Kingfisher Oceanside Resort and Spa. Courtney, B.C.

The trip here was a surprise celebration for our 30th Wedding Anniversary from Don. We would be gone for 2 nights which included a massage for Don and a facial for me. WOW! No wonder we made it to 30.

The best thing there, we found, is the Ocean 7 Bistro (outside patio). The food is excellent and the servers are phenomenal. The first evening we were blessed with two servers Kelly and Noelle. I commented to them that they made up my daughters name if you changed the N to a J. Both girls are truly professional.

I ordered the Smoked pork Tenderloin with Yukon potato and Gruyere Perogies, frozen grapes and a beautiful sauce. Again, if I could have licked my plate clean, I would have. I also had my favourite glass of wine. Don ordered charred Pacific Octopus with soy ginger Pork Belly and puffed tapioca. He had his usual beverage as well and truly enjoyed his meal.

For dessert we shared a Creme Brulee and waddled out.

For breakfast the next morning I ordered the Croissant Breakfast Sandwich with eggs, bacon and was yummy. Don ordered his eggs, sausage and toast. The biggest treat was the coffee. Our server was Christine and again, a true professional server.

That night I ordered the exact same dinner as the night before and Don ordered the Steak and Frites. For dessert we shared a Chocolate Lava Tart with Ice Cream. Yum! Our server tonight was Sara, also a real professional.

The second part of this review is not going to be pleasant. Don ordered a specific type of room and didn’t get it. The room we got was…to say the least disappointing in that it needed a little help in looking as posh as the prices they charge. The paint is so wrong for a beautiful ocean view with a dark grey on the walls, grey carpet, black and grey pictures on the walls. A fireplace that looked so out of place with huge rocks on a very small fireplace. No air conditioning in the room except a small table fan. The bathroom had 1 ply kleenex and toilet paper. No decent bath mat for the floor except a towel. The side on the tub is so high and not conducive to elderly customers where one is recovering from a broken back and the other serious abdominal surgery. The kitchen held, on the worst sticky counter tops, a Nespresso. Please do not think that is coffee. It isn’t and when we phoned down to the desk requesting a coffee maker, they didn’t have one. The drawer held 2 plates, 2 knives, 2  forks, and 2 different sized coffee/tea mugs. No napkins, no place mats to cover the chipped edges on the table or the gouges. The bed is unbelievable. It is soooo soft, you feel like you dropped to the floor. Don had asked for two more pillows (for his back) and we each tried sleeping with three pillows under our head. Again it felt like your head was lower that your back. For two nights we did NOT sleep. You couldn’t. Too hot in the room and a far too soft bed. Oh yeah..it also had the heaviest duvet on the bed when the temperature was above 80 degrees. The murphy bed would not allow anyone to get out of bed, without crawling over the third body. The wooden chairs were extremely used and abused as were the cupboard doors. The patio doors need oil so you could open it up, easily and without waking up neighbors next door or below.

Back to the Dining Rooms. You are told as soon as you sign in to the Hotel they are booked solid and you probably won’t get a reservation, but you can try. We did get on the waiting list the first night  but the next night we got the same story but then learned the truth. They are not booking the dining rooms, because as we sat on the patio and watched the dining room it  stayed empty. We were told by several sources, even away from the Resort, that the kitchen can’t handle anything but the Patio tables, and they cannot get staff to work there. Either the wages are so low in the Industry or the kitchen needs to be expanded on or both. The Bistro is so wrong to outright lie to high paying customers and losing millions of income when you tell them to go elsewhere to dine.

If they told the paying public their kitchen might not be able to handle all the reservations because they are under-staffed and the kitchen was small, people would understand that more. Honesty is everything.

By all means if you want good food try to get in but for the$330.00- $350.00/night the rooms do not even come close. It is not worth it. It badly needs a renovation. Start a few rooms at a time and keep going but do not leave them as they are. Also, having operated a Bed and Breakfast for 15 -16 years; having a Cookbook published with instructions on how to prepare, greet and treat guests allows me to state the obvious.