Manoir Hovey, Relais & Châteaux

Would you spend $1,000 per night to unclog your own toilet? Sadly that’s what Manoir Hovey expects of its guests. I ended up buying my own Drano and plunger since the hotel was in no hurry to fix the toilet. If you have kids, just imagine being in a hotel room without a functioning toilet. A front desk attendant did try her best but simply left when she wasn’t able to fix it. We had to use a public bathroom the first night which is every bit as unpleasant as it sounds. The attendant said an engineer would take a look in the morning but apparently forgot to tell the daytime front desk staff, who just seemed confused. Are there worse things in life than plunging your own toilet while on vacation? Of course. But do you need to spend $1,000 per night to do so? Absolutely not.

6.5hours from Toronto. Staffs are very nice.

Beautiful manoir, excellent staff, highly recommend!

The hotel is in a secluded spot on the lake. It’s very romantic overlooking the water and offering a wonderful English garden where to relax. The infinity pool is delightful. The brand new spa is beautiful. The room was cute. We particularly enjoyed our balcony. The staff is very nice. All the meals that we had were delicious. It was just perfect for a romantic weekend celebrating our wedding anniversary

We have been coming to the Hovey Manoir every summer now for almost 20 years. It is a vacation we truly look forward to. The service is superb, the food is wonderful and the amenities are really wonderful. Several of the wait staff and the Concierge recognize us and it is always a warm feeling to be welcomed back by friendly people. We have been taking our grown adult children now for a few years and they are enjoying it as well. The spa is great, the facials, pedicures and massages are a total treat. We are always sad to leave but I always book a year in advance so we get the rooms we want. We prefer to stay in the coach house. It's very expensive, but life is short and you have to enjoy vacations like this when you can. I always recommend the Hovey to my friends. It is a hidden treasure.

First the good news: Manoir Hovey is a nice hotel in a really lovely place. The grounds and gardens are gorgeous, and the new spa is wonderful. Service was attentive if a little unpolished at times. We had a memorably good dinner at Le Hatley, and the wine list there (from which we ordered an excellent 1er cru white burgundy that we had been hoping to try) suggested a really thoughtful, expansive cellar. Alas, we ended up with what must be the single least updated accommodation in the entire hotel: Room 1. We booked late, and reserved the lowest class of room, so I wasn't expecting grand luxury, but I'd be shocked if there is another room in the hotel as uniformly unimproved as ours was. Among its notable features: A bathroom so small you literally could hardly turn around in it, even without a sink, which -- in the manner of a nineteenth-century boarding house -- was instead located in the corner of our small bedroom. Furnishings poised somewhere between period pieces and flea market castoffs: one of the drawer knobs on our "antique" (read worn and chipped) dresser came off in my wife's hand the first time she tried to open it, while our "fireplace" consisted of a plastic heater insert with an image of burning logs that we could turn on and off with a remote, like something from a dollhouse. Massive pipes running obtrusively along each of the walls at the ceiling, presumably for an antiquated sprinkler system. An air vent in the floor that was connected to either 1) the office, 2) the kitchen, 3) the laundry, or 4) all of the above, and which transmitted the sounds and smells of the hotel infrastructure each morning starting around 6am. An old non-functional thermostat control panel on the wall (next to the actual one) that instead of being removed had just been left there with a cruddy label-maker sign taped to it saying "Don't use this one", like something you'd see in a $39/night autoroute motel. I guess we just had the misfortune of staying in the worst room in the "best resort in Canada," but after a day or so, it started to feel as though we had actually stumbled into what was intended as a kind of museum exhibit, so that historically minded visitors could see what the hotel was like back in the olden days, before it got cleaned up and renovated and joined Relais & Chateaux. Outside such a context, however, I'm pretty sure you'll never see any pictures of it on the hotel's very refined, modern website, because it was sort of the antithesis of modern refinement. (See the attached images of our room for comparison sake.) And so we'd strongly caution any prospective guests to triple check they don't draw the same short straw we did and end up spending CAD500+ per night for the forlorn Room 1, and the same odd and rather disappointing experience we had as guests there.

From the minute you arrive you know this is a top 5 star resort. Check in was quick and Jordan made sure to expedite our luggage and go over the hotel and room. We stayed in a corner room (43) that has a great view of the lake and property. We took note of the tennis court below that could be a source of noise but no one played during our stay. We ate at both Le Hatley and the bistro for our meals. Breakfast was perfect both in the restaurant and through room service. Lunch gazpacho was excellent and the seating outside is perfect. Dinner is a serious affair, delivered perfectly by the team and the food was fresh and innovative. The wine list is a challenge if you enjoy fine Italian and French wines. Very young and not enough selections. No corkage allowed here so it takes some work to navigate the list. The Somms in both restaurants are very helpful and want to improve their offering. We walked the driveway into the hotel each morning, this was not enough to call a hike, but at least we got out for a bit. The gym is small but offers weights and a few treadmills. The spa facilities are very good. We had two 90 minute Swedish massages that were excellent. We can’t wait to visit again, my only concern would be if a large wedding group was in house…as the intimacy that is so special would likely disappear.

I needed a few days of rest and relaxation so I booked 2 nights here (Massawippii Suite) as I have always enjoyed my frequent stays. The new SPA facility is amazing and is definitely "good for the soul". Again I highly recommend Hovey for that peaceful get away (with fine dining)! Even though the Manoir was sold out during my stay -it was very much a very tranquil setting. Its always nice to see some familiar and friendly staff faces. Try Hovey - you will be back! Ernest Schmidt

Amazing in every way !!!