Ho(s)tel recommendations in Victoria, BC?

June 21, 2007 1:40 PM

Lodgings in Victoria, BC?

I'll likely be attending a completely awesome conference in Victoria, BC in October. Booking the hotel is up to me. The conference is at U Victoria, and I'm really interested in any or all recommendations for places that are at least moderately safe and reasonably cheap. This place looks pretty interesting, but I'm not sure if the ~5 mile distance from it to UVic is a dealbreaker or not.

Any hotels in Victoria you'd suggest? Thanks much!

posted by the dief to travel & transportation (8 comments total)

I just looked at the conference website you linked and the conference is actually taking place at the Delta Victoria Ocean Pointe.

If you were to stay anywhere downtown, you can either walk, bus, or take the harbour ferry across the harbour to the hotel (there's a map of their stops here.
posted by some chick at 2:46 PM on June 21, 2007

(Fully Completely's ladyfriend) - Last year I went to a conference held at the University of Victoria. I stayed in summer accomodations at UVic's residence. They are cheap, clean, and safe - I highly recommend them. However, UVic is kind of far from everything that isn't UVic, so if the conference is actually downtown, it'll be a bit of a hike.
posted by Fully Completely at 3:13 PM on June 21, 2007

UVic is miles from downtown; more a drive than a hike.

If it is downtown, take a look at Harbour Towers. Decent size suites, cool views, not too expensive (for Victoria).

Whatever you do, book soon. Victoria is a year-round tourist town and hotels can get booked up.
posted by timeistight at 5:26 PM on June 21, 2007

The Victoria Marriott (right behind the Empress) is pretty reasonable, and a 5 minute walk from the Delta Ocean Pointe.

However, if you can get a room at the Delta, I advise it. Good hotel, and you're getting a bloody good rate there, based on their normal rack.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 6:05 PM on June 21, 2007

I'd stay at the Delta. You can walk across the blue bridge into downtown Victoria and mosey around.
posted by Savannah at 6:13 PM on June 21, 2007

You can get from downtown to the University in about a half hour at almost any time of day. There is an abundance of bus routes (4, 14, 11, 28, etc....)

The hostel you are looking at is located downtown as well. I've been inside and it seems nice enough. If the main attraction is price, then be sure to check out the Traveller's Inn which at one downtown location has rooms for $49.99 a night and is as nice as any regular hotel.

If price doesn't matter, I'd recommend a bed & breakfast in James Bay. You'll meet nice people and have a good breakfast.

And if you want to stay close to UVIC, Fully Completely is on the right track with the summer accomodations. Check the UVIC housing website for more information. I disagree with the statement that there's not much around UVIC though. Check out Mt. Doug and Mt. Tolmie while you're around the University for some great views and make sure to find time to walk down to Cadboro Bay.
posted by ageispolis at 6:48 PM on June 21, 2007

Depending on when you're going and how small your budget is, you might consider staying in campus housing, if they have rooms available.
posted by acoutu at 8:05 PM on June 21, 2007

Thanks a pile for the recommendations, folks! Yeah, it looks like I'm going to hit the conference rate at the Delta Victoria, provided there's still room.
posted by the dief at 4:01 AM on June 22, 2007