Keltic Lodge at the Highlands

This is my first night in the cottage. Completely disappointing especially by the rate I paid. No hot water until the maintenance guy came. Unfortunately I booked for two nights.

The rooms and washrooms need a thorough renovation. The staff are overall helpful but almost everything in the cottage except for the bedding is pretty outdated. In addition,

1. One washroom had broken cold water tap. Then by luck someone turned it on, then ended up unavailable to turn it off.
2. The other washroom has heating panel on in the summer! And the temperature panel is not working.
3. The hot water ran out after one person showered so the other two persons had cold shower after soaked in rain this afternoon.
4. The maintenance guy found the hot water tank’s circuit breaker was tripped.
5. Both toilets do not flush well so the water in it looks yellow - yes, and yikes, it happens in this outwardly pretty “resort”.
6. Both blinders in the washrooms are malfunctioned. This is such a simple thing to update. Hard to imagine they leave it into the high season.
7. No electric kettle although there is a coffee machine.
8. No laundry place for people apparently coming to Cabot trail for multi day stays.

Not sure what to expect for the second night.

The only thing that saved this place for us was the view and our dinner at Arudaine. We were in cottage H and had a two bedroom. Thankfully there was only two of us because the bedroom with the king bed was useless. It had to be 90 degrees in that room because the air conditioning didn’t work. We used the bedroom with the two full beds. The rooms are really dated and need so serious refurbishment. The views from our deck was amazing and the food we had for dinner was great. We made the best of the room situation since we were only staying for the one night. I would be careful what room you are booking before booking.

Je ne sais pas par où commencer.

Nous avons réservé car les photos sur le web sont extraordinaire.

Dans la réalité, le site est extraordinaire.avec une vue INCROYABLE!

Je comprends qu'un site de ce genre doit coûter une fortune.

CEPENDANT, c'est vieux. Ça manque royalement d'amour. La dernière couche de peinture date d'il y a 20 ans, et on dirait que ça a été fait par des enfants.il y a des des trous dans les murs. La peinture à l'extérieur s'effrite presque partout. Les chaises autour de la piscine sont dégeulasse. La piscine perd des morceaux de béton. La porte de la chambre ne fermait pas bien, je devais la claquer pour la fermer. Ça sent mauvais dans les corridors.

Pour 400$/nuit ce n'est pas acceptable.

Je suis horriblement déçu

Nous ne retournons jamais.

Oh my word this was first class. Very nice food. Very nice room. Very nice service. Recommend taking the hike out the back to see the oceans on either side.

Hotel rooms were way over priced for motel quality. Poor room service, the hotel staff are untrained and unprepared as it was quite obvious that asking for baking toiletries stumped them.

Food at the purple thistle was over priced, over cooked and the service was poor. I felt bad for the server as she kept apologizing. We simply left. Complaints to management went nowhere.

I do not recommend!

We went this October for The Gal’s Weekend. Our room was in The Corson House on the ground floor with a deck open to the grounds and our view was facing Cape Smokey, great place to go and relax with a glass a wine. Hiked the Middle Trail where the views were breathtaking. I highly recommended the Gondola Ride. You won’t be disappointed with the views at the top. Love Cape Breton and will be coming back next year!

Cheers

Great scenery! Rooms are clean and spacious! Only thing that I would suggest, is better quality toilet paper. It was quite rough. Everything else was great, especially the view! Would definitely go back!

Had a meal here that was included in our cruise ship tour from Sydney. Food was good especially the soup but there seemed to be a staff shortage when they were replacing items, lovely views outside

My husband had booked for 4 adults and a child for 1 night. He had called a week before we came to make sure the room that we are getting had enough beds to accommodate 5 people. The day we arrived they give us a room with 2 twin beds for 5 people. Which was absolutely ridiculous. When we asked for an extra room they said we need to pay an additional 400$, when we clearly told before while reserving it was for 4 adults and a child. When confronted the receptionist just said it was a mistake and that’s it. We had to drive to Baddeck to get 2 rooms for the family. We were looking forward to this place and they ruined it for us. Very bad experience

The location on top of a cliff with almost 360 degrees views is quite astounding. I couldn't help feel, though, that the resort is over-hyped, as the rooms came across outdated, and the services and particularly the restaurant somewhat without soul, just a grand room. The rates, in particular, are inflated, and at those prices this hotel just isn't worth it.

Amazing location but badly maintained and in a rundown condition. Check in was late but we were lucky to have our 1 bedroom cottage room at 3: 40 PM (we did see others still waiting to get their rooms). The 1 bedroom cottage was in a rundown condition and badly maintained. Also we were not aware that the 1 bedroom cottage has a shared living space with the fireplace with 4 other 1 bedroom cottages. The bathroom was terribly dated, with caulk coming off at the sinks, the flush barely working and we were worried that it would break. Breakfast was good and the staff was all right although the front desk should be better trained to be more welcoming towards guests but understandable as they were young and probably understaffed. Overall a disappointing experience and we were glad to be out of the place.

