Pioneer Inns

We booked a double room with an ensuite bathroom. Like most travellers, we reached Prince Rupert with a ferry from Port Hardy which arrives around midnight. We have been sending messages to the Hotel days before, two or three times, through Booking, to make sure we would be able to get the room at that late time. No response. We called them directly, no answer: I left a message on the answering machine. When we arrived, the receptionist handed us our keys and said we were in room 5. By chance, my partner was looking at the map of the room and realised room 5 did not have a bathroom, so I asked, would we have the bathroom as per our booking. "Oh, about that: you know, we've been trying to reach you to inform you that the room you booked was not available. All we have is a room with shared bathroom, we hope that will be ok." No, it was not ok. We were offered a 5% discount and at that time of night we didn't venture into looking for another hotel in town, which we obviously would have done if we had known in advance they were overbooked. No answer to our messages and surely no attempt to inform us about the room change, knowing that by arriving late we would be forced to accept whatever they had. On top of this, the structure is very old and looks nothing like the fresh rooms you see in the pictures. Nothing.

I stayed at the Pioneer Inn for six days in September and was very impressed with the service. When I said I was cold, I was brought the heater from the manager's office. When I went to pour myself a free coffee in the lobby, my host said, "I'll make you a fresh pot". There is a huge fridge, a microwave and a stove for making your own meals, and a BBQ on the deck. A place to stay in Prince Rupert that is close to historic Cow Bay, has free parking, and definitely has wonderful service.