Fairholm National Historic Inn

What People are saying

Fairholm in November

Bruce B B Bon 09/11/2017 15:11

Fabulous, just fabulous. started with a free upgrade upon arrival to an amazing suite. We were going to stay one night and move on, but a helpful staff member did such an amazing job describing our food options a short walk from the Fairholm that we had to add an extra day to fit them all in. It awakened us to the fact that the Fairholm, and Charlottetown, are much more than a summer getaway. We had one of our best weekends ever, I highly recommend the Fairholm in late fall-winter to build a mini-vacation getaway around the food and entertainment options available downtown without the busyness of summer. It was awesome to then come home to a cozy, 500 sq foot luxury space without our kids and pets. Highly recommended!

Five Star Price-Three Star Service

Sandnseashellson 22/10/2017 23:59

Opted to give a rating of Very Good as our suite was definitely above Average but there were some disappointments.

Let us start with the positives. Great location for downtown Charlottetown. Free parking and wi-if. Coffee machine in lounge area, with muffins and cookies ( which were not great to eat but the gesture was nice).

We enjoyed the whole ambience of the Brecken Suite...the old beams, the huge bed, jacuzzi tub and just being at the top of the house. The only downside was that there are a lot of stairs to reach the suite and the offer of assistance with our luggage at check in, would have been much very appreciated. A missed opportunity to go that extra mile for guests.
Bathrobes were provided in the suite but these had seen better days and are long overdue to be replaced.
Breakfast is served a short walk away at the Hillhouse Inn and whilst there were many guests at present, we did not see them at the Fairholm Inn which made for a very quiet stay. Another positive!

Breakfast service. Whilst this was adequate, there is room for much improvement and it is certainly not worthy of a five star rating. Neither in food standard or service.

E.g. if you provide a napkin roll of silverware, which contains one small spoon and then serve granola and yogurt unaccompanied by silverware, what do you do? Use the spoon for your youghurt or use it to stir your coffee? Irritating. Dirty dishes should also be cleared out of the way before the next course is brought. One morning, both of our crockery plates had chips out of them. Ugh! We wouldn't have this at home so why would it be acceptable here? The menu always had the same items with one 'daily special'. The granola and room temperature yoghurt had the same fruit on top every day which would be so easy to change up. In fact, one small slice of melon and a half slice of orange stuck on the side of a warm plate with your omelette was rather disappointing. At this pricepoint, we expect sea salt and pepper mills, not those awful cruet sets containing 'dust'.There are so many ways to improve what's on offer here.

The property is quirky, historic and charming. With age comes creaks and imperfections which you should allow for or else book a modern hotel.
There is, however, no excuse for basic service. The three young Staff we encountered were all pleasant and casual in their approach but need more training in hospitality and service. With a Five Star rating comes an expectation of the little things being right and an attention to detail. On check out for example, it would have been courteous to ask if we had enjoyed our stay.
We would respectfully suggest that the owners/management, book themselves a stay at Abigail's in Victoria, Vancouver Island to experience what five star service should look and feel like.

Historic Property Current Day Gem

KKfromPAon 11/10/2017 23:00

We recently stayed four nights at Hillhurst, one of the Fairholm Historic Properties. Our room was comfortable, quiet and clean. We were impressed with the friendly, courteous front desk staff and the breakfast room waitress who started each of our days with a friendly smile and great service. Each breakfast featured a choice of five entrees plus a special of the day. The Properties are within walking distance of the Confederation Center, Victoria Row, the Visitor's Center, the waterfront AND too many great restaurants to count! There is a terrific coffee station near the front door. Coffee, Lattes, Cappuccinos, and tea available 24/7. Wish I had one of those at home!! This Inn is a great place for a stay in downtown Charlottetown.

Beautiful property and apartments

Kimraemon 02/10/2017 21:22

We stayed in Charlottetown 4 days at this property. We had a standard apartment in the carriage house. It was beautiful and modern. We had a large shower, soaking tub, balcony and a fireplace. It was a very quiet place with a beautiful common area right in downtown Charlottetown. We were able to walk to many restaurants and pubs as well as having the water front minutes away. They provided a fresh made to order breakfast each day and the bread was out of this world delicious!The staff was very nice as well.

Mixed blessing

Daniel Lon 27/09/2017 20:30

My wife and I recently stayed at the Cranford Inn portion of this property for several nights. When we made the reservation the previous owners were still involved and we were not aware of the transition to new management. On the plus side, this property is very nicely located in a quiet neighborhood just out of the downtown so it is very convenient. There was plenty of staff available and they had coffee, water, and treats available wost of the time. We found that there was inconsistent follow through on both service and cleaning. The carpet in our room stained with wine and needed a general cleaning. All in all, it was a good stay, but these things should be taken care of.