During our three night, four day stay in and around Steveston, we ended up in two separate rooms…read more(I'd originally booked two nights, later adding a third, but our first room had been booked for the third night during the interim), had breakfast in the café (once), and popped in and out of the attached liquor store (staffed by the same employees as the hotel) a handful of times to take a night cap back to our room, so we pretty much experienced everything this place has to offer.
Check in (and out) was simple, pleasant, and efficient. Parking is included in the room; just give them your plates and your description of your car, and you're good to go for the entirety of your stay, and beyond; when we asked if it was okay to remain parked there after checking out, while we wandered about the town a bit, we were informed we were cleared to remain parked there for two more days(?!). Overkill, but hey, nothing to worry about then, eh?
Our first room, a spacious affair that included a King-sized bed and a massive jetted tub (in addition to the shower in the bathroom) my wife affectionately called the "Honeymoon suite". The bed, pillows and sheets were incredibly comfy, and we both slept well (the same was true of the bed in our second room). The tub, spacious enough for two (or more?! *wink wink*), never lacked for hot water. The room itself was clean, if sparsely and somewhat cheaply furnished; the bathroom similarly spotless, but better appointed. However, there were definite signs of age and wear evident on the walls, window sills, cracks and crevices, all somewhat inevitable in a building as old as this. My wife and I aren't picky, using hotels almost exclusively for sleeping and bathing, so as long as things are clean and tidy, little nitpicks like this do not bother us.
I couldn't get the AC unit on the wall to respond to the provided remote at all, though, so we settled with opening the windows to cool the room down at night. We are unbothered, and even enjoy, the sounds of night life activity, and as there is a restaurant/pub ALSO attached to the hotel/cafe, on the other side of the liquor store, there was plenty of activity outside into the wee hours of the night.
However, one thing that should be mentioned, even if it did not affect us directly: since all of the rooms are upstairs, one wing of the hotel runs along the 3rd Avenue side of the building, and as such, some of the rooms lie directly over said restaurant/pub. This means that the rowdy drinkers, DJ and karaoke caterwaulers can be heard clearly in these rooms, and the hallway, until closing time, which is 2:00am on the weekends. Now, our room was in the corner furthest from the pub, so we didn't hear a thing while inside, but even opening the door into the hallway, the source of the noise was unmistakable, and I imagine that light sleepers, and those easily perturbed, would not be able to ignore it. It would bother my wife and I, but we're...a different breed of weirdos.
As for the café itself, open only for breakfast, brunch or lunch, was serviceable without being remarkable in any way. Think Denny's, Shari's, or the Canadian equivalent of either, and there you have it. As I said before, we only ate there once; we moved on to the Cannery Cafe down the street, and other places, on the following mornings.
All things taken in consideration, the most important aspect of the Steveston Cafe & Hotel (as a hotel, anyway) is location, and with few other marks against it (at least in our opinion), my wife and I agreed that we would definitely stay here again during a future visit. If you appreciate its many conveniences, while also accept its many quirks, you'll probably enjoy your stay here as much as we did...provided you can shut out, ignore, or appreciate the noise. If you can, the comfy beds here will guarantee a good night's sleep!