Most disappointing stay of my life, and I travel a lot. The location is beautiful, the people working did their best. Management/ownership should be ashamed of the state of the Keltic Lodge.

We had no hot water for 2/3 nights. Imagine driving across the cabot trail, hiking for 2.5 hours, being excited for what you expect to be a beautiful relaxing hotel, only to find a cold shower waiting for you in a rundown building.

There is no laundry service, despite what their website will tell you. This cost us a day of our vacation driving around town and then waiting to use a public machine. Completely unacceptable, pretty sure this legally is false advertising. We found another disgruntled Keltic Lodge customer at the public laundry.

The buildings are in absolute disrepair. Doors and frames are swollen from age, meaning you have to SLAM to close them, and shoulder check them open. Every time someone opens or closes a door in your building at night/morning, you will wake up.

Rooms in the main lodge were dated and gross. Old/stained tubs, plug in air conditioners, etc etc.

We talked to people staying in cottages that said there was no WiFi.

Even the soap and paper towel-less lobby bathroom looked like it hadn't seen a mop or sponge in months (pictured).

All in all, nobody we met was happy with their experience at the keltic lodge. Save your money and stay somewhere less expensive that will undoubtedly be more enjoyable. The views are nice, but you will get those stunning views anywhere on the Cabot trail.

Ps this review would likely not be here if I could have at least spoken with a manager, but even that was too much to expect. I asked on two separate days, and was told both times that "they aren't here, and we can't give you their phone number or email. They'll email you though if you'd like to leave your address. " To this day, no correspondence.

Ate dinner here several weeks ago while on vacation and was terribly disappointed. The place was run-down, understaffed, and overpriced. It took over an hour after ordering to receive any food (and as we started with soup and bread, it should have been far faster). The food was fine, but portion sizes were very inconsistent across dishes and, again, far overpriced, even accounting for the fact that it’s a tourist area.

The only pros: the staff were very nice and the alcoholic drinks were tasty. But I won’t be returning, and I wouldn’t recommend paying a visit unless some serious improvements were made.

Whole hotel badly in need of upgrading. Our double room was small with only 1 seat and no where to rest a drink while seated. Also a an A/C unit took up much of the available space with a large hose attached to the window. Told at checkin (a long drawn out process) that the earliest we could have dinner was 8.35. Went at 8 30 to find dining room half full. Food very expensive and not at all good - tastelessveg curry minus poppadoms as per menu and a piece of salmon not much bigger than a golf ball with a couple of baby potatoes and a few limp spears of asparagus and broccoli. We didn't use the barn like dining room again. At checkout we were charged $1000 although the accommodation was prepaid Still waiting for credit card account to be corrected. I would not recommend this place at all.

The setting is 5 star but the hotel is rundown, understaffed and over priced. I was so disappointed. The room literally had no heat and the bathtub took half an hour to drain. The toilet was finicky to flush and some of the electrical outlets didn't work. The main dining room was basic - no tablecloths or placemats on arborite surfaces. The table was sticky from breakfast syrups. The cost of the entrees was astronomical, the servings were small and the service was poor. Do not recommend.

I don't usually make reviews but here it is. We booked last minute in the shared cottages. The description includes "relax by the fireplace", "glamping", "your own bedroom".

There's nothing glam about these cottages. The fireplaces don't work, and even if it did it's not 'warm' at all, the shared area feels like a soulless dorm, there's only a single sofa-bed and a table with chairs. The night was SO COLD, heating wasn't working. We skipped showers, it looks like we didn't had hot water. The mattress is old and caved-in. We barely slept. 245$ a night (!)

It doesn't stop here. We dined at the main restaurant. It's **almost** ok. I've had the lamb rack, my wife the duck, my kid the chicken nuggets and fries. The fries and dessert strudel were the tastiest things we've had. 50$ each entrees. The lamb and duck were barely seasoned, the sauce was burnt. It was cooked allright (medium-rare) but where's the taste? ! My wife had a sweet potatoe puree that straight-up was inedible, watery with a side rancid taste, how do you mess this up!? !

The breakfast was very ordinary, the scrambled eggs disgusting, the staff was running left-and-right to keep the buffet running. I honestly would've much preferred a no-pretention eggs-toast-jam breakfast.

The view is amazing, 5* for this. The staff is very courteous, there's a lot of potential, but in the end it feels like a huge disappointment and a huge waste of our money and time.

We left this place wishing we've booked elsewhere, definitely won't recommend and it definitely made our weekend getaway worst.

