Front of property - evening/night

Reviews of Sands on Golden Lake

3 out of 5
Sands on Golden Lake
13163 Highway 60, North Algona Wilberforce, ON

Reviews

8.8

Excellent

Rating 10 - Excellent. 130 out of 252 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 93 out of 252 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 21 out of 252 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 6 out of 252 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 2 out of 252 reviews" "

9.0/10

Cleanliness

9.2/10

Staff & service

8.4/10

Amenities

8.4/10

Property conditions & facilities

8.4/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Wendy, Sutton West

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2023
Response from Front Desk on Mar 21, 2024
Thank you for your review.

6/10 Okay

Patrick

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

10/10 Excellent

Robert

Stayed 1 night in Oct 2023
Response from Innkeeper on Oct 18, 2023
Loved having you here!

8/10 Good

Lissa

Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
The view is breathtaking, the duck poop all over the beach and floating in the water less so, but I understand that the ducks float to this property because at this time of year, they’re not hunted
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2023
Response from Innkeeper on Oct 18, 2023
It is so great that you enjoyed the lake and the view. We don't usually have many ducks so are surprised you had an issue with bird poop. It has never been a problem for us. We will keep an eye on this. Thank you for your feedback.

4/10 Poor

Wesley

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Meh
Cabin was advertised air conditioned but is not. staff was snarky when asked about it( 40’C that weekend). Had to buy a portable one from walmart. Bathtub was dirty. Great location, lake is beautiful.
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2023
Response from Innkeeper on Oct 18, 2023
The rooms in the hotel are all air conditioned. The chalets and cabin on the lake are not air conditioned -- and they are NOT advertised as air conditioned. They are directly on the beach and most guests prefer to leave the windows open and enjoy the cool breeze from the lake and the ceiling fan. The bathtub absolutely did not look like that when you checked in. Housekeeping did a thorough clean of the bathroom ahead of time, then the room was double-checked before you checked in. I am sorry that the lack of AC disappointed you. But be assured that nowhere is the cabin advertised as having AC. If you approached front desk politely and somebody there was snarky to you, I do apologize for that.

8/10 Good

Rhianne

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2023
Response from Innkeeper on Oct 18, 2023
We hope to see you again.

6/10 Okay

Cyndi

Traveled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Disliked: Staff & service
Rooms were clean
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2023
Response from Innkeeper on Oct 18, 2023
SO pleased you enjoyed the clean rooms. I hope you will come back someday soon and enjoy the beach.

10/10 Excellent

Steve

Traveled with partner
Liked: Amenities
All rooms face the lake so the view is great. Rooms are clean and the staff are friendly and helpful.
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2023
Response from Innkeeper on Oct 18, 2023
We love to be helpful, so I am glad we achieved that. Thank you for your visit. Please come again.

6/10 Okay

Wayne

Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023
Response from Innkeeper on Oct 18, 2023
Please come again.

6/10 Okay

Tracy

Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
The location of the Sands on Golden Lake is very nice. The beach and entrance to the water is very sandy and the water is shallow for a long ways. It would be very nice for families with small children. However, the property is dated, not as elegant as it is portrayed, and completely overpriced for what it is. The service was not great, in that we arrived early and were essentially told to go away and come back for 3:00 p.m check in. No effort was made to even check whether our room might be ready such that an early check in was possible. Additionally, the restaurant, which was good, but also not as elegant as portrayed, did not open for breakfast. I would not return.
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023
Response from Innkeeper on Oct 18, 2023
Dear Tracy; I am pleased that you enjoyed the beach. I am sorry that the hotel and restaurant did not look as elegant in person as in the photos. We will look at changing our web site and maybe the next round of photos will be more pleasing. Check-in time is at 3 pm. If you arrive early and your room is ready and front desk is ready, we can get you in early. However, sometimes people arrive as early as 11 am looking to get into their rooms. Because checkout time is 11 am, time is needed to clean the rooms after checkout. On the day you arrived, your room was not cleaned early. Remember, we are a 14-room hotel. Most days we do not have an inventory of vacant cleaned rooms that we can offer our early arrivals. Please always call ahead if you need to check in early so that arrangements can be made. Regarding breakfast, weekdays during the off-season, we currently offer a Grab 'n Go breakfast in the lobby of the hotel. It usually consists of coffee, bananas, muffins or pastries, granola bars and porridge. Guests are free to enjoy this offering without extra charge.On weekends, the restaurant is open for breakfast at 9 am. I hope that enjoy all your future travels.

