it doesn't hurt to crack a smile when greeting guests. Room was hot and AC barely worked. Bed is typical of a highway motel type place.

We went to the dinning room for dinner and will return soon. Service was excellent, food was terrific. Nice wine list, even good choices by the glass. The mushroom ravioli was really good. To end the evening a mild but tasty Highland scotch.
Next time I will order the tasting selection of scotch from different regions. The entire evening was wonderful. Thanks to all

Nice hotel with old world charm ambiance. Had a business take over the lobby and restaurant for Christmas party, so we didn't get to try it or, the whiskey lounge. The rooms were comfortable with a gas fireplace that was cozy.

I’m giving an extra star because of the cute hotel dog and the nice man who gave me some of his instant coffee the morning I came down at 630am. The restaurant doesn’t open until 730 on the weekends which seems late. The fire place in the room didn’t work. When we called down there was nothing they could do. The jets in the run were broken. The ice machine was broken. The restaurant was under staffed on Sunday morning. The staff I met were all friendly and helpful. The hotel is just rundown.

When I checked into my room, I noticed urine stains on the toilet bowl. I was moved to a second "deluxe" room which was clean and comfortable. The next morning when I unfolded a towel after showering, a piece of paper fell out of the folds. It was some sort of cleaning check list. Then I discovered the hair dryer in the bathroom wasn't working so I called for another one. When I plugged that dryer in a huge spark shot out of the place where the cord was attached to the unit and it ceased working. I could have overlooked any one of these problems. The staff were apologetic and did reduce my rate. But four instances in one stay make me think the hotel isn't paying enough attention to its cleaning standards and made me wonder what else I missed.

Compete dive dirty lady at front counter is very rude
In order to place this review it required a star otherwise no star is what it would have gotten!