Best Western Dorchester Hotel

Extremely overpriced Do not rent the executive suite it’s not even a one star room no air conditioner in the bedroom section and a very small cheap air conditioner in the living room area it could not get the room cool and the outside temperature was only 21C (70F) They should turn it into a sweat lodge Front desk staff are very hard to find and some are living in an altered state of mind which I find offensive and not normal. The restaurant staff not very friendly on the bar restaurant side (Topnotch) but they were great on the restaurant side (The View) which is expensive but the food was good. They have hardly any parking and the police are very busy there at night because it’s a very sketchy part of town watched 2 separate police searches out front of the hotel. The only thing they have going for the hotel is a view of the harbor. The second floor was not at all soundproof could hear the lobby noise. Also when you finally get to see your room they will not give you any refund not even for the taxes they charge my total was over $316. for 1 night and no pet for us. I can only imagine what their pet fee is

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.

A bit expensive. The view of the harbour is really nice to wake up to. The rooms are pretty good. Only 2 outlets in the room, makes for 2 over loaded extension cords that didn't seem safe. Needed to pull out the bed to get something that had dropped and it was very dusty/full of items. The bed pulls away from the wall easily so it should be vacuumed every now and then.Nanaimo doesn't have a lot of great options for hotels. I would say this is one of the better ones.

I hate having to write a review this negative but there wasn't really much positive to say. The hotel is overrun with homeless surrounding the block. The room we had was above the lobby and you could hear EVERYTHING, and I mean EVERYTHING. casual conversations outside could be heard Clear as day, as if the window wasn't even really there. Kept hearing what sounded like smashing glass outside (possibly vehicles being broken into). We could hear everything in the lobby. Doors were slamming nearly every 5 minutes that could be heard. Clearly drunk people love to run around this hotel, we had one faceplant into our door at 2am and sit there in front of our room with their friends yelling and screaming for what felt like forever. The place smelt like urine and old people. The shower would not fully shutoff so it just stayed running the whole time we were there. I slept maybe a total of 3 hours over the two nights we spent here due to the constant disruptions this hotel provided. On the bright side the bed was clean and comfortable, the staff were also friendly. I would never stay here again. I've actually never regretted renting a hotel room anywhere near as bad as this.

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 love the historic buildings on the waterfront and the quaintness of the older hotel having been updated. However, the door to the room didn't close properly, and my personal effects, which thankfully were left alone, were unprotected when I left for dinner. I'd also heard staff in one of the restaurants comment on the growing crime rate in the area. Lovely to visit, though it makes you cautious due to safety concerns.

I have staying for over a month now because my Yacht is wintered below in the Harbour. This buildings bones are over 100 years old but has some real find points to it. It's been nicely updated inside yet a few things have been kept. Yes, a new hotel was nicer plumping but the feel and nature of this build has it all you feel welcome here and at comfort. Yes, it's not totally sound proof and here doors slam once and while but that's what goes with the good points. You can stay in sterilized cell, with staff with plastic smiles or you at place like here where the staff smile for real and care about your needs and actually help you. Also the Food is amazing here I am a trained chef who's cooked for the likes of Multi-millionaires, Cooperate Vise Presidency, Heads of Major Universities so I know food well. I was train at a school run by three Chef's who studied for 16 years each themselves. This out weights it faults quickly! You want friendly warm people who smile for real - stay here! If not the go over only a block pay a lot more and get far, far less. I paid over $10,000 more for a month and got far less for it and the food was 2 star and served cold often. Here the food is served to hot and is 3.5 to 5 stars laid out by a European trained Head Chef.

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.

Found two bugs in our room just before bedtime. Upon checking out my wife presented the front desk clerk with the bugs and he said he was epidemiologist and it wasn't a cockroach!! We knew that but what was it? Oh, also the toilet was running on and off all night. This did not bode well as we had to be up at 3am for an early morning flight. No discount on the room and no apologies.

Our suite had poor lighting, noisy air conditioning, stained furniture, a stuffy smell, and a dated aesthetic.The walls and windows are thin, we could hear everything in adjacent rooms, the hallway, the street, and the entrance outside. The bath drain is slow, likely clogged due to not being cleaned in years, so the tub slowly filled with water while showering. There was also a previous guest's hair on the bathroom wall.The area is super sketchy, hobos are everywhere, even sifting through the building's garbage. There is no key card requirement to use the elevator, hobos can be found anywhere in the building.I tried to contact the front desk with the room phone and nobody answered, so I gave up after a couple minutes of ringing.I expect a middle-of-the-road hotel when staying at Best Western. This is rock bottom.