8/10 Good

James

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Great views
The best thing about this place is the outstanding views across the lake. Simple, rustic fare on the menu but you have to order before about 7pm. Nothing open after 8 so if you want to drink bring your own. Large bedroom was very clean despite the whole place feeling a bit tired. Light breakfast and coffee to set you on your way.
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023
Response from Innkeeper on Aug 27, 2023
It was a pleasure hosting you. Thank you for your feedback. We are pleased you enjoyed the view here and hope that you will return for another visit.Cheers!

8/10 Good

Barb

Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023

10/10 Excellent

Satsh

Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023

8/10 Good

Jeff

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Gre
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023
Response from Innkeeper on Aug 27, 2023
We appreciate your feedback. I am going to guess that you were about the type "Great" but got cut off. We hope to see you again sometime.

8/10 Good

Norman

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Disliked: Amenities
I liked the room and property. Didnt get any information about the property or amenities on check in.
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2023
Response from Innkeeper on Aug 27, 2023
Dear Norman; I am sorry that you did not get some information that you had hoped for. If you come again, I will be sure to make sure front desk tells you all that you need to know.

6/10 Okay

GREGORY

Disliked: Staff & service, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2023

8/10 Good

David

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Lovely peaceful decor, close to lake.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2023

10/10 Excellent

Kevin

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Excellent place to just rest and relax. The beach is nice and sandy and water was very warm. It was quiet and the restaurant had good options. It is not a fancy place but excellent for a relaxing trip.
Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2023
Response from Innkeeper on Aug 27, 2023
Dear Kevin; Your feedback is so appreciated. We will continue to try to provide good options in the restaurant. And we will continue to try and provide relaxing accommodations.

4/10 Poor

Mathew

Stayed 1 night in Jul 2023

10/10 Excellent

gail

Traveled with partner
We had a lovely lake side room, very quiet. The staff was very friendly, food was good as well.
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2023

8/10 Good

Lexanne

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
It's difficult to rate this property, there was so much that was great and so much that was not. I'll start with the great; - very large remodelled rooms with fridge, coffee maker, small table & tub chairs, beds are comfy & rooms seem soundproof - wonderful beach & lake views from all rooms - great location, on the highway, lots of parking The not so great: - 1 ply TP (annoying & we use twice as much) - no microwave - Restaurant closed Mondays and only open 3 hours for supper other days, no breakfast hours - 1 server in dining room at supper, 7 tables occupied she had to tend bar. PLEASE, hire more staff, its not fair to your staff and certainly not fun for guests (some walked out) - great menu on-line (with salmon, pickerel, trout, steak, ribs etc), but that's not what was actually available, it was roadhouse / burger & chips fare. It was ok, but nothing to get excited about - the lawn could use mowing - not all rooms had lawnchairs, we had to go searching - the cigarette butt pails could use some sand (they were stinky) perhaps even new buckets - lots of cobwebs under the outside decks (above where we sat on the ground floor) & appear not to have been swept in quite awhile - they're in the process of freshening up the white paint outside (looks nice) but why paint the stair treads white? they're already dirty, they'll stay dirty, looks bad, use another colour In summary, would I stay here again? Probably, but I'd see what else was in the area first.
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2023
Response from Innkeeper on Oct 18, 2023
There is a reason we have one-ply toilet paper. This is a country property and so is not on the city sewage system. We have a septic system, which operates much more efficiently with single-ply as it degrades faster... We do sweep the cobwebs regularly, but, once again, we are in the country and moments after you sweep, the bugs and spiders get right back into business building their homes... Every room has 2 chairs on the balcony. Every chalet has a picnic table plus lawn chairs on the deck, as well as a picnic table on the beach. We cannot monitor the guests closely enough to prevent them from moving the chairs around, however. So, we do our best to put the chairs back into place between reservations... Regarding the colour of paint on our stair treads -- we find that white is the cleanest look. It is unfortunate that this does not meet with your approval... Regarding staffing in the restaurant -- we are often told by guests when service is slow that the server is doing his/her best, but management needs to just hire more people, What you do not see, is that the server often requests to be on alone. What else you do not see is oftentimes we have a 2nd or 3rd server scheduled, who calls in sick, or claims a family emergency, and there is nothing we can do about that. This community only has so many employable people, and we do not have a long reserve list of emergency back-up servers. Usually, management will step in and fill the void, but when there are several departments short-staffed, there is not enough management to adequately fill in all the gaps. What we do though, is tell people at the door when we are short staffed and let them decide if they want to wait. Oftentimes, they will choose not to, and you will see them leave, which is what you observed. We have some great eating establishments in the area, and when we cannot accommodate hungry travellers, we are happy to direct them to other fine local restaurants... Thank you for taking the time to give your extensive review. If you decide to stay with us again, we will be happy to see you and serve you again. Cheers!

