Bottom Line: The hotel is beautiful and very well-maintained, the rooms are spacious and luxurious, the location is excellent, and the friendly and professional staff provides true 5-star service. We have fairly high standards and this was one of our best hotel experiences. We are very much looking forward to returning.
My wife and I stayed at The Bruce for two nights for a short relaxing getaway during the week in mid-August 2022. I booked a "Deluxe Garden King Bed" room online directly through the hotel's website. However, shortly after we arrived, we switched to a 'Superior Garden King" in order to get a full-sized balcony with chairs (the website can be misleading re: which rooms have full balconies and which do not). The room itself was huge with luxurious features. The bed was extremely comfortable and everything was very well-maintained. French press coffee maker and coffee in room along with wet bar, kettle, fridge, closet, a number of drawers, safe, desk, lounge area with table, and coat hooks and bench at entry. Large windows that open. Double doors to patio. The highlight my have been the enormous spa-like bathroom. The hotel felt traditional but also new. Good layout with easy access to parking garage, main lobby, and other amenities (we didn't use the pool, hot tub, or gym on this trip). Loved the accommodations overall.
Service was very impressive throughout our stay (probably the best part of the trip) -- thanks to Brad and Rebecca who greeted us on Day 1, and the entire staff (sorry for forgetting some names). They provide everything you would expect from a 5-star hotel. Staff were always friendly and helpful. They seem eager to do anything they can to make your stay comfortable. Being a small hotel, it was nice to have many of the staff remember our names when greeting us in the lobby or at the restaurant. Some highlights for us included the complimentary coffee service to the room, 'cookie hotline', and turn-down service. I also appreciated the doorbell and privacy system (electronic vs. door hangers).
Breakfast was included in our booking and we enjoyed the selection and quality of the food. While not every item was a hit, the food was very good overall. We were able to select from the a la cart breakfast menu and had access to the full menu.
*I alluded to this earlier, but for those who care about the balcony/patio, it's important to note that if you want a walk-out balcony or patio with seating, I believe you must book a "superior" room ("deluxe" rooms only offer a very small Juliet balcony - still with big beautiful double doors, but you can't go out on it and relax). The cost to upgrade is relatively minor (about $35 at the time of writing) and definitely worth it if you like being outside. Everything on the website seemed to suggest that all garden view rooms had the same type of balcony. Thankfully, a room with a full balcony was available and we were quickly moved -- *I really appreciated the staff doing this. We didn't even request a room change (they acted on it so quickly we didn't have much time to); Rebecca could tell I was disappointed during our room tour and we got a phone call from Brad at the front desk within minutes to arrange a move to another available room.
Again, The Bruce is a special place to stay and Stratford is a fun little town to visit. We can't wait to go back.
