My First Hotel Stay in Twenty Years!

Lake Kootenai

I headed to Nelson, British Columbia, to get Big Blue repaired. This is the fourth time to Nelson so I took a different route north on highway 3A just for the fun of it. This involved another ferry ride across Lake Kootenai. Free! Beautiful!

Big Blue is needing a repair that would involve two days so I had to find some kind of accommodation. I thought maybe if I could find a free campground that was close to town, I could just set up a tent, but Nelson, BC, no longer has many free camping spots. I refuse to ever do AirBnB again after my horrible experiences in Tucson, so I thought I should scope out the various hotels in the area. There were a variety of small hotels, old hotels, hostels, chain hotels, and resorts. I visited a few and asked to see a room. What I was doing is inspecting the lobby, halls, and rooms for intolerable stink. Mold, mildew, air fresheners, chemical cleaners, pets, smoke, formaldehyde, lingering perfumes, bad air conditioning units, etc. Some of the hotels refused to let me see a room. No problem, bad customer service person! Your hotel is crossed off my list! 

Only one passed the test: Prestige Lakeside Resort. My god, I have expensive tastes! Or maybe just an expensive nose! The lobby didn't smell of anything. Neither did the room. Still I worried. Maybe it doesn't stink now, but maybe it will two months from now when I return? Maybe they just showed me the good room?

Prestige Lakeside Resort, Nelson, BC

I made a reservation with Expedia because I thought they gave better prices!? I even made the mistake of falling for the insurance scare so I bought $16 worth of insurance although I'm pretty sure if I did have to cancel, I doubt very much they would have covered anything. "Oh you didn't read the fine print? So sorry for you!" What a scam!

So stressful not knowing what I was getting into! Worried my repair appointment might be cancelled at the last minute. Maybe the mechanic would call in sick? Then what would I do? Would I be able to breathe in the hotel room? Maybe I'd end up sleeping in the resort's lobby? Or outside? Maybe this will not work!? OMG!

I arrived the day before, went to the resort to check the reservation. It was still there! Check-in isn't until 4pm and I had to drop off the van at 7:30am then walk to the resort. I asked if I could bring my luggage early and store it. Yes! And they suggested while I wait to use the hot tub! OMG! They have wi-fi and a little computer desk in the lobby so I could work while I waited.

The van appointment was perfect. The wonderful service manager even called the night before to confirm and make sure the time, date and services were correct. Everything was perfect.

I stayed the night at a rest stop that was up the highway about 7 miles and shared the space with a camper. Again, I like not being alone in these places.

The next morning I dropped off my luggage at the resort, took Big Blue to get her make-over, then hiked to the resort. They told me the price for one night was $249. I said, "When I booked it, the price was much lower!" I looked up the confirmed reservation and the price was MUCH higher, even higher than the hotel price at $289! Damn. How did that happen? Oh! The taxes, and extra fees for nothing, but still I don't remember this price difference? I was feeling really angry until I realized, Expedia gave me the USD price, but I was paying CAD at the counter. Whew! It ended up to be in USD $209. What is the point of booking with Expedia if the price is not discounted? I'm learning. I've never used Expedia. Never again!

I worked in their lobby for a couple hours waiting for the room to be ready, dipped in the hot tub which wasn't too badly chlorinated, but did stink, and swam in the pool (also slightly chlorinated). The room was finished and ready early! It had a slight sweet smell, maybe some kind of cleaner? I turned up the air conditioning, turned on the bathroom fans, and opened the one small window. It was fine!

First line of business after putting my belongings down, RUN A HOT BATH! Aside from river swimming, lake dipping, a few showers at campgrounds, and many sponge baths, this was my first real bath in seven months! It was wonderful!

This is the view from the rooms with balconies on the north side...the rooms rich people stay in:

This was the view from my window: 

Yeah...you get what you pay for! LOL! All I wanted was a great bath and a safe place to sleep! I got that! Five baths in 24 hours. Every time I went to the bathroom, I took a bath! I left the fans on, air conditioning on, and window open all night. Slept great, definitely better than being in the van. So comfy. I survived and it's good to know I can be safe in a hotel if I can find a good, clean one! However, I will do my best to avoid hotel stays in the future. I don't need the stress.

Big Blue got her "make-over" to the tune of $4800 USD! They did a whole lot of stuff and I like that they are watching out for me.

Eastward bound! I'm finally released!