Steve

We are staying at the Inn at Keltic (couldn't get in to the main lodge). I read a post that said to avoid the Inn. Has anyone stayed there?

Susan

Steve, here's what to do: Keep calling them until they get you a room @ the Main Lodge. Ask to be put on a waiting list. And, keep calling their 1-800 # until they get you in @ the Main Lodge! Believe me, you will get in when someone calls to cancel. I have done it many times & the reason I do it is b/c "The Inn" is to be avoided at all costs! It reminds me of run down ski accomodations: very basic rooms. The place shd. be razed & reconstructed. And, keep in mind that the dining room is in the Main Lodge so you will have to hike up the hill every morning for breakfast. Not a big deal if the weather is fine but in the rain who needs that? There is a coffee shop across from the Inn but it, like the rooms @ the Inn, is very basic. Now go call that 1-800 #!!!

Steve

This seems like a real hassle. For the price we are paying at the Inn, it seems they should have the place in good repair. I am thinking of even canceling. Are there any other suggestions around this area for a nice place to stay (traveling with two children 8 and 12).

xxx

Steve,<BR><BR>Are you looking for accommodatins similar to the main lodge at the Keltic? Are you looking for something elegant or just something good at a decent price. I'm not sure what rate you have for the Inn at Keltic but I have always found the whole property to be overpriced.<BR><BR>We usually stay at Ingonish Chalets for about $129 CND per night. That gets you a cute little two-bedroom chalet across the street from the beach. There are other places too but I don't think you will find anything in the range of the Keltic Lodge. By the way, depending on the rate, the inn is disgusting - it is just very plain and basic. However, I was never very impressed with the rooms in the main lodge either. The only accommodations I like are the chalets which are exactly cost effective for 2 people!! Maybe try the Glenghorm (sp?) or Atlantic Beach Resort. Also try this website for other places: http://home.istar.ca/~coastmap/accing.htm

Susan

Steve, yes it is hassle. But is it worth it? Yes, if you get a good room in the Main Ladge (some have been renovated, others not). You may want to consider staying in Baddeck @ the Inverary (sp?) Inn which is a very fine<BR>place to stay. You can drive up to Ingonish for the day: Spend some time hiking, go to the beach & have lunch @ Keltic. The setting really is spectcaular but I do not think that you wld. be happy @ the Inn. Another possibility is to stay @ the Ingonish Chalets (Have not stayed there so I cannot comment) or some place else in Ingonish as suggested by xxx & make reservations in the Main Lodge @ Keltic for dinner. Let us know what you decide to do.

Steve

Thanks for all the suggestions. We are looking for something not necessarily but clean and furnished nicely. We picked the Keltic Lodge because of reading about it, but now I am not so sure. The rate is $360 CA for one night including dinner and breakfast.We are actually driving from PEI early in the morning and taking the ferry, driving around Cape Breton. We thought staying in Ingonish would be a good stopping point. How much further is Baddeck? We wanted to go the next day to Alexander Graham Bell site and Louisbourg. This sounds like a lot of driving, but we have a little bit of a tight schedule.

xxx

I agree with the recommendation for the Inverary Inn. It is quite nice and Baddeck is the starting/ending point of the Cabot Trail. Baddeck is also only about 2 hours from the Fortress of Louisbourg. The are some other nice places in Baddeck too. There's the Lynnwood, the Broadwater Inn, Giselle's and the Castle Moffett.

Steve

Thanks for all the lodging suggestions. One more question, how far is it from Baddeck to Halifax?

mea

Hi Steve, I'm from Cape Breton and have a few suggestions I hope will be helpful. First I'll answer your question about the driving distance from Baddeck to Halifax.... about 3.5 to 4 hours. I would suggest that you travel from the PEI ferry directly to the Cabot Trail starting at the Baddeck entrance. You could have lunch in Ingonish at the Keltic Lodge and see the sights. Then as you continue your drive around the trail you could stay at the Markland Resort in Dingwall. I have stayed there when they first opened and it is a beautiful resort. They have log chalets as well as rooms and their own private beach. The rates are much cheaper than the Keltic and in my opinion the resort is much nicer and newer. They also have excellent food, see the website for more information, rates etc.<BR>http://www.marklandresort.com/main.html<BR><BR>Then the next morning you could continue your drive around the trail through the Aspy Valley and on into Cheticamp and Margaree and back to Baddeck where you could visit the Alexander Graham Bell Museum and see the sights in the village of Baddeck. Then it is only about another hour's drive to Sydney and another 1/2 hour to Louisbourg to see the fortress. You will need some time to explore Louisbourg Fortress so you may want to spend the night in Baddeck or even in Louisbourg or Sydney. Drop me a line if I can be of further help.

