My sister and I went to The Briar's for a girls weekend away and the hotel did not disappoint. The staff were so helpful and friendly especially Danielle, Ben & Becka. Make sure you take the Manor House History Tour, Nature Walk and Lantern Lit Tour and the Scavenger Hunt (so much fun) The resort is steeped in history dating back to late 1800 and Ben & Becka are so knowledgeable about the resorts history as well as the towns history. The meals in all the restaurants were exceptional. Breakfast was included and we had the breakfast buffet and we also ordered from the menu. The food was so fresh and tasty and the service was always great. All the staff went above and beyond to make our stay memorable and treated us like old friends and not guest.
We attempted to book during this past winter but events kept our stay pushed back. We finally selected a mid week day this May but unfortunately the weather did not cooperate with rain and cool temperatures keeping us in their main facility. First let me say the existing staff and food were excellent. However, like many business getting help is an issue. This has affected our time here as the dinning was only served in the Drinkwater Room and had one server. Our server was very helpful and provided great service but having her to serve drinks, run to fetch food orders did mean customers, admitted few well we were here, would arrive with no one to show them a table. One major issue we had no one vacuumed the floor in this restaurant. This meant any table crumbs etc from previous dinners were still there the very next day. Once again this oversight for a 4 Diamond establishment should never happen. A footnote upon entering our room, which was well decorated but unfortunately no towels were available to use. Once again the front desk took immediate action and apologized for this error. Perhaps this is what can be expected as im certain The Brirars Resort & Spa are trying to hire more staffing but in this day of covid few people are not seeking certain types of employment. For certain come summer this Resort will have worked out the kinks.…
My wife and I spent 3 wonderful days at The Briars over the Family Day long weekend. It was our first visit and certainly not our last. We were well received upon arriving. Our room was nice, clean with all the amenities needed and a nice view of Lake Simcoe. The bed was Uber comfortable. There were plenty of activities for the guests during the weekend. We had a historical tour of the place with the GM, it was truly fascinating. We also did some cross country skiing and snowshoeing at no extra cost. The character and history elevated the resort beyond any Marriot or Hilton. Our stay was an all inclusive with meals. Breakfasts had many options including omelettes. Dinners were very good with excellent variety. One evening they missed our order and we had to wait roughly 40 minutes for our entrees. However, realizing the oversight, staff provided complimentary wine and post dinner drinks to our room. Management was fully aware that “service is king”. All the staff we encountered were very friendly and helpful. We also took advantage of the spa facilities which were incredibly unwinding. We would highly recommend The Briars and plan to return in the summer months for a golfing weekend.…
Just stayed here for 5 nights as part of a corporate group and can’t say enough about how great the staff were, particularly the kitchen and service staff, led by Dave. We were so well taken care of and the food was amazing. Every meal we had (breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, and dinner) was delicious. Staff remembered individual names and needs (we had a vegan in the group and she was well taken care of all week). Always looks forward to coming back.
My partner and I stayed at The Briars on the Pay 2 Stay 3 package, including breakfast and dinner. While we enjoyed having the place mostly to ourselves on the two weekdays of our stay, we felt that the value for money - even on this package - was lacking. Everything is a little tired, a little broken, a little slow, a little unprofessional. Soggy and worn out Christmas decorations sprinkled the grounds despite it being late March (we're talkin sleighs and elves, not just the occasional twinkle light). There was a ring of rust around the bathtub drain. The table on our balcony had one broken leg. Two trays of room service food were left in the hallway for 48hrs. The pool was out of service. The wifi was choppy. The TVs in the rooms were logged into past guests' Netflix/Crave/Prime accounts (the staff is aware of this and seems to think it's funny). There was no cleaning service for the rooms, allegedly as a covid precaution. Not sure that argument flies in a place that's offering spa treatments and restaurant table service - seems more like a cost cutting measure. So we had to continually ask for fresh towels or a resupply of toilet paper (you've never seen such low quality toilet paper btw). The staff were very friendly and accommodating, but service was slow and lacking in refinement. One night, our dinner order was messed up and we were offered a free beverage to make up for it; however, upon seeing that I was pregnant, they revoked the offer. One night we waited 5 minutes simply for spoons with which to eat our desserts. Overall, we had a nice stay, the food was decent, the rooms met our needs. But even with the package deal, we felt we overpaid for the quality we received.…
I don’t usually write a review but I wanted to warn people. I came for a spa day and stayed overnight. The hotel is dated. The spa experience was very disappointing. It was not a relaxing environment (the staff were yelling across the room from each other (very unprofessional), the "spa" area was dated and didn't even feel like a spa, no tea offered, I felt rushed out, etc.). I had three treatments (massage, facial and a body treatment) and all were subpar compared to ones I have had in the past. For the overnight stay, the hotel room itself was disappointing and looks like a motel (see pics of washroom). Even the quality of towels were rough and motel-like. The breakfast in the morning was abysmal (Saugy eggs and cold hard French toast buffet style). Spent almost 1000 dollars for the spa + a one night stay and it felt like I was in a motel. Don’t be fooled by the nice pictures online on their website. The quality for what you pay is extremely low. There are many other nicer resorts and spas in Ontario that you can choose from that offer far higher quality for a similar price.…
From the moment we arrived until the time we departed the attention and service we received was all first class. From Dave who heads up the Bar and Services who went above and beyond to make sure both our breakfasts and dinners were to our liking and even made up special plates for us, thank you Dave. To Beca whose warm and fun personality made our tour of the grounds and hotel extra special. I recommend taking this tour with her as we found it quite enlightening and intriguing, don't forget to ask about the haunting of Room 217 if you dare. The room although not huge has everything one could need and was very clean. The food was excellent as well as the staff in the dining rooms. We had late reservations but were never rushed, in fact quite the opposite. I highly recommend The Briar's for a quick little getaway, we will be back indeed.…
Brier counter staff were informative, made good use of common sense thinking and were flexible where COVID protocols allowed. Our guest room and the multitude of small sitting rooms at the Brier have "authentic ambience" and are clean, well maintained and functional given that this is an historic and expansive building. Restaurant staff were professional, efficient and welcoming. The Brier Resort has much to offer for activities. The Gym is small but well appointed with multi station and cardio workout equipment. I would grade the recently updated pool, hot tub and sauna as A+. If you are looking for modern appointments in rooms and chrome and sparkle features of a high-end resort destination, you won't find much of that type of experience at the Brier. For my wife and I, the Brier checked off most of what we value in a short-stay winter getaway destination.…
Was very disappointed when we made reservations for Christmas Dinner and was told that there was a Christmas menu. When we arrived and were seated we were handed a pub menu. I asked the waitress and she advised that it wasn’t served until later. Yes we made reservations early for 3:30 but they said on the phone it will be the dining menu that was online and a Christmas special. We couldn’t even order a steak. Did not feel like pub food for Christmas so we ended up leaving. The staff was very kind and seemed a bit embarrassed. Thanks to Ramada around the corner, we have a fabulous Christmas dinner that ended the evening perfect!
Some parts of the hotel shows its age, stayed for a work event, food was good but not great, pool indoors was nice, rooms were looking worn. Grounds are excellent. Best part were the staff, top notch and friendly! Satisfactory COVID protocols
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