Hilltop Motel

Unsurpassed courtesy by staff. Jim, manager, is an asset; available 24/7 and extremely helpful. Next morning I picked up two cups of coffee at the office. Cups were blistering hot. Proprietor, himself, grabbed them from my hands and delivered to my room, pronto. Is this friendliness or service - or both. Never experienced such warmth in my stays at resorts in Mexico, Costa Rica, South Africa and Sri Lanka, etc. The room: 2 double-bed facility over 2 day stay is compact but adequate. Cushy pillows and firm mattress are part of Motel's overall update effort. Step-up to room entrance was uncomfortably high requiring me, at age 83, to conjure a small wooden step-stool placed outside of door. But that is my personal issue. Last room in the row being farthest from road traffic is quiet. Neighboring vacationers/room occupants, were helpful. Friendliness is catchy!!

Plenty of choices for places to stay in Kingston, but we needed a budget motel due to a lot of near-term traveling. Hilltop Motel had decent reviews, so we tried it for our one night stay in town. Yes, it's a no-frills older motel, but our room was nicely updated, the beds were very comfortable, and the room was surprisingly quiet for being just off a very busy road; the only noise was an occasional snowplow clearing that busy street during a late-March snowstorm, and a train horn at a not-too-distant grade crossing (but it wasn't blaring, just mildly noticeable). The only complaint we had was that the mock-wood floor was gritty throughout and needed a good sweeping, vacuuming and mopping. Granted, it's a challenge to keep floors clean during a Canadian winter when the room exits right to the parking lot. But instead of simply making noise about this in a post-stay review, my wife spoke to management when we checked out to let them know the floor needed attention. Hopefully, they will pay closer attention to the floor (the rest of the room was clean). We would stay here again if we are in the Kingston area, but the floor best be clean.