We’ve stayed at lots of different places over the years, and I’m sure we’ll continue to try new ones - always in search of a better deal. Here are
overviews on the places that we’ve stayed.
The Days Inn On The Harbour
We really like the The Days Inn On The Harbour. The best thing about this hotel is the location. You really
can’t beat it, especially when taking the Clipper or the Coho. You literally walk across the street and you’re
there. You don’t have to haul your
luggage across town! The restaurant downstairs is decent for Happy Hour type
foods, but a little overpriced. It’s not bad when you consider that it's on the
Inner Harbour. The rooms don’t
have AC, so that’s a huge downside in the summer. There are no refrigerators or Microwaves in the
rooms either, which is a pretty big negative for us. We like to hit the bottle
shop up the street and try out local brews, and having the fridge to keep them
cold is handy! They have the tiniest showers ever in the Single Queen Rooms, which is a bit odd. There is
a little Liquor store attached to the hotel, and they sell chips and snacks,
which is nice. There is an outdoor
heated pool and a hot tub that is open seasonally. They do have free onsite
parking, which is really rare for downtown Victoria, let alone on the Inner
Harbour. They don’t have a complimentary
breakfast, but trust me, you won’t want to eat it anyways with so many amazing
options in town! I love it because I
have never gotten a bed spread there, which is rare for the price!!
The Huntington Manor
We stayed here for our 2nd Anniversary when we were dating. We
were still poor college kids, it was
cheap, and I hit a good winter sale that included parking. The room was decent, ours had a
kitchenette. The hotel is very outdated,
but that kind of fits in Victoria. Hunting Lodge theme with lots of plaid
and florals isn’t in anymore, but it fits the feel of historic Victoria. The lobby and halls have
some charm, the rooms not so much. It
was really outdated, and it had bed spreads.
It was clean in the room, the halls not as much. The location
is pretty good, just a block or two further up than the Days Inn. The big sell for us since we were there in
the January were the Hot Tub and Sauna, which we used a lot.
Embassy Inn
We booked our stay at Embassy Inn through LivingSocial. We got a great price. I had high hopes, because their prices seem
to be high, a lot higher than the Days Inn.
We went in January, again for our dating Anniversary. I think we were the only ones there, we never
saw another guest. The beds were not comfortable,
and they didn’t have fitted sheets, so those came off in the middle of the
night without much tossing or turning. The
room was very clean, but nothing to write home about. It sorely lacked personality, and it was very
outdated. I don’t’ remember if it had a
bedspread, I think it did. It did have a
fridge, and it had a bath tub. The
location was the best thing about this hotel, it’s just a block further off of
the harbor, and a few more up from the Days Inn. It’s on the same road as the Government
Building. Overall, I wasn’t
impressed. It’s not a bad stay, but for
the price, you’re much better off with the Days Inn.
The Bedford Regency
The public areas of The Bedford Regency could use some love. I remember this hotel back when I first
started going to Victoria, it seemed to take a lot more pride in itself back then. Since the mid 90’s it doesn’t look like they’ve
done much to keep up their lobby area. This
hotel will always hold a special place in my heart, because I had my first
Afternoon Tea there. I was five, and I
had a very unfortunate incident involving a crumpet. Now the hotel lobby has been awkwardly
divided in half and there is a coffee stand and café in there. My guess is that they needed extra rental
income with the tough economy. The tea room is now a gay bar called The Lounge,
so a lot has changed. The elevator looks
like it has some sort of weird stick on laminate / fake wood, the whole thing
really needs some work. The front desk
was nice enough, but really lacked professionalism. It felt a bit like checking into a hotel in a
Muppet movie.
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| Overlooking Bastion Square |
What’s great about it? Location, location, location!! This
hotel is located right on Government Street, and is right next to Bastion
Square. You’re really right in the heart of everything. Murchie's is literally
downstairs and next door, which is a HUGE plus in our book. We loved being half
a block from Irish Times, and block from Bard and Banker. They are two of our
favorite pubs. They always have live music, and the atmosphere and décor are
amazing, I’ll talk more on them in the restaurants section. It’s also nice to
shorten our walk to our favorite cheap by the slice pizza place. We always head there to bring a couple of
slices back with us after we’re done and ready to retire for the night.
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| View From Window |
When I walked into
that room, I fell in love. This has been
our favorite room in Victoria, the only one that came close to it was the
Magnolia. I’ve read reviews where people
call it outdated. To those people I say:
you’re staying in Victoria, a city known for being historical. You’re staying in a historical hotel, if you
wanted a sheik modern hotel look elsewhere. If you are looking for a room that
takes you back in time, this is it! We
got a Superior Room, per a LivingSocial Deal. Our room had HUGE old windows
that opened out onto lovely flower boxes, with a beautiful view of downtown and
the Inner Harbour, complete with giant window seats. The paint was a warm peach color, very art
deco. The bathroom is open to the rest
of the room, but separated off by a huge antique sliding glass door. The tub is a big jetted one. You can sit in
your tub and stare at your amazing view if you’re so inclined. If you’re a couple that likes privacy in the
bathroom, this may be a little awkward for you. A lot of people want the charm
of old homes or hotels, but they want modern conveniences. You’re going to have a hard time finding that
combination in either for a decent price.
That’s probably why we got such a great deal on our house, we’re able to
go with the flow, adapt, and overlook the sometimes awkward quarks that come
with old buildings.
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| Patrick Trying to Nap in Our Bright Room. Bathroom in Background. |
The room has a seating area with a lovely wood burning fire
place, and they provide you with wood.
