Here is our review and scoring of the Qualicum Beach Inn in Qualicum Beach, British Columbia based on our stay in a King Fantastic Guest Room this summer.
Previously knows as the “Old Dutch Inn”, the property was renovated in 2015 to be renamed and rebranded as the Qualicum Beach Inn. This is a small two-story hotel with 32 rooms facing the ocean in Qualicum Beach, British Columbia (about a 45 minute drive away from Nanaimo, British Columbia).
1. Location 15/20: The hotel is located on the 19A highway facing the ocean. To access the water, you need to cross the road. You can easily walk into Qualicum Beach town and to the beach. It is also a short drive to Parksville for restaurants and supplies.
2. Bed & Sleep Quality 14/20: Overall, we found the bed and linens to be comfortable but we did find the bed a little soft. Fortunately, the road is closed due to construction as we can expect the noise of traffic to be loud at times but it is closed due to construction (hotel doesn’t not advertise this) and we awoke to loud machines and construction noise. Many of the rooms also face the busy restaurant and so you get noise from that as well.
3. Room and room amenities 15/20: We stayed in a “King Fantastic Guest Room”: “The King Fantastic Guest Room boasts panoramic views of the Strait of Georgia, stylish design, a King-sized bed, balcony, two ‘Jacobsen’ Egg Chairs, a mini-refrigerator, and Nespresso coffee maker. This room is located on the upper floor.” Upon entering the room, we found it to be very spacious with fairly standard features in a modern and updated design. The balcony was average and lacked privacy; you felt like you were in the restaurant. The noise and restaurant were blocking any view that you may have, in addition to the construction zone.
4. Bathroom 6/10: The bathroom is small but functional. The room has a bath shower combo and the water pressure was good. We also really liked the Molton Brown bath products and considering buying some to take home.
5. Hotel public areas and amenities 5/10: The hotel’s design is modern and incorporates some regional touches. The hotel has a pool and hot tub that is partially indoors as the doors can be opened during the summer to let the air in which is great. There is also a sauna by the pool area. The hotel has a tiny gym located in the pool area with poor ventilation. Most of the people we encountered at the hotel were couples but there were a few families and so the pool area can be boisterous at times.The hotel restaurant is also very popular and the setting and menu is nice.
6. Service and Staff 5/10: The check-in and check-out process was friendly and the staff took the time to ask how our stay was when we checked out. While it was mentions for directions that construction was occurring, there was nowhere on the hotel website or room descriptions that your stay would be greatly affected by this. The hotel offers free parking onsite but there are not many spaces and the spaces they have are very narrow and used by restaurant guests; you may need to park on the street.
7. Overall Value 5/10: We were staying during a peak time when the hotel was sold out and so the stay was pricey and more than we wanted to pay but it was significantly cheaper than the Kingfisher Oceanside Resort and Spa (see our detailed review here). The location was our favorite part of our stay for the beach access.
Overall Score: 65/100
Would WeLeaveToday go back? NO
WeLeaveToday 