Holiday Inn Westbank

As a matter of fact, I'm sitting in the hotel at this location (Westbank) as I write this! Upon checking in, my husband happened to ask if they had any upgrades available. The staff person clicked around on her computer a bit and asked the manager if "it was OK to upgrade this Gold Member". The manager said, "Sure!" and they didn't tell us what they upgraded us to...but when we arrived at the room, we were PLEASANTLY SURPRISED that they had given us one of their spa suites with a large jetted tub and a fireplace. I was oh so happy as I have to spend the day here as my husband is working. It made my four days here much more pleasant! Also, there are at least 3 good places to eat within walking distance -- Fogg and Sudds, Boston Pizza, and a Dairy Queen if you want quick and simple. Everyone from the staff at the hotel to the staff at the restaurants (including Dairy Queen!) is very friendly and welcoming. We would definitely stay here again, given the opportunity!

If you are going to Kelowna or WestBank. Then this is the hotel to stay at. I only stayed there for 2 nights but it was great. The staff there are great. I had one problem on check out that was cleared right up with not problem. And I love that restaruant there.

Stayed here recently for a wedding. In-laws and my husband and I stayed in a two bedroom suite with kitchenette. Fabulous room (301)... very clean, balcony that overlooked the pool, and another balcony that overlooked the front entrance. We were worried we'd be able to hear the noise from the adjoining restaurant or the swimming pool, but did not notice any noise at all!

My husband and I were in the smaller of the two bedrooms, and my only complaint is that the icemaker (right next to this room) was noticeably noisy.

Staff were great and very helpful.

Also enjoyed the pool and exercise room (but would have liked some free weights maybe? exercise room consisted of 3 treadmills and a TV).

Near many restaurants + Fogg & Suds pub/restaurant on premises.

Great value!

The double queen size bedroom was spacious enough for me and my husband. The beds are OK but not the most comfortable; they need some upgrading soon. There was an interesting pillow menu to choose from ie. firm to soft. There was not cooler to use in the room. All the staff seem pretty friendly.

The only drawback for the average traveller is the location. Westbank in not in Kewlona. The hotel is about a ten minute drive from downtown Kewlona. However, that is not a problem if you have a car.

There is a restaurant/pub adjacent to the hotel; Fogg and Suds. There is also a Boston Pizza and a Dairy Queen right next to it.

Note this is a Westbank hotel not Kelowna hotel. The bridge between Westbank and Kelowna takes up to 45 minutes to get across and it will be great when the new bridge is up fall 2008.

Book this hotel especially if you are coming from the west arriving late as not having to cross the bridge is lovely late Friday or Saturday evening.

Hotel is clean, rooms good, Fogg 'n Suds restaurant is good with reasonable prices and the front desk staff seemed nice. One of the staff even went on the internet and helped us find some places we wanted to see with map info.

Would recommend staying here. Price for CAA, Seniors great--Entertainment rate best one. Phone reservevation is best.

My husband and I with twin 5 year old sons recently stayed at the Holiday Inn to attend a family wedding. The room was great and very clean although we missed having an in-room fridge (only 3 rooms apparently have fridges).

The catered functions (wedding and gift opening) had excellent food which was instantly replenished. At one point one of my sons went missing (a nightmare for all involved) and two staff physically went running from floor to floor to look for him (he ended up in an elevator - a novelty to him - and didn't know which floor to get off on). The staff was tremendous!!

Do Not Disturb signs would be nice as we had cleaning staff kept interrupting us while getting ready for the various functions.

The pool was great and the exercise room a nice addition (be sure to get keys for the machines from the front desk).

Overall however, a great stay!! The staff could not have been more pleasant and helpful.

Large, modern Holiday Inn on the edge of Westbank, a location that avoids the considerable hassle involved in getting in, out, or across Kelowna. This hotel does everything a Holiday Inn should so, but the adjacent Boston Pizza House offers both a better and a cheaper alternative to the hotel’s own restaurant.

Just got back from a 5 night stay at the Holiday inn, Westbank. The hotel was what you would expect from a Holiday inn. The rooms were clean and the bed was firm and fairly comfortable. The pool was small but nice, It was a indoor/outdoor saltwater pool and there was also a small but nice hot tub. Free wireless internet was also available. The hotel is attached to a very good restaurant Fogg & Sudds which had very good food and beers from around the world, unreal selection of beer ( Homer would never leave). The staff at the restaurant and hotel were very helpful and nice. The only complaints would be that the trucks that deliver the food to the 3 restaurants that are beside the hotel back up in the morning and you hear the beeping form them and also our keys would not work on the doors 3 times during our stay and we had to have them re-coded. Steep price for hotel ( $140.00 per night ) but it seems to be the going rate for camparable hotels in the area. If you want to travel to Kelowna I highly advise you to stay on that side of the bridge, It is a 1 hour drive from the Holiday inn to across the bridge, Which is under major construction for the next year or so.

The hotel was OK. I found the halls and room quite stark and boring. The room itself had a very high ceiling and you felt like being in a tall box. The beds were extremely uncomfortable, hard and very low to the ground although the furnishing were quite nice and in good condition. The room was very clean. The bathroom was small and it was a pain trying to avoid water running onto the floor when having a shower. A sink inside the bathroom with another one outside was very helpful.

The pool was an OK size, part inside and part outside. There was a plastic drape that hung down between the two halves so there were two small pools that you couldn’t do much in, you sure could not swim laps. The exercise room was small and you had to get a key from the front desk. There were lots of pool towels in a rack and there were showers available.