Yes, you can have your own wood burning fire. Where else do you get that
in a downtown hotel?! Above the fireplace is a good sized flat screen TV, which
came in handy for relaxing a bit in the evenings. The room has a wet bar, and a small fridge,
which is nice for keeping a few drinks and left overs cold. There was not a microwave though. The bed was very comfortable, and the bedding
was wonderful. Nice fluffy white sheets
and a duvet. Included in our
LivingSocial deal were dining vouchers to the Garrick’s Head Pub, and a bottle
of Champagne on ice. I can’t tell you
what a nice kick off to our one year wedding Anniversary that was. It was a beautiful sunny day, we were able to
check in early when our boat landed, around 11:00. We went up to our room, and the sun was
pouring in those big beautiful windows. When we opened the windows we could
smell the flowers, and hear a street performer playing Sinatra on his Saxophone.
I think I just sat in that window sipping Champagne and taking it all in for
well over an hour. Now that is how you
start off a vacation!
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| Fireplace and TV |
I’m not sure what the parking situation is here, but if you walked
on the Clipper or the Coho, and you’re okay with hauling your luggage around
the Inner Harbour, and up about 3 blocks it’s well worth it! You can always
take a cab if you’d prefer. If you’re coming in on the BC or the
Washington State Ferry, it’s right in downtown so it’s easy to get off on
Douglas and walk.
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| Sipping My Champagne, and Enjoying the View! |
The normal prices for this hotel seem steep, but we loved it
for the price we got through LivingSocial.
I booked another LivingSocial deal for this hotel for the Spring for my
Mom and I’s Birthday Girls weekend trip. Hopefully it’s as good the second time
around!
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| The Windows |
The Magnolia Hotel & Spa
If you feel like splurging a little, and you’ve been really
good on all of your other costs, I highly recommend the Magnolia Hotel & Spa. We’ve stayed there a few times, and
it is our favorite overall hotel. You get what you pay for. The décor is flawless, the rooms are immaculate,
the location is amazing, and the staff is unbeatable.
The draw backs? Obviously it’s a little expensive, and some
of the views aren’t the best. The bathroom lights are really funky. They are florescent energy savor ones. I’m
all for going green, but it’s annoying and doesn’t fit to have your light buzz,
blink, and take several seconds to come on in such a nice room. The have beautiful showers, and huge soaker
tubs. There is not a bathroom fan
though, just a constant air circulation system.
I kind of like bathroom fans to act as white noise so I don’t hear the
street noise or doors slamming in the halls. The breakfast is sorely lacking,
but at least it comes with one. We always just eat at Murchie's anyways. You do have to pay for parking, but that is
true of almost all hotels downtown. There is a restaurant downstairs, and if
you are in a room above the sidewalk in front of it you can get smoke from
smokers coming in your room, which is annoying.
For our mini-honeymoon we splurged and got a room with a
view of the Empress and the Government Building. We got engaged in front of the Government
Building, so it’s one of our favorite things in Victoria. The room was amazing,
but painfully expensive. It was our splurge of the trip, one I don’t think we’ll
make again any time soon.
So this is one of the most expensive hotels in town, yet I’m
cheap. How does that work? Well, I am
cheap, but I’m also about value. I feel
that you get a lot of what you pay for here. Also, I always book more than 30
days in advance and I get their 30/30 deal. Book 30 days in advance, get 30%
off. That brings this down to the cost
of a moderately priced hotel. I also try to stay here in the off season when it’s
cold, wet, and I don’t want to walk all the way around the harbor in the
freezing rain to get to our favorite restaurants.
AirBNB & Trip Adviser Rentals
We have not used these yet, but we plan to in the near
future. Victoria is not a dog friendly
town. There are few to no patios where your furry friends are welcome. This is not because the restaurant owners are
cold, dog hating people. The government and health regulations up there
strictly limit it. Pet fees are a little
steep at most hotels, and a lot of them have rules against leaving your dog
alone in your room. Almost none of them have reasonably priced dog walking
services. This means, that if we want to
go up and bring Tango, we need to stay someplace where we can keep her in our
room if we want to eat a meal at a table not inside of our room. That leaves you with two options: A, you can
get take out for every meal, and pay extra for a room with a balcony and a
table, or B, you can go for an AirBNB or Trip Advisor rental that allows
pets. They are usually much more of a
walk, because they are in residential areas. On the upside, this is the city of
gardens, so it’s easy to find one with a nicely landscaped yard, and an outdoor
eating space so you can enjoy something other than the inside of your hotel room. It is also probably more acceptable to leave
a well behaved crate trained dog in one of these lodgings, than in a hotel with
thin walls. Ask your host first though!
The prices vary greatly, but there are several reasonably priced options.
The Empress
I have never stayed at The Empress, to be honest I’m not
sure I ever will. It is a bucket list
item for me, so I really should. Every time I go to book though, I back out. Their
prices are high. Even for a standard room, they are high. They don’t offer many
discounts. From the reviews I’ve read, their rooms could use some TLC, and they
seem to be riding off of their name. I’ve
heard if you’re getting something really nice, like in the $500-$2000 a night
range the rooms are well kept, and the service is excellent. If you’re staying in one of the bottom of the
line rooms, the service and the rooms are sorely lacking. The rooms also don’t have AC, which is a big
draw back when you have a husband that can’t sleep when it’s too hot. It is
arguably the icon of Victoria, and as a little girl I dreamed of staying
there. As an adult who pays the bills, I
can’t justify it. I don’t want to pay
more than I would pay at the Magnolia for a subpar room. They are one block
away from each other, so there are no added bonus points for location. View
rooms come at a high premium on either hotel, so that also doesn’t add to
it. The only draw I can see to staying
there, is just to be able to say you’ve stayed there. The Empress also does
have a pool, but if you don’t use it then it doesn’t matter.
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