10/10 Excellent

Oleksandr

Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2023

6/10 Okay

Linda

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
the registration desk was not a pleasant experience. The restaurant was good, there was only one waitress and she was excellent. The room was clean and comfortable. We thought we would be able to have breakfast but were informed by the waitress the night before that the restaurant didn't open until 11 am. and that there would be a bagged breakfast, but when we went to the lobby there was nothing there but coffee, one apple, two granola bars and one yogurt. It was a bit of a joke, we found out where the nearest restaurant was and had breakfast there
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2023
Response from The Innkeeper on Oct 18, 2023
I am sorry to read that the registration desk was not pleasant. I have no indication of what your complaint is there, but I will advise all staff to make guests' experience as pleasant as possible. That seems entirely reasonable. We don't serve bagged breakfasts, so I don't know why the server would say that. We have a grab 'n go breakfast from 8 am to 11 am. It usually consists of: coffee, muffins/pastry, granola bar, yogourt, banana and porridge. Most gets enjoy this. However, we are happy that you found a delicious breakfast at a local establishment. There is much good food to be found here in the valley. I hope that you will return again one day and we will give you an even better experience.

10/10 Excellent

Dariusz

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great spot, great owners. Highly recommended
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2023
Response from Innkeeper on Oct 18, 2023
We are so glad you came. Please return. :)

8/10 Good

Richard

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Sorry but the breakfast arrangement was a let down.
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2023
Response from Innkeeper on Oct 18, 2023
We will try to do better.

10/10 Excellent

William, Kingston

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Loved the room, atmosphere and dining. Would recommend a stay here to everyone
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2023
Response from Innkeeper on Oct 18, 2023
Thank you so much for the wonderful review. We look forward to hosting you again.

8/10 Good

Eric

Business traveler
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Lovely property along the lake. A bit old but unique.
Stayed 1 night in May 2023
Response from Innkeeper on Oct 18, 2023
We are so glad you came and hope to see you again.

10/10 Excellent

Gerald

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Beautiful lake and walk out to beach.
Stayed 1 night in May 2023
Response from Innkeeper on Oct 18, 2023
Please come for a return visit. Thank you for taking the time to give us the review. :)

8/10 Good

Laura

Traveled with family
Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Pit stop at Golden Sands
Lovely people who were willing to accommodate us at short notice for dinner, room was spacious. Bathroom a little dated but nice shower and everything worked. Nice spot on the lake, balcony door mozzie screen was full of bugs on both sides so could do with a clean. Gardens were nice, well kept, a few adirondack chairs to watch the sunset would have been lovely.
Stayed 1 night in May 2023

10/10 Excellent

Mike, Brantford

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
We have stayed at the Sands on many occasions and really love it there. The new ownership have made upgrades to the rooms.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2023
Response from The Innkeeper on Apr 29, 2023
Dear Mike, Thank you for your positive review. We love having you here.

4/10 Poor

Judy

Traveled with family
Liked: Amenities
Disliked: Cleanliness
Beautiful setting on lake with beach front options. Unfortunately the room we had booked was not cleaned so we unknowingly walked into dirty room with unmade bed, so kinda started off our stay on a sour note. Hoping to turn it around, we were told the manager was coming to talk to us. We waited and when he arrived- never introduced himself, kinda said sorry but always away from us never making eye contact, keep insisting he was upgrading us even though we didn't need 2 beds and were in an older room. Was not trying to welcome us or truely apologize just wanted to rush in, fix the problem and leave. Even made a comment to us about a glass of wine his friendly staff offered us as we were waiting. Like he had already gone above beyond with a $10 glass of wine. I know everyone is hard on money these expensive days but a little eye contact and making your guests feel welcomed goes a LONG way. The rest of the staff were very pleasant and we enjoyed the wonderful views. Could be a VERY sought out place to stay with some improvements.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2023
Response from Innkeeper on Apr 17, 2023
Dear guest; Thank you for your feedback. You WERE initially directed to a room that housekeeping had not yet cleaned. We apologize for the human error that we made there. In my experience while travelling, when I have been mistakenly directed to the wrong room, I have returned to the front desk and simply been handed the key to another room. I am very surprised to learn that a personal apology from the general manager, him paying for your glasses of wine, and then a free room upgrade to a suite larger than the style you initially booked -- and you were given two upgraded room styles to choose from -- was met with complaint. The room you chose was not older than the room you were first sent to. In fact, it is a little newer and almost identical to the first room you were sent to, just larger. It seems your main complaint is that you felt that the general manager was not personable enough. Strange, as he usually is very friendly and makes great eye contact. Nonetheless, I have asked him to make sure that in future he greets the guests with a large smile and sustained eye contact. So, should you pass our way again, he will be sure to offer you the warmest of handshakes and hold his direct eye contact. I thank you for your feedback and hope that we shall see you again.