There were two ice machines, one had no grate the put the ice bucket on so you had to stoop over hold it while pushing the ice button. I know that sounds petty but it is also a stupid thing not to fix. Also there was some garbage on the machine when we checked in on a Friday and still there when we left on the Sunday.

Room service sucked. We were shorted a salad when food was delivered just after the girls left to get another one we found the then potato skins were cold, not just luke warm but the cheese had not melted a the potato was cold. I took them back to the restaurant told my story and sat to wait for the salad and new skins. They were really slow and after more that 15 minutes a waitress came up to me and said she had taken the food to my room a long time ago.

This location was not easy to get to if you were coming from Kelowna.

There are four wineries in the area that are quite good.

Stayed for one night on a Saturday with my husband. I like the location because it's the first hotel you see when you drive in from the West. The guy that checked us in was friendly and polite! This doesn't happen often in Kelowna...

We were put in a regular room with one queen (even though I asked for 2 beds). There was a giant foot print on the bathroom floor and the toilet had been used and not flushed. The AC was on high and the room was freezing. I called front desk and said I was a bit grossed out and freezing and I was wondering if I could move to another room. There were no more rooms available so we had to stay in the one we had. Oh well. It was clean except for the bathtub. There is mildew in the tiles and the bathtub is gross.

We were really tired and didn't feel like sitting in the restaurant so we ordered room service. My pasta was cold. I thought it was weird that the food wasn't brought into the room for us. My husband brought in the plates one at a time and they weren't covered - probably why they were cold...I think that restaurant needs to learn a bit about room service. Also, don't expect the food to be tasty, make sure you ask for salt.

You can tell it's not a new hotel but it's clean (except the bathroom). I have definitely stayed in better holiday inns, next time I come to Kelowna I will try to stay elsewhere, but it wasn't THAT bad. At least they had TV and free high speed Internet.

The hotel itself is ok. The only complaint I have is that they allow pets. But the major reason that I will not stay in this hotel again is that is is too far from Kelowna. There really is no tourist stuff in Westbank itself, we stayed here because we were going to Kelowna and Lake Okanogen. It is a 13 km drive, but the freeway and bridge that connects Westbank to Kelowna has a very bad rush hour. It took us 15-20 minutes to get to kelowna and the beaches in the morning but in the afternoon the same drive takes between 30-45 minutes and the traffic is in both directions. So if you want to drive back to Kelowna for dinner you have to leave the hotel after 6:30pm.

I arrive at the Westbank Holiday Inn at 2:50pm on July 30th 2006. While I stand and wait at the front desk, neither of the staff chooses to look up and greet me. I eventually ask if I may check in. At this point I am told that my room is not going to be ready until 4pm. I express my concern and let Front Desk know that this is an inconvenience and a waste of my time. However, it did not matter to either of the ladies at the Front Desk.

I decide to leave the Westbank Holiday Inn and come back later with my luggage. The Front Desk did not offer any assistance to store my luggage, or any means of compensation for my inconvenience. In fact the woman at the Front Desk looked at me, rolls her eyes and says, “What do you expect me to do? I could cry about it if you want?” At this point I left.

At 5pm I return to the Westbank Holiday Inn only to learn that my room is still not ready. Now my guest is annoyed with Front Desk and the continued inconvenience. The room was promised to be ready for 4pm. I ask to see the manager, however he is not around. I ask for the phone number of Customer Relations however, I was given the wrong number.

I eventually locate the number for Customer Relations at Intercontinental Hotels Group (ICG) and call from the lobby in front of the Front Desk. ICG Customer Relations quickly takes action with the Front Desk once ICG finds out I have been waiting 2hrs to check in and I was calling from the lobby of the hotel. Suddenly the room was available in 5 minutes!

Again, I stress that it was now past 5pm and my room was promised by 4pm. The Front Desk offers no means to compensate me for my inconvenience. Not even an apology. Yet when I confronted Front Desk about an apology, it was given (somewhat too late in my mind if I have to “ask” for one.)

It was not until ICG instructs the Front Desk to offer a free breakfast that any sort of compensation or acknowledgement of the inconvenience is made. A small gesture, but I am willing to take it as a peace offering at this point. However the next day while at breakfast I discovered it is not a free breakfast for two; it is a $20 coupon towards a breakfast!!!

This “lack of service” from Front Desk continued during my two night stay. When the rooms were made up, the maids just threw the comforter over each bed (see pictures attached). I called ICG Customer Relations again because I could not get through to Front Desk, only to express my concern that I can not get any resolution from the Front Desk or the Manager. During each incident I asked Front Desk to leave a message for the manager to contact me. However, I never heard from the Manager during my 2 nights / 3 day stay.

I spoke to ICG Customer Relations three times during my stay and finally ICG apologized to me on behalf of the Westbank Holiday Inn. ICG could not believe that the Manager did not come to see me to resolve the issue in person, as per hotel policy.

In conclusion, ICG promised to resolve the situation and contact me at a later date. I stressed to ICG that I enjoy staying at Holiday Inns; however, I would never under any circumstances stay at the Westbank Holiday Inn again. Not even with a free nights stay. Therefore, my suggestion is that if you choose to stay at the Westbank Holiday Inn, do so with caution and bring the ICG Customer Relations number with you! And if you need to call, ensure to get a reference number to keep track of the complaint and follow up.