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    Cambie Hostel

    3.0 (35 reviews)
    Open Open 24 hours

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    Oreo

    If you are considering staying here, please read this. Some context: My close friend and I had been planning this trip to Vancouver for months, and were super excited to stay in the Cambie Hostel in a private 2 person room (no en-suite). We saw nothing but good reviews and thought it would be a fun environment to mingle with other travelers. First off, this hostel is definitely the cheapest option in Gastown, and the location is prime for cool restaurant, bars, shops, and bus stops. We really enjoyed having the bar just right downstairs. However, if location and price aren't dealbreakers for you, I would highly recommend you stay somewhere else. BATHROOM The bathrooms quickly became a stressor. First of all, for a floor of women, there was only two stalls, two sinks, and two showers. It was extremely cramped, and if someone was showering it was difficult to access the stalls. On top of this, the bathrooms were cleaned from 8am-10am/11am every morning, which is prime time for morning bathroom use. It became quite irritating having to plan around this, and made it difficult to get up and moving in the morning. Other hostels we have stayed at before have had sinks and mirrors in the room. It would have been great to have at least one of those in these hostel rooms, and would have eliminated some of the demand for the bathrooms. Additionally, when I did take a shower, the shower water pressure was extremely low, and the stalls in the shower were so small that it made for a pretty limiting shower experience. LAUNDRY After a day of exploring, my friend and I came back to the hostel around 10pm and since we were leaving the next day, we wanted to get some laundry done. We started the laundry once we got back, at around 11:45 my friend went to go pull the laundry out of the dryer, but found the door to be locked. It could not be opened with any of the hostel keys. The laundry hours are from 4PM-12AM, which we found strange and inconvenient considering we planned on leaving early the next morning. When my friend went in the next morning to retrieve our laundry, an employee seemed a bit annoyed at her presence and directed her to our laundry from the night before, which was packed away in a trash bag that was riddled with holes. The laundry detergent that we purchased at the front dest did not seem to work; our laundry had a slight odor and did not seem fully clean. KITCHEN Comparing this to a previous hostel experience, we expected there to be some basic cooking supplies available in the kitchen (nothing fancy, just some salt, pepper, and cooking oil). Be aware of this coming into the hostel, especially if you are staying for a longer period of time; you will definitely have to buy your own supplies. The kitchen space is small, so even if there are only a few people present, it will feel pretty cramped. OVERALL CLEANLINESS The hostel had a very distinct and strong odor (possibly cat litter and urine?) there were certainly an attempt to cover up the smell with very pungent chemicals, but that quickly became even more headache-inducing than the original odor itself. THE CAT (OREO) There was a very sweet, friendly cat named Oreo, who lives in the hostel. We saw many signs prohibiting her from leaving the first floor (where we stayed) because she doesn't have "outdoor skills". However, when we first entered our room, she was outside our window, and we had to let her inside. While the cat was definitely one of the better parts of this experience, she frequently meowed and cried, especially during late nights when the bar was packed. Also keep this in mind if you have any cat allergies. FINAL THOUGHTS With all this being said, if you are someone who likes having downtime in your room and being able to come back to a calming space, this is probably not the hostel for you. Since we were only in Vancouver for a short time, me and my friend ended up spending most of our days and nights outside of the hostel, which limited our negative experiences to a certain extent. We regret to say that we were rather excited to leave the hostel and put it into our experience.

    The front
    Jessica P.

    Wow! I had an amazing time here. I think every experience is super circumstantial, for example, who you meet at the time. This is what made my time here, the people were amazing. Right when I got there, the guy at the front desk, ryan, welcomed me in warmly...then the people in my room were awesome. The community room has it's own charm. The kitchen is not the cleanest but whatever, it is what you make of it. The bed was SO comfortable. The view is absolutely awesome, located in a very cool part of town. This place has character and spunk. When I'm back in Vancouver, I will stay here!

    Free wi-fi! One of the better connections in town too, even outside and up to the third floor
    Noah H.