10/10 Excellent

Constance

Stayed 1 night in Mar 2023
Response from INNKEEPER on Apr 17, 2023
Thank you, Constance. It was a great pleasure to have you here. We hope to see you again.

6/10 Okay

Evangelos

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
It’s your typical small-town motel.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2023
Response from Innkeeper on Oct 18, 2023
It is typical in many ways -- but you won't get a room with a balcony overlooking the lake and a beautiful sunset anywhere else in the neighbourhood. Please come again.

10/10 Excellent

scott

Business traveler
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
How they went out of their way to accommodate my schedule. Also the location and view
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2022
Response from Innkeeper on Oct 18, 2023
We are so glad you came. Thank you also for the review. We hope to see you again soon.

10/10 Excellent

SCOTT

Stayed 1 night in Nov 2022

8/10 Good

Robert John

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
This is our second visit. It is beautiful and tranquil The staff goes above and beyond. Food was plentiful and my husband loved his Caesar salad so much that he ordered it again. He loved the desserts. I loved the mussels, but the pasta dish was not exciting. Really the only complaint.
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2022

8/10 Good

MICHAEL

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2022

8/10 Good

Maria

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The location and view from the room was outstanding, staff was very nice. Only the bed was too soft to our taste.
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2022

10/10 Excellent

Diana

Stayed 1 night in Sep 2022

8/10 Good

Inga

Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 3 nights in Sep 2022

4/10 Poor

Karen

Traveled with partner
Disliked: Staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The location on the lake and the view of same was good. The exterior of the building/stairs/balconies was very poor. In the room itself - the beds were comfortable, but everything else needed upkeep - the laminate flooring was in poor shape and lifting creating a tripping hazard; the toilet paper holder fell off the wall. There was no sound proofing - the party next door went in till 3AM and kept us awake. All in all a 3iut of 10
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2022

10/10 Excellent

Tsui-Wen

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Lakefront respite
Lovely staff from check in, then ordering takeaway burger at their restaurant and then breakfast reception. The unit we had had 2 queen beds which I didn’t expect as we had only booked for 1 and it looked straight out onto Golden Lake which is shallow for such a long way that it is like a safe swimming pool, ideal for children. Would definitely recommend this place for anyone leaving or entering Algonquin park.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2022

8/10 Good

Laura

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2022

10/10 Excellent

Venessa, Kitchener

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Friendly and accommodating staff. Room was very clean and spacious. Very happy!!!
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2022
Response from Innkeeper on Jul 20, 2022
Thank you!

6/10 Okay

Andrea

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2022
Response from Innkeeper on Jul 20, 2022
Thank you for your feedback.

6/10 Okay

Peter

Golden Lake
A lovely location overlooking Golden Lake, but the motel rooms are pretty dated, sparsely decorated, and quite humid with a slightly moody odour in our basement room!
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2022
Response from Innkeeper on Jul 20, 2022
Thank you for your feedback.

10/10 Excellent

Mitryam

Liked: Staff & service
Loved being right on the beach. Beautiful view from our balcony. Therapeutic environment much appreciated.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2022
Response from Sands on Apr 26, 2022
Thank you!

8/10 Good

Andre

Business traveler
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
I was I room 15. Both nights I couldn’t sleep due to guest above me stomping all evening and into the night up to 2:00 am. Unfortunate! Room itself was fine but noise emitting from outside the room area was overwhelming. Food in restaurant was quite good.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2022
Response from Innkeeper on Apr 18, 2022
I'm pleased to hear that you enjoyed the food. From time to time we will get an inconsiderate guest who makes a lot of noise at night. Should it happen again, please let front desk know about it and we can ask the inconsiderate guest to be more respectful the next night. It is not a common problem. We generally have lovely, friendly and considerate guests. I'm sorry that this experience impacted your stay negatively.

10/10 Excellent

Dave Stewart

Traveled with family and small children
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
cute place in the middle of nowhere. friendly staff and clean
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2022
Response from Sands on Apr 19, 2022
Thank you!

10/10 Excellent

Wayne

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Sands
Great Hotel service, friendly, clean rooms . A restaurant attached, with a great selection of food.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2022