Windermere Manor Conference Centre

I stayed here for two nights for a competition at Western University. The place is very far away from the main roads and really has a countryside feel to it. The outside buildings look gorgeous. The staff are kind and helpful. The quality of the rooms does not really match beautiful exterior of the building. It is average. The pastel colour of the walls and general décor of the rooms seemed a tad old. The rooms were poorly lit and one of the lightbulbs in my friend’s room above the table was broken. Breakfast is also average. They have very fast and free wifi. The website says this place is a very short walk from Western but if you are going there, make sure you know what building it is. It can take more than 10 minutes going up and down hills/​stairs (which is painful when you are going to a formal event in a skirt and heels).

I stayed at the Windermere hotel this past weekend and had an alright experience. The staff were reasonably friendly but didn’t take the time to really make sure we had a great stay. Service was quick upon check in but there was no help offered with bags and very little if any direction given to the rooms.
My room was quite nice, it had two queens, a tiny kitchenette and a living room. It was clean except for the suspicious white splatter on the wall across from one of the beds (needless to say I slept in the other). The décor was definitely outdated with forest green carpets, and a wallpaper flower border along the wall in place of molding. However that really wasn’t an issue for me as it was well maintained and the furniture (bed, couch) was extremely comfortable.
I did have a few problems with the room, those being the location, the smell, and the noise. My room was in the basement which I thought was extremely odd. It did have full sized windows which faced onto a bit of a ravine which was nice save for the fact that they were all unlocked which felt a bit unsafe (especially for a single woman staying alone in the suite). The smell of the room was a bit unnerving as well. The whole bottom floor of the hotel smelled extremely strongly of chlorine (despite the hotels lack of pool), and my room smelled like burning plastic. The burning smell event away after the heater was turned off, but I’d much rather have been able to leave it on as it was freezing out.
I didn’t sleep well and was woken up by loud voices coming from the room upstairs (the walls are quite thin). This did however give me a chance to catch the included morning buffet. The food was average; typical tasteless hotel eggs, bacon, cold sausages (ick), and potato hash. There was also some granola and some bread for toasting. The honey they make at the hotel was in offer as well, I thought it was kind of bland and I couldn’t really determine what all of the fuss was about. The selection wasn’t as big as I would have liked, but it was ok and I left reasonably full.
Overall not an extremely positive experience, but not terrible. I wouldn’t stay here again.

The Windermere Manor is a quaint hotel nestled right outside of the Western Ontario University, in London Ontario. The hotel is actually owned by the university and boasts beautiful landscapes and centry old-​buildings. The architecture of the hotel is beautiful — it looks like it was built in the late 1800s. The hotel is clean and quiet!
The bedrooms are a bit outdated in style, and there aren’t man frills to staying at this place. Rooms are decorated in the late 1970’s décor — complete with floral wall paper and carpet, wood tables, and vintage nightstand lamps. But, that is what makes this place quaint and cute. You can sleep with your windows open and view the outside forrest and lake. If you are lucky, you’ll see deer and other wildlife hanging around. Also unique about this manor is that they have bee-​hives on location, which they sell fresh honey and hair products (shampoo, conditioner, body wash, soap) made of the bee’s stuff. NICE!
The best thing about this manor is that the staff are AMAZING! Starting at the front desk with Sarah — I think she is the front desk manager. Super friendly with a «Can Do» attitude. Her other staff members at the front desk — Catherine (and Gwen? Sorry, don’t recall) — are also super happy. I especially like the fact that they were willing to help schedule rides and make dinner reservations for guests. [Side Joke: Sarah, build your staff the Yellow Brick Road!].
While there, dine at the Windermere Manor Café. Server /​Manager Jason and his staff are SUPER friendly. The restaurant has some great food (I suggest the weekend buffet with prime rib, or the fish and chips off the regular menu). The servers are super nice and friendly.
Hotel Facilities Grade: B (but the grounds and architecture are BEAUTIFUL!)
Hotel Staff Service Grade: A+
Hotel Food Grade: B+ /​A–
Overall Grade: B+ /​A–

I organized my wedding and ceremony for this site and the support I had from the staff here was nothing less than perfect. Julie-​Ann worked with me to make sure the event was a success, and she was very patient and helpful with all my questions. The setting here is really wonderful for a smaller wedding with an intimate, elegant tone. There isn’t a great need to spend a lot on decorations because the space is already so beautiful, but staff here can recommend excellent event decorators and florists if you want one.
The only drawback was the A/​C wasn’t working properly and it got very hot in the grand hall. I could tell the staff were working really hard to deal with the problem, and they did everything they could to keep people comfortable. They were consistently professional and friendly, which is a lot more than I can say for many banquet halls. The food served here was really quite something — the chef provided a Vegan and Vegetarian friendly buffet with options for meat lovers, and I had dozens of compliments over how tasty everything was and how much people enjoyed themselves.
I’m so grateful this wonderful place offers reasonable rates with such exceptional service and support. Definitely consider holding your event here! There is plenty of free parking and I can’t wait to come back here and stay in the hotel again on my anniversary!