I really, really wanted to like Burnt Bridge Lodge. I was looking for a scenic, quiet, clean,…read morecomfortable place to stay. The online description & photos of Burnt Bridge Lodge were lovely, & owner Kirstin Mann seemed personable, so I pre-paid for five nights.
We left after just one night.
While the surrounding forest is beautiful, Kirstin's property is ...junky. Not an inspiring view. The little apartment is cute, like in the photos. What the photos don't show is the clutter of garage-sale knickknacks & furniture; the need for a thorough deep-cleaning (pet hair, dust, grease); & the pervasive smell of soup or curry or something, along with a whiff of cat. After we left, I had to wash all of our clothes to get the smell out.
The central heating wasn't working when we arrived, so Kirstin gave us a space heater to use. However, to run the space heater (or wash dishes, take a shower, or do laundry) one must go outside to turn on an incredibly loud generator. Kirstin asks that guests run the generator only two hours per day. So we ran the space heater for a (loud) while, ate dinner wearing our coats, & went to bed early.
The bed in the upstairs loft was comfortable, but the pillows were awful. There were plenty of overhead lights in the apartment, but no decent reading lights. There was a buzzing electrical outlet in the kitchen that I couldn't ignore or figure out how to fix, so I put in earplugs to sleep.
Kirstin has a friendly dog, but it barks. She said that while she has a bark-collar for the dog, she didn't have batteries for the collar, so she put the dog inside her downstairs apartment while she was away working a night shift. Unfortunately, in the morning, any time we raised our voices above a whisper, the dog started barking.
The final straw was opening the gas-powered, old refrigerator in the morning & finding that our week's worth of groceries - lots of meat, dairy & eggs -- were lukewarm. We packed up & left.
In communicating with Kirstin by phone & e-mail, she feels that some of these problems could have been solved by calling her at work. (In itself a little challenging as there's no land line & cell phone coverage is spotty.) My feeling is that the onus shouldn't be on guests, particularly when paying more than $100 per night, to troubleshoot one problem after another. I feel that basic things -- like central heating & a fridge cold enough to keep food safe -- should be worked out well before guests arrive. I really don't want to problem-solve, or deep-clean, or just make do when I'm on vacation, & particularly when paying a steep price to be there.
Instead, I would highly recommend staying at the Oceanfront Suites on Cowichan Bay, which, like Lake Shawnigan, is a bit of a drive outside Duncan, but well worth the trip. The friendly & helpful front desk staff gave us a super-quiet studio with stunning floor-to-ceiling views of Cowichan Bay, a little beach & marina, & the mountains & sky beyond. Our studio had an efficient little kitchen & easy access to laundry facilities. The whole space was impeccably clean, comfortable, low-key & serene. It cost about $20 per night more than Burnt Bridge Lodge.