A Haterleigh Heritage Inn, Victoria

If only I had read the later reviews and not just the glowing ones from 2004, when the place was obviously better run. We too felt caged in our room until breakfast (8:30) - nice to have the paper at our door early, but no place to sit and have a coffee and read it. To put a coffee butler in the parlour would not have been too much effort. And to have no buffet or choice for breakfast was ridiculous. Nice fruit plate, but one can only eat so much fruit and a lot of it went to waste. My husband also experienced Paul's rudeness, which I have to say helped to ruin our visit to Victoria, and I'm ashamed to say that I'm from Vancouver went to UVIC many moons ago. Awful.

The building is beautiful; the service only so-so, and the breakfast barely so-so. Our bed was comfortable but the pillows were rubbery; plenty of towels and nice robes, but no heat in the room and bright lights shining in all night. No comfortable place to sit and read or put up your feed. Breakfast at 8:30, no choice; food not particularly good, although presentation was fine. Plates whisked away before we were even finished. I would not recommend this.

My husband and I have been to many B&B's in our day - throughout the world - and this was by far the worst. We spent virtually no time at the B&B since we felt so uncomfortable. When there, we felt confined to our room - which was not very pleasant. The first night, the lace window covering (no curtains on some of the windows!) fell down on our heads in the middle of the night. It was quite cool while we were there and the house was frigid, with no personal heaters in the room. We could not even enjoy a nice cup of tea or coffee on our own in the B&B - an amenity that every other B&B has always had, if nothing else. While the house is "victorian" and charming in its own way, it is not comfortable to guests and certainly not worth the price. We have stayed in many a better B&B for a 1/3 of the cost. On top of that, the hosts were so busy plugging the tours that they received referral fees for, that they were not much help with suggestions for other activities in the city. I would not recommend staying at this B&B if it were your only choice for accommodation in Victoria.

We booked this B&B because of its location, and the positive reviews on other websites (such as TripAdvisor). We were sorely disappointed: the innkeeper Paul was terribly rude to my wife, and hostile to me, when we informed them that we preferred to have breakfast elsewhere on our 2nd day. Why did we want to go out? Because we couldn't sit through another meal where we had to listen to Paul Kelly pontificate on anything and everything. The poor couple next sitting with us the first morning had the audacity to disagree with him on a particular restaurant, and he let them have it. When we got home, and reviewed ALL the reviews (instead of just the first couple), we noticed that other people had the same experience as we did. We also noticed that there are dozens of reviews that follow the same basic format, with the same expressions, idioms, and phrases. And, yes, those reviews sound just like Paul Kelly has written them. If nothing else, these are reviews written by travellers... maybe he has a marketing company submit them, I don't know. We wish we'd read the reviews more carefully! It was one of our only weekends away from home, without the kids, for years, and we'll never get that time back.

There is something about people who are doing something they love. Clearly the Kelly's are in this category. Nothing is too much trouble, from a breakfast I defy you to find better anywhere, to arranging tours and dinner. Never mind the spectacular rooms with Jacuzzi tubs! M.K. Sherwood Oregon

The Haterleigh is a beautiful victorian mansion set in a great location within a couple of blocks of the inner harbour and a nice stroll to downtown Victoria.
The honeymoon suite was definately the most comfortable, relaxing abode for a romantic getaway.
Thank you to Paul and Elizabeth for their most gracious hospitality and excellent service.
The delicious gourmet breakfasts were an epicurian delight.
Thanks again to the Kelly's for sharing their beautiful home with us. Susan...Cheyenne, WY