I was in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, recently on business, and decided to stay at the Holiday Inn in Sydney, the island’s main city.
The hotel is located on the waterfront, overlooking the Sydney Harbour. Though it is winter and some of the water remained frozen, the view was quite spectacular.
The Frozen View of the Sydney Harbour
The Room at Holiday Inn, Sydney, Nova Scotia
The Room at Holiday Inn, Sydney, Nova Scotia
The room was spacious with two beds (for some reason I had booked it that way). As usual, the room was equipped with an alarm clock, coffee maker, widescreen TV, closet, iron etc. I found a couple of wall outlets, including one on the bedside lamp, to charge my devices. A mini-fridge is also available. The toilet-bathroom was clean, with sufficient towels and toiletries.
The Room at Holiday Inn, Sydney, Nova Scotia
There was no central heating, and I had some difficulty setting up the room’s air conditioning unit as I could not see a central thermostat. I got the unit going but it took me a while to get the heat button right. However, the room my colleague stayed in did have a central thermostat and a more modern looking air conditioner.
Other Amenities
There was breakfast available for a charge but I did not have my breakfast there. There is an automatic coffee machine that dispenses many types of including flavoured/non-flavoured cappuccino, latte etc, and in the afternoons lemon- and orange-flavour induced water dispenser is placed near the reception.
The Breakfast Room at Holiday Inn, Sydney, Nova Scotia
The hotel is setup with sufficient communal space for chats or meetings.
Communal Space at Holiday Inn, Sydney, Nova Scotia
Communal Space at Holiday Inn, Sydney, Nova Scotia
The hotel provides free wifi for the guests and its reception in the room was great.
The Bar
The bar has food and drinks, including cocktails. The seafood chowder was excellent with liberal amounts of seafood. The staff were also willing to go the extra mile to make customers happy. They also offered to make us lobster meal for dinner if we would give them notice in the afternoon, but as much as I wanted a lobster dinner, I could not make it because of a tight and often changing schedule.
Final Notes
Toiletries Provided at Holiday Inn, Sydney, Nova Scotia
The biggest attraction of the hotel is its staff. They are very courteous and helpful. When I needed a cab to go to the airport, they were ready to help.
We had to organize a business meeting and decided to have it in the hotel itself, in one of the communal spaces. One of the staff members saw us having the meeting and promptly offered to bring us coffee, which was a great and professional gesture.
