Erie Beach Hotel, Port Dover, ON

Our home away from home since Monday was the Erie Beach Hotel (it’s more of a motel than a hotel) that has been “famously serving Perch & Pickerel since 1946”.

You can’t reserve a room online ... you have to call. There are 18 rooms and we were on the second floor (there isn’t an elevator). It was about $200/night and parking was free.

It wasn’t fancy but it was comfy. The furniture throughout seemed to be from the 1980s. There wasn’t a mini fridge or coffee maker in our room (there is a cafe across the street and a Tim Horton’s a couple blocks away) and the a/c worked well. The sink, toilet and shower head were strange as they were really low (you can imagine how low they were if I found them low!).

Holiday Inn Express Cardiff Bay, Cardiff, Wales

Gord and I spent the last week at the Holiday Inn Express Cardiff Bay and I would not recommend this hotel.

We booked and paid for our vacation in January. At approximately $368 per night, the hotel was neither the most expensive nor the least expensive option available. One of the reasons we selected it was because a complimentary breakfast was included.

Upon arrival, we were surprised to discover that our room had two single beds rather than one larger bed. I immediately contacted the front desk to request a room change but was informed that the hotel was fully booked and no alternative rooms were available. A larger bed would have been preferrable but it wasn't a big deal.

The room itself was uncomfortably warm and stuffy the whole time. Although the window could be opened slightly, it provided very little ventilation. There appeared to be an air conditioning unit in the room and an air exchanger above the door so I contacted Reception for instructions on how to operate them. I was surprised to learn that neither unit was functional. I again requested a room change but was told this was not possible. The hotel did offer a fan, which we accepted the next day.

Unfortunately, the room never cooled down, even during the night. Both of us experienced restless, uncomfortable sleeps due to the heat. The bedding consisted of duvets in covers, with no separate sheets provided. We eventually removed the duvets and used only the covers but the room remained excessively warm. A few days later, we borrowed a second fan. While the fans helped circulate air, they did not lower the room temperature. Adding to the frustration, each fan had a timer that automatically shut it off after a maximum of two hours, requiring us to wake up repeatedly throughout the night to restart them. Between the heat and the fan timers, neither of us slept well during our entire stay.

Another issue was the shower. Regardless of the time of day, the water pressure was extremely poor.

The staff were friendly. The hotel is in a good spot as it's between the city centre and the Bay (about a 15 minute walk either way). It's in a residential area so there's nothing but housing around.

Horseshoe Resort, Barrie, ON

Gord and I spent the last three days at Horseshoe Resort (north of Barrie) … we drove up on Wednesday and came home today. It snowed and was really cold the entire time so was very Canadian. It was a fun way to start 2026!

The Irish Harp, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON

Gord and I spent a few days (Wednesday until today) in Niagara-on-the-Lake and stayed in the County Down room above the The Irish Harp. 

There are three rooms and in the hallway with a shared Kerig coffee maker, microwave and water. Every morning they leave a pile of clean towels, etc. outside your door. WIFI was complimentary and speedy, though we had to sign in every day.

For every night you stay, you get a $25 voucher to be used in their pub, which we did Wednesday night (our voucher was $75). It's a handy spot because it's downtown and walkable to everything. Parking is free if you can find a spot on a nearby street (which we did).

The last two years we've stayed in their County Derry room and we thought we'd change it up this year and stay in County Down ... it's a smaller room. It's an older building and the floors were uneven ... it was downhill a bit to get to the bathroom and then uphill to get to the toilet. Ha! As a head's up, the room is right over the stage so it was loud but we didn't mind. There was bingo on Wednesday night (over at 11pm) and bands on Thursday night over at 11pm) and last night (over at 11:45pm). So it you are looking for quiet, you shouldn't stay here. I probably wouldn't stay in this room again because it was nice to have the extra space in County Derry and it was quieter at night.

Fleet Hotel, Dublin, Ireland

Our hotel in Dublin, Ireland, from Tuesday until today was the Fleet Hotel in the Temple Bar area. 

It was a lively area with many bars and restaurants and live music. It was on the south side of the river and there was so much to do on that side. The room was compact and the bed was cozy. There were iPhone jacks, which was handy as we only had one power adapter each. It would have been nice to have a mini fridge as they provided complementary water that needed to be refrigerated after opening. There was a complimentary buffet breakfast included. The shower gel, shampoo and conditioner smelled really nice.

The Flint Hotel, Belfast, Ireland

Our hotel in Belfast, Ireland, from Friday to today was The Flint Hotel.

