Oak Bay Beach Hotel – top marks!
We stayed at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel on January 20, 2024 in room 193 and in our esteemed opinion, without a doubt, it is one of the best hotels we’ve ever stayed at. Here’s why:
The Room
The room was extremely spacious with a gorgeous view of the ocean at an extremely reasonable price. The door opened into the hallway opposite an extremely large bathroom. The bathroom had two large sinks, a beautifully stone floor, a huge bathtub in the old style and a large stone tile walled shower with a stone tile seat. The toilet was quietly hidden away making the bathtub and the sinks the centrepiece of the room. Charmingly, the bathtub opened with sliding doors to the bedroom.
The bedroom had a kings sized bed with sliding half doors that opened to the bathtub and a closet for all the necessities. It came with a full sized smart tv (albeit it did not allow you to watch Netflix) and also opened onto the hallway and the main family room that overlooked the ocean. Yes, ocean views from the comfort of the hotel and more. Not only did the room overlook the ocean but the spa and mineral pools too.
The Hotel
The hotel itself is charming and big enough to hold enough guests to feel like a hotel but not too big to feel like a huge chain.
The Restaurant
During our stay the restaurant was closed due to a fire but the hotel improvised and made the main sitting entrance into the restaurant. We’ve been to the restaurant in the past and while the food is top notch, the serving staff needs some additional training as do most Western restaurant staff. The serving staff continue to take far too many steps, back and forth, back and forth, to only one table, forgetting the rest of the room to get small items and really failing to maximize the kitchen’s and bar’s potential. I’d be shocked if any of the servers have any idea what the best wine is on the menu. Often the waiting staff are young and not considering the position as a career and not really understanding how to add value to the guests stay. Simple pairing of wine with the meal and dessert wine with the dessert would really enhance the service but they seem to busy going back and forth instead of visiting with each table every time they enter the room. Often there’s a wait to get seated, not because there aren’t tables, but because the greeting staff aren’t paying attention to the front, but are instead helping in the back.
The Food
This is not the fault of the kitchen as the food is quite delicious; and there are enough options on the menu. However, we often felt the kitchen is holding back. The options they offer are too plain and the few unique options are too good not too suggest that the kitchen can do more. Something seems to be holding them back and with the rooms at the quality they are, we felt the kitchen had much more to offer.
Room Service
Room service was delightful and the food was delicious and the service was top notch.
The Location
The Oak Bay Beach Hotel is located on the ocean and Beach Drive in the Mayor Channel, which is a lovely area but slightly off the main tourist locations. It is located next to the Victoria Golf Club in a quaint area on Vancouver Island and very worth finding. It is far enough away from the cruise ships and any airport to go unnoticed but it is very worthwhile making the extra trip. For that matter driving along beach drive around Vancouver Island will give you a scenic view of the Island and arrive at the cruise ships within about twenty minutes and avoid all the down town traffic. From the hotel driving down beach drive and turning right on government street will get you right into the heart of downtown, which is only a 15 minute cab drive or $30 fare.
Overall
We found the hotel was one of the best we’ve ever stayed in at a price that was ridiculously low. The size of the rooms and the view were unbeatable. We’d strongly suggest tourists check out this gem of a hotel. And, we’d strongly suggest the hotel invest in training their service staff.