I can't believe the babies and whiners in this review section, grow up. This place is historic so don't expect 21st century rooms, they are beautiful and well maintained but they are older and that is fine as everything 21 century is a busy so far.
To the guy crying that the staff didn't wear masks and he heard them coffing, when exactly are you going to do back to living? Maybe you should hold up in your basement since you didn't get the memn that COVID was and is a sham.
This place is not cheap but is worth every penny for the location alone. Food was great and servers were kind and polite.
Absolutely recommend this place

Outstanding customer service and breathtaking location! Amazing food at the restaurant with live music at sunset (and a delicious breakfast the next morning) made this stay truly magical. We stayed in the Cottage Bedroom with two doubles. There is a common room off the entrance with a fireplace, a desk, and the most stunning views. There are two bedrooms off the common room so it's more private if you have both bedrooms booked. The bedroom and bathroom were extremely outdated, to the point where you couldn't pay me to use the shower or hair dryer (layers of grime and dirt), and you had to be careful where you walked because there were large bugs crawling on the floor. I wore my shoes around, even during the night. The beds were clean, but I did not have a good sleep. I would stay here again, but only at the Lodge itself since I assume it's better taken care of at double the price.

Staff was very friendly and helpful, but you can tell they are understaffed. The food was great but they closed part of the eating area while we were there and couldn’t eat lunch there, had to go out and get our own when we really just wanted to eat there. Rooms are nice but definitely need an update. No hot water our first night but was discounted without even having to ask. It’s such a nice place but needs more staff and updated rooms. Plus maybe the plumbing looked at as this seems to be a trend.

Room in main building very dated - no hot water - apparently boiler issues over many days but not mentioned at check in. Breakfast chaotic - probably short staffed. Great location but overall a very poor experience.

What a dump! °
500 a night for this extremely tired place. I mean so tired there was a old payphone in the lobby.

Save your money. Even the windows were filthy could barely see the ocean.

1.35 minute wait to check in…only four people ahead in line. What’s it like when it’s busy? We’re here on Monday in mid September.
2. Bath tub drain plugged. Impossible to clean the tub when it’s plugged. Gross to stand in 6” of water while showering and wondering do they clean it?
3. Raise the above with front desk - excuses and shoulder shrug.
4. Dinner; 50 minutes to serve a basket of buns…after asking what’s up? 2 hours 20 minutes to finish dinner.
5. Low definition TV, thought my glasses were dirty.
6. Beautiful natural setting, but hotel and restaurant service is lacking for the price.

Very disappointed! Our room dated from the 1940s, the window air conditioner was broken and blew the circuit when we tried turn it on, the bed was so old and worn that there were ruts in the mattress. Paid less than half at the Hampton Inn in Membertou the night before… it was amazing in comparison.

As you drive in you think to yourself, wow what a beautiful location and hotel. Then, you start to look closer and start to notice the place is being held together with duck tape. Rooms/halls/facilities were not cleaned well and extremely dated. The place ran out of pool towels at 10am and did not have any until 5pm. The short of it, it was not worth the 440/night we paid. We checked out a day early. Silver lining, front desk staff was very pleasant and accommodating.

Would rate the Purple Thistle restaurant a 4.5.
Food was good but cold was expecting more.
They also ran out of lobster which is disappointing.

Great resort with a fantastic golf course in the Highland Links. A must see and must play destination.

Staff needed.

I don’t know if it’s just a Covid thing or a lodge thing or both, but sheesh, does this place need some staff, long term staff I mean. Most of the staff we encountered literally started within 24 hours of our arrival, and quickly worked to the bone.

Needless to say, while they’re trying their best, the service was terribly lacking as was, frankly, the food.

The grounds here are beautiful, as is the hike you can take. There are two dining rooms, which, during covid, have reduced capacity, so they’re hard to get into- reserve or go early. One room has live entertainment which was very enjoyable.

And the spa is wonderful, so if that’s your jam, be sure to book in advance and take advantage of it.

Pros: location, views, Spa, staff particularly Angel (breakfast server), Ethan and Ryan. Close to an easy trail for the family.
Cons: don’t stay in room 501 unless you want a shaky bed. Food is expensive for the quality provided (better eat at Williams Beach House if you can get a reservation).

Summary: worth a stay but not sure will be returning. Needs updating and the restaurant food quality can be more diverse (eg. Not everyone wants eggs or pancakes for breakfast. Some cereal/granola would be nice).

Room was well appointed, very quiet and clean. Picturesque setting and service was above and beyond. Well worth the value.

We had dinner here, and it was really nice. We sat down at the lounge and had some drinks and then went to the restaurant and the food was amazing. It is exactly what you would expect from the lodge. Very high quality.

As hospitality professionals, it is hard to assess the true service levels in August 2021. Trying to staff is difficult at this time. Hope that the local Cape Breton Chef can whoop some Perception is all about the value for.

Very disappointed! The cottage was cold and dismal. No wood for fireplace. No curtains! Toilet was plugged! Very disappointing! Ended up leaving, and thankful we did.

Beautiful view! Beautiful grounds! Lots of potential!

Wasnt open, they were doing renovations, but yes will be going back, incredible views uo there, meant to be 5 stars

3 Stars because even though it may be an older building, the main lodge, the paint/plaster was pealing and flaking off the room ceiling!

A fine old resort from the original "Dirty Dancing" era. The front desk and restaurant staff were overwhelmed with the number of guests checking in at dinner time. Although well on in years, the hotel was very clean and occupies a beautiful piece of land.