I've been traveling through British Columbia and have had nothing but raves for the beauty of what I have experienced.
We are traveling on the cheap and that means staying in inexpensive motels, some with cooking facilities. I am also traveling with Cinnamon, the blogging hound, so the motels must allow dogs. Most have been adequate and some... delightful surprises with grounds to walk my dog on and friendly people.
But now, on my way home I encounter... The Polson Park Motel in Vernon, BC. It looked OK from the description in the BC Lodging Guide and it was the cheapest listed. (Big Mistake!) We drove up and saw lovely hanging baskets of flowers and a marvelous, well-manicured park across the street. What a delightful place to walk the dog, I thought.
But as I approached to register, I got a sense of this motel. It is a motel of mistrust and lack of a customer orientation. I checked in and found there was a $20 charge for the dog. Now, she has her own bed and sleeps there, quietly. So she doesn't even really use most of the room.
Nevertheless, I was asked for a $100 pet deposit until they checked the room the next morning. No trust here! Further, I was asked if I wanted to use the AC. I suppose they reluctantly doled out the remotes. I said no, as I thought I could just open the windows. Wrong! There are no screens on the windows.
I was looked at with mistrust when I asked for a hair dryer. I should come down in the morning to check one out. In my jammies? You see, I take my shower and wash my hair upon arising in the morning. They reluctantly handed it over the evening before reminding me to be sure and bring it when I checked out.
So here I was with a not so cheap room now. And they could not accommodate me with a first floor room (only a few dog rooms were available) so I went down the stairs and looked for a place to walk my dog. There was no place and in the neighborhood, there were no vacant lots. So I ran with my dog across a very busy street to the park. Once I got there I saw a "no dogs allowed" sign. So I ended up walking her in the weeds near the park but not in the lovely park. It was not a pleasant way to end a day of driving through amazing scenery.
So, I had to remind myself that "you get what you pay for" and sometimes not even that!
Thank you Elizabeth for your feedback regarding your recent Vernon BC experience.
ReplyDeleteAs always it’s disappointing to hear a traveler experience in Vernon BC did not meet traveler’s expectations. We will pass your feedback on to the motel manager. A helpful suggestion would be to use the BC Visitor Centers along the way. The rationale behind this is that the BC Visitor Centre network staffs are knowledgeable and trained to offer you several options in each community that would specifically fit your needs. This is especially important when traveling on a budget, with pets or for visitors with mobility or health issues.
With a mandate to excel in visitor service using the centers would definitely assist you in having a more rewarding visit if you choose to come again or continue on with your travel adventures. Again my apologies and we look forward to the opportunity to meet you in the future if and when you return to Vernon.
Teresa Durning Harker