After Niagara, our next stop was Barrie, Ontario. Never heard of the place, but it seemed to be conveniently located, so we booked in to the Quality Inn, Barrie. Usually, we stay at Motel 6, but there aren’t any in that part of the world. I was not impressed by the initial booking, because Quality Inn takes all the payment, up front, the minute you book. This is the only motel chain that has ever done that. Usually, it’s a deposit, or you pay when you actually arrive. Not Quality Inn! Grab money (months in advance). Cheeky.
The ‘Quality Inn’ was situated in the industrial part of Barrie, so hardly in the scenic part. There was a Porn Shop (Yep! Sleaze on the doorstep!) on the way to the conveniently located Laundrette, and Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen was just a little further!
The staff of the ‘Quality Inn’ paid very little attention to the ‘guests’. The ‘automatic’ door was blocked on one side with luggage trolleys, the other side had a door that jammed half-open, when you approached, and it was near impossible to get through with a luggage trolley without the assistance of a kindly ‘guest’ on the other side. The desk staff were too busy putting phone callers on ‘hold’.
Another joy of the ‘Quality Inn’ was the workman ripping off the roof guttering, just outside our room window. A diesel-powered cherry-picker (work platform) roaring away, did not help. “He’ll be finished by 5pm” said the desk staff. Nearer 7:30 pm, actually.
Another thing. Motel 6 (which does not claim to be ‘classy’ or ‘quality’ always sent us a survey email after every stay. ‘Quality Inn’ never felt the need. So, here is the survey …
‘Quality Inn’, Barrie, Ontario. Clean. Very noisy. Staff couldn’t care less. Hopeless, if you are in a wheelchair. Grabs all the cash up front. Convenient for sex toys, and within walking distance of a Coin-Op Laundrette. Star Rating. *
No pictures on this post, because it is slightly out of sequence. Just wanted to get it out of the way.