I've already written a review of Barclay House, when we stayed in April last year. The standards are just as high now as they were then.

This time we stayed in two different rooms (we actually had two separate stays, divided by a trip to Tofino), so have now stayed in three rooms. That being the case, I thought a comparison of those rooms might help someone.

The first time we stayed here, we were in the Peak room. This is right at the top of the house, large and comfortable and felt private because of its location. I think it's just my favourite room of the three we've stayed in, but I'm guessing that in summer it would be very hot. In April it was perfect, but I don't think I'd book it in August. It has a big comfy sofa, large squashy (but comfortable) bed and a claw-footed tub with shower.

This time round, we stayed 3 nights in the Garden room and 2 in the Haidaway room. Both of these rooms are on the ground floor, with separate outside entrances.

The Garden room is at the front and has a gas fireplace in the bedroom and claw-footed tub with shower in the bathroom. It also has a very comfortable sofa. It was lovely and cool even on hot days. Contrary to what a previous reviewer said, it was perfectly possible to open windows and blinds and get in air and natural light, albeit a bit subdued. I think it's a lovely cool retreat in hot weather and would probably be very cosy with the fire in cold weather. Like another reviewer, I also struggled to plug in the kettle/coffee machine (and I'm 5 ft 5 too) but it wasn't impossible and was a very small negative. If you're very short, though, it might be something to note.

The Haidaway room is at the back and has a jacuzzi tub in the room. I think that the bed in this room was my favourite, and it was also very cool on the hottest days. Being really picky, I'd have liked more opening windows (we only found one that opened). The sockets for the kettle and coffee machine were again difficult to reach, though not quite as far away as the Garden room.

So, all three rooms were lovely, but if I were returning I'd probably book the Garden room, unless it was at a cooler time of year, when I'd be tempted up to the Peak again.

More generally, the Barclay House is a lovely place to stay. The location is great. The warm reception, with cool champagne, is a great way to arrive. The breakfasts are excellent (and a previous reviewer must be a truly superb cook if they could easily recreate them at home). In all the breakfasts we had, we had very few repeats (just one repeat of main course and a couple of the fruit/cake courses). I'm not particularly fond of eggs, but didn't think to mention it on our first stay, and was glad I didn't. I thoroughly enjoyed every single breakfast, eggs and all. So now I don't like eggs, except at Barclay House!

Every tip that we've been given by JJ or one of his team, that we've followed up on, has been spot on. We've enjoyed several meals at recommended restaurants, that we probably wouldn't have found for ourselves otherwise.

I thoroughly recommend the Barclay House and am just hoping we'll find an excuse to go back.

The house itself is so beautiful and decorated with style and elegance. We stayed in the Beach room. It was so bright and lovely with a very comfortable bed.

The staff was all so friendly and willing to accommodate our every need. The three-course breakfast was fun and tasty!

The location is great. Very close to all the great shops and restaurants in the west end and close to downtown.

Thank you to everyone who made our weekend so special! Looking forward to returning one day to stay in one of the other unique rooms!

We stayed at the Barclay House for the first 3 nights of our honeymoon and loved our stay there. After a long flight it was lovely to be welcomed by chilled beer, champagne and warm cookies and the advice we were given about where to go was thorough without being pressured.

We stayed in the Peak Room and disagree regarding the comments below about the bed - it was extremely comfortable!

My only niggle with the room was the temperature in the early evening, although an aircon unit was provided.

Breakfasts were very tasty and we were made to feel so very welcome. While using the public computer to finalise some further trips details we were given an entire bottle of bubbly to share - quite a lovely extra detail

Overall we loved Barclay House and would happily stay there again.

I agree with you, keekeemoo. I had such high hopes for this B&B when I booked it. The glowing reviews and expensive price tag made me think it was something exceptional.
For the positive, the room we stayed in (The Peak Room) was nicely done with modern decor. The chilled split of champagne when we checked in was sweet, and the cookies and Toblerone bars were nice too. The breakfasts were also very tasty. The small porch was a nice place to relax and watch the cool neighborhood. Dennis' suggestions were somewhat helpful, although I wish we would have continued with our original plans that he talked us out of. Nice fridge and additional sink outside of the bathroom.
As for the negative, the worst part about our stay was that the room was hot in the afternoon and evening (since it's on the top floor and has not air conditioning) and especially that the bed was incredibly lumpy and mushy. There were plenty of windows to help cool the room once the sun went down, but then, we couldn't sleep because we could hear every neighbor yelling, car alarm honking, and crow squawking (continuously from 5am on). After the first 4am phone call, we notice that in the room literature, it said to be sure your phone ringer was turned off, but we couldn't figure out how as there were no labels on the buttons. There were a couple of other calls like that. One of the draws for me was the great claw footed tubs. As it turned out, ours was just a replica made out of acrylic or fiberglass. It was inconvenient to use, and I had a heck of a time trying to shave my legs. I finally tried to draw a bath but fought with the drain to keep in the water, then fought to let it out to shower. It was nice of the Barclay House to provide coffee, tea, and water, but the quality of each was not too impressive cosidering the price being paid to stay. They were each a mixed match lot of grocery store and warehouse brands. I realize that this is a turn of the century Victorian located downtown, but the patched painting and tiny lounging areas outside (very misleading from pics on web) are just not up to snuff for a luxury B&B. Also, I guess I should have know that attention to detail wasn't always there when I e-mailed beforehand to get recommendations on a good restaurant and then later asked if they could make reservations at a certain one. There was no response, and I had to call myself.
We've also stayed at many B&Bs, and the Barclay House has made me wonder if we're just not B&B types anymore. If looking for a modestly priced place to stay in Van, I'd recomment the Blue Horizon Hotel & wish we would have stayed there. All in all, the Barclay House was the most expensive place we stayed at during our week long trip but was the most disappointing. We were just plain exhausted when we left (and grumpy too, have you noticed?).