It was a good-sized room with a small kitchenette, which was handy. The bed was comfy. There was a laundry room and the washers and dryers were free, which was handy, and you could buy laundry pods at reception. WIFI was free and a bit spotty at times. One suggestion I would make would be to install iPhone jacks (many hotels have them). We each had a power adapter so we could only charge one of our devices at a time (we both had iPhones, iPads and laptops).

Wasaga Motel Inn, Wasaga Beach, ON

A friend of Gord's got married this yesterday in Wasaga Beach and we spent the weekend at the Wasaga Motel Inn. It wasn’t fancy but it had what we needed. Mario, in the office, was friendly. 

In talking with others staying there, our room seemed to be the only one with a couch, coffee table and coffee maker. The bathroom was wacky ... it was looooong and narrow. The toilet was millimetres from the wall which made it hard to use. Ha!

Hampton by Hilton Edinburgh West End, Edinburgh, Scotland

A friend had recommend the Hampton by Hilton Edinburgh West End as a place to stay in Edinburgh and that's where Gord and I stayed from last Tuesday morning until this morning.

Here was our room ...

The bed was really comfy. The TV had lots of channels, including local and American shows. Sometimes a channel would get weak and disappear but eventually would come back. WIFI was complimentary and I found it was strong. Every morning until 10am during the week and 11am on the weekend there is a complimentary buffet breakfast with a good variety of hot and cold items. We would have a big breakfast before we headed off for the day and didn't need to eat again until suppertime.

The hotel is off the beaten path a bit but is just a 10 minute walk to Haymarket area where you can catch trains across the city or elsewhere (we caught a train to Glasgow and back one day and also to Queensferry), trams and buses. There are buses that pass by the hotel on a regular basis. Transit seems really efficient. It's about a 20 minute walk to the Royal Mile, Edinburgh Castle, etc.

There is no restaurant in the hotel but strangely (but it was handy) you can order drinks (wine, beer, mixed drinks, etc.) from the end of the reception desk. You can either drink them in the lobby or take them to your room. There is small menu of foods you can order from them too. We ordered a chicken and bacon pizza one night (it's all they had left for pizza) and it was really good ... the crust was stuffed with tomato sauce, which was fun.

It would have been nice to have a mini fridge in the room as I like having cold water handy. I also like having a morning smoothie but didn't take any ingredients because of the lack of fridge and the powdered greens I mix in with my smoothie need to be refrigerated.

The towel situation was a bit odd ... there was one hand towel and two HUGE bath towels and that was it. I'm sure if we asked we could have gotten more hand towels and perhaps face cloths but we managed without.

We hadn't thought about outlets being different than in Canada but were able to buy a couple adapters at the front desk. If you are just plugging in your phone, etc. there are ports near the power outlets (we had laptops so needed to use the outlets).

The Irish Harp, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON

Gord and I spent Wednesday until today in Niagara-on-the-Lake and stayed in the County Derry room above the The Irish Harp in Niagara-on-the-Lake. We stayed there last year and liked it.

There are three rooms and in the hallway with a shared Kerig coffee maker, microwave and water. Every morning they leave a pile of clean towels, etc. outside your door. It was odd they didn't leave a roll of toilet paper, though.

For every night you stay, you get a $25 voucher to be used in their pub, which we did Wednesday night on the patio (our voucher was $75).

It's a handy spot because it's downtown and walkable to everything. Parking is free if you can find a spot on a nearby street (which we did).

Muskoka BeerSpa, Torrance, ON

Gord and I heard about Muskoka BeerSpa a couple years ago at a beer festival. It sounded like fun but I found it was hard to get a reservation to stay in one of their cabins, which range from a one-room, 1, 2 and 3 bedroom cabins. They even have economical "crash cabins" which are basically sheds with a bed and TV but no washroom ... you use the spa facilities for that.

Cabins have a full size fridge/freezer and wet bar facilities, in room draft taps (beer is an extra charge), complimentary snack foods, satellite TV, WIFI and a VCR along with vintage VHS movies. There are linens, pillows and room towels but you have to bring your own soap, shampoo, etc. Guests have access to the beach, lake and water along with canoes and kayaks. Overnight guests who are 19+ have full day access to BeerSpa (pool, hot tub, saunas, etc.)

About a month ago, I managed to reserve Cabin 9 from Monday until today. Whoohoo!

There's our cabin, which was a couple minutes walk from the parking lot.