Steve

Mea - thanks for the suggestions. Are there long waits for the ferry? We were thinking it would maybe take less time to drive the bridge rather than drive from Charlottetown and wait for the ferry. Is the ferry ride about 75 min? We will drive the trail that day, staying near Ingonish. I will call the Markland Resort. It sounds nice. We are thinking of staying in Louisbourg. Do you have any suggestions for a place to stay with two children (8 and 12)? Thanks again!

mea

Steve,<BR>I think it would take you less time to take the ferry. It would be a lot of driving to take the bridge back to New Brunswick then travel to Cape Breton. Yes, it's only about a 75 minute crossing and they have lots of sailings this time of year so I wouldn't expect much of a wait if any. Here is the Northumberland Ferries website for further info:<BR>http://www.nfl-bay.com/nfl/index.html<BR><BR>Then you would only have about a 3 hour drive to Baddeck. As far as staying in Louisbourg, I live less than an hour away from there so I have never stayed there so can't speak from experience. However, there is a new place there called "Point of View" that looks very nice and has lots of stuff going on there for kids too. They are right on the beach and have lobster boils, clambakes and tell local stories for their guests in their beach house. Here is their website:<BR>http://louisbourgpointofview.com/<BR><BR>Also, here is another website about Louisbourg and you can click on the lodgings link to see the other accomodations available there:<BR>http://louisbourg.com/<BR><BR>The kids will love the Fortress too! Glad to be of help. Let me know if there is anything else I can help with.

Dot

I've stayed at the Inn at KEltic - last year actually. There was nothing wrong with it. It was newly furnished and had great views from the ocean side. It's on a peninsula so I guess every side is ocean side!! The food and staff are great so I don't know what the problem is. And yes, breakfast is inthe Main Lodge but it's only a 2 minute walk away - you're on vacation - get out and get some fresh air!!!<BR>

Todd

I noticed a few replies back that someone said that Baddeck is the beginning and end of the Cabot Trail - WRONG!!! Look at a map - it actually isn't on the Cabot Trail. You drive right by it if you stay on the actual trail. The Cabot Trail starts at a place the locals call "The Red Barn", you go through Margaree, Cheticamp, PLeasant Bay, Cape Noth, Ingonish, over Cape Smokey Mountain, up the North Shore and around the St Ann's Bay Loop (where the Gaelic College is) then back to the Trans Canada Highway which passes right by Baddeck. And no matter what you are told, there are lots of places to eat and sleep along the trail - you don't have to be based in BAddeck.

Jan

Family of four with two boys, 11 and 14, just returned from Cape Breton and Keltic Lodge. Drove from PEI to Keltic Lodge via ferry--long day to say the least, 7:30-4:30 and we lucked out getting on the 8:30 ferry. It's about 4 hours from the causeway up to Keltic Lodge going the short way through Baddeck and up through the east coast side rather than up and around the west side. Was told at information booth at causeway it would take 2.5 hours that way and the other way would take 5 hours. Road construction, many RVs, and other slow traffic. Can't imagine how long it would have been the long way round--7 hours??<BR><BR>We had a room at the Keltic Inn that was terrible--very plain and it reminded me of a cheap ski lodge, too. No balls for the pingpong table; most of the balls for the pool table were missing. When we asked the staff about getting more, they were clueless about that possibility. Tried for weeks to get into Main Lodge with no luck. None of the rooms in the entire property have beds for four, which they neglected to tell us. Rollaway for $331 CND a night was not our idea of nice. The food was wonderful, but we didn't really care about that. Dinner took almost two hours which was a bit much even for our older guys. Breakfast buffet was good but very crowded. The setting is majestic but that couldn't console us either. The weather was bad too; overcast and rainy. We left early and were not charged because we complained right when we arrived and said we wanted to leave after one night instead of two. Drove to Halifax; that took about 5 hours. I'm sure Cape Breton is lovely in good weather, but it's very remote and FAR from the rest of Atlantic Canada. Wished we had skipped it and spent more time in southern Nova Scotia, Lunenberg, Wolfville, etc.

Susan

Just got back from a 2 week trip to the Atlantic Provinces. Leave the good part of a day for the Louisbourg restoration--it's fascinating and educational for adults and children alike (lots to keep the kids interested). We stayed in Sydney (about 20 minutes from the restoration) at the Cambridge Suites hotel--beautiful, large,clean modern suites with separate living rooms, all the amenities and a friendly, helpful staff (seemed like home. Just to add to the list re. Baddeck, we stayed at the "Silver Dart Lodge" which has a range of accomodation and is a beautiful, well maintained property. Have a great trip--we loved ours.<BR>

Steve

We just returned from Nova Scotia trip and loved Cape Breton! The Inn at Keltic was just fine. It was newly remodeled and clean. We had a room with a queen bed, single bed, and pull out sofa which was perfect for us and our two boys. Our meal was lovely and we had good service both at dinner and breakfast. We thoroughly enjoyed it! <BR><BR>P. S. Didn't have any problems with ping pong balls...