Once in a while comments are made that give one pause for consideration. This is one of those.

The desk clerk may or may not have been checking her Facebook status or some other thing, which on a Sunday night in a small town in British Columbia will help the staff to fill in some time on what is usually a pretty slow and uneventful evening of the week. In days of old they would have looked up from a book they were reading or maybe a crossword puzzle. It's called 'life' folks and that is what staff do all over the world when you the traveller are not spending your two or three minutes checking in. I am sure the lady at the desk found that a customer who just stands and stares to be a little weird too, but I can only guess.

So the guest found an efficient check in to be a little impersonal and for that we apologize. That is not our style. But what we do focus on is: Did we get the details right? Did we get the guest checked in to the correct room and type and is all well with the guest? Apparently those details were lost on this particular guest. Oh well.

Now this last point about the check in is critical: We do not tell any guest their room number, especially so with female travellers. This is a policy for our guests security. Period. It is bad, bad policy to announce to a hotel lobby and anyone therein the room number of a guest staying with you. Can you say... Confidentiality? The room number is and was clearly printed on our preregistration key envelope so that the guest knows where to stay. Obviously our super secret technique worked because the guest did in fact find her way to her room.

Although our sinks are new, installed during our bathroom renovations this past fall, they may like any sink, lose a connection with the drain stopper. If it can happen at home it can happen in a hotel. I am glad that the efficiency of our maintenance crew was acknowledged in getting the problem fixed at earliest opportunity.

We have a two story hotel and no, there is no elevator. If we had a third story, we would add one. Most two story hotels are like us and if stairs are an issue for you, we can accommodate you on our main floor.

Our exercise equipment is older but it all works well though I have never been able to figure out how to set the stats on any piece of exercise equipment anywhere. I get on a treadmill, I walk or run then I turn it off. I get on a bike and peddle till I'm tired then I get off. Perhaps there is something about working out that is more important than the anaerobic exercise and working up a good sweat, but I have yet to determine that thing.

Over the course of the guest's stay she found the front desk staff to be outgoing and in her words, loud. Good. They always will be. We run a hotel, not a morgue and our staff are encouraged to be outgoing and friendly, not dour faced automatons standing like sycophantic robots waiting for an idle stare to roust them into action. We try to foster a work environment where the staff will enjoy their jobs and yet perform their tasks well and accurately. We have done so for over 24 years and will continue to do so as long as I run the place. Our regular customers are very, very appreciative of this and they love to return. Many will get a hug and a dozen smiles to go with their chocolate upon arrival. (Join Best Western Rewards and get yours too!!) So no apologies will be made now or ever for our staff being people while they do their jobs. You have my word on that.

We will do our best to respond in point form as the review was written.

Check In: No issues and we're glad that no chocolate was wasted on a guest that would only complain about the shape.

Room: A standard room is correct. We're a Best Western, not a Four Seasons. Every year there are a few people that may not like the sound of an in wall air conditioner / heater, but since there is no such thing as a silent one, unless it is turned off, we do the best we can. They are energy efficient, really quite quiet and they work very well. The other 14,000 guests that stay with us each year don't have issues with them, so we'll go with the majority.

The Beds: New Serta Presidential Suite Pillow Top mattresses were installed in October of 2011. You will find the same mattresses in Westins, Fairmonts and other leading hotels of the world. Other guests rave about their comfort. We'll side with them.

The Internet: All Best Western hotels are required to provide secure internet access to their guests. Ours is above standards and as secure as can be. What we don't do is ask for your information. Nor do we track your bandwidth usage or log any of your personal information like many other hotels do. That, does not make you more secure. Our speeds are five to ten times the Best Western standards. We provide our guests with the fastest available connection speeds, you simply can not get faster without direct to outside hard wire.

The Bathroom: The bathrooms are of a slightly older design style, but are clean and comfortable though about 6 square feet smaller than a newer design. We've checked for any signs of mildew and could find none in any of our rooms with shower stalls. We invite potential guests to check for themselves. And since when is it wrong to put extra towels on a clean shelf?

Restaurant: It is too bad that the guest didn't stay and eat in our establishment, our food is among the best in the chain and much better than the 'real' restaurant that the guest went to.

Check Out: Sorry if we didn't spend time chatting.

Overall: We're glad that this guest won't be back. We'll focus on the ones that will, all 14,000 of them.