Overview
Located on Highway 43 and about a 10-minute drive from Rideau River Provincial Park, the Howard Johnson Inn Kemptville is popular with road travellers requiring an overnight stay close to downtown Kemptville.
This hotel has 42 air-conditioned guest rooms, each offering one queen or two double beds, free Wi-Fi, cable TV, a coffeemaker, a microwave, a mini-fridge, an iron and ironing board, a desk, and a hair dryer. Parking is free, and pets are permitted for a fee of $10 the first day, and $5 each additional day. Accessible rooms are available upon request.
A free continental breakfast is offered to all guests daily, and other restaurants nearby include The Landing (about a 2-minute drive west of the hotel), and Capilano Pizzeria, which can be found a 5-minute drive southwest.
The Kemptville campus of the University of Guelph is about a 6-minute drive southwest of the hotel, while the Homestead Art Gallery is a 10-minute drive southward. Rideau Glen Golf Club can be found roughly an 8-minute drive northwest, and Ottawa's city centre and Ottawa MacDonald-Cartier Airport (YOW) are about a 40-minute drive north. (All distances and travel time estimates: Google Maps)
Verified with a front desk agent: Free Wi-Fi, free parking, free continental breakfast, pets stay for a fee of $10/first night and $5/each subsequent night. (Call date: January 10, 2013).
The GoodWhile most of the reviews consulted for this analysis were negative, there were a few common compliments about the staff.
Several guests were pleased with the level of customer service they received, despite their disappointment in the hotel's accommodations. These reviewers characterized the staff as helpful, welcoming and pleasant, and one lodger stated they, "genuinely cared about their customers and their building".
The Bad
While this hotel received some positive comments among the reviews consulted for this analysis, most of the reviews were negative and focused primarily on the hotel's rooms and free breakfast.
Many guests were disappointed with the condition of their rooms at this hotel. They described them as unclean, with worn linens and towels, stained and mouldy carpets, peeling wallpaper, a poor Wi-Fi signal, and broken fixtures. It was also mentioned that some non-smoking rooms smelled of stale cigarette smoke, and other unidentified odours were also reported. It should be noted however, that a few guests found their rooms to be clean, spacious, and reasonably equipped.
The hotel's free breakfast was a source of numerous complaints by reviewers. They described it as "a joke", as "two plastic containers of cereal and an empty milk carton" and "non-existent". It was also reported there was no breakfast room, but that there was a table with two chairs in the lobby in front of the receptions desk.
TripAdvisor.com guest reviews ranked the hotel #2 out of 2 Kemptville hotels from 33 reviews.
Booking.com guest reviews rated the hotel 5.1 out of 10 from 37 reviews.
The author called the hotel on January 10, 2013 to verify some information.
 |
Analyzed by Erin H.
Erin loves to travel, and considers it her personal mission to help fellow travellers get the inside scoop, both good and bad, on Canadian Hotels.
|
