Briars Resort and Spa

The hotel was very musty smelling and we saw mold on the walls. We had to wash everything when we got home. Even clothes we hadn't worn. The room was okay but the bathroom needs work. The hotel is not accessible other than the ramp to get into the hotel. There is an elevator to go to the spa but there are stairs to get to it. The food was pretty good and reasonably priced. The pool was nice but you had to go down a flight of stairs to get to it. Overall the building needs a fair amount of work. On the upside service was very good.

The location is beautiful and the staff is super friendly. They treated us well and the food was great. However, the indoor pool was chilling! It was not heated at all. The front desk overcharged us (they charged taxes over the total amount already with taxes, plus another $192 with no explanation whatsoever). They did not reply to my question about the taxes and did not refund.

My husband and I have been to the Briars many times in the past before the new owner took over. We had certain expectations. We looked forward to dining in the large dining room with linen tablecloths. Instead we were told we would be dining in Drinkwaters which is basically a pub. Our table was beside a window which was filthy and covered in bird droppings. The inside of the window frame was stained from water leaking in. Certainly not the class I expected from The Briars. I will say that the dinner was very good but I didn’t go to The Briars to eat in a pub. So many things were in disrepair. The stair carpets were torn and threadbare. In the games room downstairs the covers were off the electric baseboard heaters and just lying on the floor exposing all the wiring. In our room which had been renovated we were supposed to have a clock radio, an iron and ironing board and a safe. These were all missing. The screen door to the balcony was broken. There were no drawers in the room. There was a new table/desk with no drawers. It was a deluxe room with only 1 chair. One of the things I was particularly looking forward to from my past visits was sitting in one of the cozy sitting rooms with the fireplace going and making a cup of tea or coffee from the selection they always had available on the buffet. They no longer make tea and coffee available in those sitting rooms. You have to buy it and carry it to one of the sitting rooms. Every resort I’ve been to has free tea or coffee available at all times. In summary, the class I always attributed to The Briars is gone. It was very disappointing. We will not be back and I hope this review helps people like ourselves who have fond memories of The Briars of the past.

It was outdated, tub/shower mouldy, bathroom counters too low, not standard. I felt like I was in a fire hazard waiting to happen. Kitchen was apparently under renovations, but it would have been nice to have hot coffee and pastries in the foyer area in the morning. Just because whatever they supply in room was pretty awful.

Good overall. Clean. The room service is slow a bit and there was no food service which we know about after booking and required going out for food or drinks envelopes small snacks

******* mentioned breakfast is included which isn’t included after we paid online and we went there it’s been mentioned to us later…Not even the bath tub was clean ….

We had a wonderful stay at the Briars resort for new years eve (3 couples). The food was excellent! The staff were all very friendly and accommodating. I found the prices were good for what we got (2 nights in a suite, 2 breakfasts & 2 dinners and a DJ for new year's eve). This was my 3rd time going and I absolutely love it there. I want to thank all the staff for giving up their new years eve by working, we all had an amazing time !

The property is an interesting old mansion with lots of character in the layout . Our only complaint was the games room, which needs some maintenance; light bulb out over pool table, the bridge cue is missing and there is only one worn out piece of chalk. The shuffleboard is also worn out.

Kitchen was under renovations, so no meals involved. Walked the building, was like being in an old century home. Beautiful grounds. We coukd use the fireplace in our room, which was added bonus. Will return.