It wasn’t the luxurious, immense room. It wasn’t the attentive service. And it wasn’t the Shakespeare dresses from Stratford plays. Heck, it wasn’t even the cute bunnies scampering along on the green grass near our patio.
No, if you ask me the thing I’ll remember most about my recent overnight stay at Stratford’s The Bruce Hotel it will be the cookie hotline.
Some hotels have fresh cookies waiting for you in the lobby when you come home from dinner, and that’s nice. But the Bruce takes it a step further. If you take a look at the phone in your room, there are two buttons showing hotel services.
One says “Front Desk.” The other says, “Cookie.”
When we had checked in, a hotel employee showed us our room and had mentioned the cookie bit. But we got busy touring around the city, and then had dinner downtown.
The cookie hotline at The Bruce Hotel in Stratford, Ontario. Jim Byers Photo
When we got back to the hotel we made a quick dash to the patio to enjoy a fine summer’s evening with a glass of wine. Suddenly, my wife turned and said, “Jim! We forgot the cookies!”
Two minutes later we were nibbling on chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies, watching the sun slide down and the bunnies dashing about on the grass.
I could post a photo of Marilyn Monroe waiting for me on a chaise lounge by the side of a pool in Tahiti and it might get four or five comments. My Facebook post about the cookie hotline sparked interested from friends across North America.
“I need this in my life,” one person wrote.
“I’d have that on speed dial,” another said.
FIVE DIAMOND CAA RATING
A special phone line for cookies is a clever point of differentiation. But you don’t get a five-diamond rating from the Canadian Automobile Association’s super-fussy hotel reviewers simply by delivering chocolate chip delights to someone’s room.
A room at The Bruce Hotel in Stratford, Ontario. JIM BYERS PHOTO
This is a hotel that offers true elegance and luxury in a delightful city maybe 90 minutes west of Toronto. The word oasis gets flung around far too often in the travel biz, but sometimes it’s true.
Opened ten years ago on the site of the former Brooks Steam Motor company, The Bruce sits on 6.5 acres of lush, green space and has just 21 rooms, as well as four suites, and a two-bedroom cottage. It’s super quiet, and the rooms are immense (600 square feet of luxury).
All guest rooms have a sitting area, wetbar, spacious bathrooms with a tub and a large shower, and French doors leading to a private patio, balcony, or Juliette balcony. Our room (on the south side of the building and the east end) had a patio with pretty stones, lush greenery and comfy, dark wicker chairs.
The lobby is a work of art in and of itself, with a giant map of the world from Shakespeare’s time on one wall, plus a scattering of chairs and sofas and sumptuous dresses worn by Stratford actresses.
A cute bunny at The Bruce Hotel in Stratford, Ontario. JIM BYERS PHOTO
As we walked to our room I was taken by a couple of things. One was a little sitting area with regular-sized chairs and chairs for children. Opposite the seating area was a series of books you can read while you’re there. There were several books with blue covers, which our hotel guide told us are available to take home for free.
I was also struck by the coffee pantries; two good-sized open areas with a Nespresso machine, a refrigerator with milk and cream, a frother to make cappuccino or a coffee latte, and a constant supply of granola and biscotti, which were of a thin and crispy variety versus the thicker kind I’m used to seeing.
The walls are decorated with lovely, local art and the service is quiet and impeccable. I don’t know that I’ve been asked this before, but when we checked out the young woman at the desk smiled and said, “Did you remember to check your room to make sure you didn’t leave your chargers or other necessities?”
GREAT, LOCAL FOOD
We had dinner reservations elsewhere, but we enjoyed a nice lunch on the quiet, shady patio out back. My wife had three small, good shrimp rolls with homemade potato chips ($29), while I had the Croque Madame with Coppa ham and cave-aged Gruyere Mornay cheese ($24). We also enjoyed an excellent rose wine and a nice glass of Washington state Cabernet Sauvignon.
Shrimp rolls and homemade potato chips at The Bruce Hotel restaurant in Stratford, Ontario. JIM BYERS PHOTO
There’s a tapas menu after 2 p.m., but between 11:30 and 2 p.m. it’s brunch only.
At breakfast the next day we didn’t see fruit on the menu, but our server asked if we wanted any. The scrambled eggs were perfectly silky, and the croissants some of the best I’ve ever had. Our server told us the baker comes in at 3 a.m. to get started on the croissants.
The culinary team takes pride in featuring the finest ingredients from Huron Perth County, sourced from trusted local farmers, artisans, and suppliers. It’s one of Ontario’s top growing areas, and local shops offer up everything from great cheese to tasty pork products and fresh pies.
The Bruce has a pretty cocktail bar with hand-crafted offerings, and they have nice, sunny rooms for weddings and parties, or for small work sessions. There’s also a business centre.
We didn’t get a chance to try either, but there’s a nice, good-sized gym and a pretty, indoor swimming pool (wheelchair accessible) and hot tub. They also can set up an on-site spa treatment.
The lobby at The Bruce Hotel in Stratford, Ontario. JIM BYERS PHOTO
The Bruce Hotel is on Ontario Street, Stratford’s main street. It’s a very short walk to the Festival Theatre, so it’s great for Stratford Festival lovers. It’s roughly five good-sized blocks from downtown Stratford, which has wonderful shops and restaurants. The visitor centre downtown sells fun Savour & Sip Trail tickets, which allow you to explore local retailers and restaurants for everything from exotic popcorn flavours to olive oil and ice cream.
WHAT I LOVED: The service, the huge rooms, the patio, the bunnies, the lavender-scented towel we were offered before lunch, and the free newspapers in the lobby in the morning (a sure way into an old newspaper guy’s heart). We also loved the free morning coffee delivery, and, of course, the cookies!
WHAT I WOULD CHANGE: The brunch menu is fine for breakfast, but they could use a few more options at lunch time. My breakfast sausage was rather tepid.
TENTH ANNIVERSARY PACKAGE: To celebrate their tenth anniversary, the hotel has a Bruce VIP package, designed for those who seek the epitome of luxury and personalized service. The package is available until May 2025.