    I mean, it is what it says on the tin, right? This is the cheapest place to stay in the trendiest part of downtown Vancouver. You really can't beat the location for the price. It's smack in the middle of Gastown, right on Water Street, easy walking from the Metro, and it's well under $100 a night, even for a private room. Since our visit was very short, and we intended to spend as little time as possible in our room, we went with the barebones, most basic place we could find and opted to enjoy our time on the town more than where we rested our heads. That said, it's a hostel. That means shared bathrooms, bunk beds, sparse amenities, and folks up and about at all hours. That said, we were there during a very full time, and people were surprisingly respectful and not crazy at all at night. The bar space downstairs is big and nice, with tons of space, an outdoor patio, and decent food and drinks. If you stay in the Hostel, you get $5 off of any single meal (per person) for one meal. They do have a lot of events, including beer pong tournaments, concerts, etc. so if can be crazy downstairs. But even then, the noise doesn't seem to reach the rooms. The front desk folks are nice, the keys work really well, and they're VERY serious about "no outside visitors, period" for guests. Which cuts down a lot on the possible shenanigans in the room/sleeping areas. The biggest perks, aside from the location, were the surprisingly good wi-fi and the constant stream of visitors from all over the world. Which, if you're looking to travel, meet people, and hear about the world was really cool, and in some ways worth the sacrifices we made in more physical comforts.

    Karaoke party at the Cambie!
    Ron M.

    Great, cost-effective place to stay! The Cambie is located in a great part of Gastown (named after a dude that farted a lot, seriously... Canadians...) And it even has a restaurant and pub built right in, what more can you ask for? Tip: rent bicycles while you're in Vancouver, ride everywhere, it rules. My only con with the Cambie is that the staff seems burned out and under appreciated by the management. I observed a manager nitpick every minute (and mostly irrelevant) detail while this poor employee tried to help customers...super lame. She was great though, he, not so much. Anyway, stay there, it's fun and cheap. Vacation!!!

    This is the condition of the room we had to stay in. Please notice the 10 inch knife sticking into the floor
    Tim B.

    My two friends and I wanted a place to stay for the night around the Gastown area of Vancouver. I stayed at the Cambie about 5 years ago and had a nice time. We booked ahead of time so we knew we would have at least a room and it being a shared room, we thought having one stranger wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. Well we were wrong! The girl at the desk while checking in mentioned he'd been there a long time but was cool. We opened the door to the room to find this huge mess of clothes and empty beer bottles scattered everywhere. What scared the crap out of all of us was the 10" knife sticking into the floor!!! The room smelled like piss and I asked the guys if we should just find another place, but it was really late, and if we did leave and go somewhere else then we wouldn't get any sleep. We stopped into the pub on the main level and had a beer then went back up to bed. The one guy staying in the room was now in his bed. We quietly got into our beds but he wakes up and thinks he's seeing 4 of us when there is only 3, and I quickly notice he's definitely on some kind of drugs...he seems like he's tripping out and I tried not to talk to him. We get into our beds and do the best we can to sleep but this guy is making weird noises and coughing all night. That wouldn't be the worst thing in the world but he gets up out of his bed over and over in the night and paces around the room. Oh and that knife that was stuck into the floor, it was missing and we now feared for our lives! I never slept that night and my two friends didn't either. We laid on top of our sheets in all of our cloths and kept at least one eye open the whole night. I partly blame myself because we didn't just leave the second we walked into what looked like a horror movie, but by the time we came back the second time it was very late and I assumed this Hostel wouldn't have placed us into a room with a murderer...it turned out instead he must have just been a crack head because we didn't die that night... I will never put myself or my friends into a situation like this ever again! AND I hope no one else ever does either!

    my bunk in a double bed room it technically could fit 4 people easily.

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    Review Highlights - Cambie Hostel

    We had planned on exploring the city but ended up spending each night in the Cambie bar, chatting with other travelers.

    Mentioned in 2 reviews

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    Samesun

    Samesun

    3.8(69 reviews)
    1.1 kmGranville Entertainment District, Downtown

    Make sure to bring a towel and flip-flops if you're planning to take a shower. Also bring shampoo…read moreand soap, considering their version looks like it would contain sulfites. The bathrooms have a lot of toilet tissue on the floors and they have signs that ask them to be notified if it's not clean but I didn't have time to wait. I didn't take a shower because there wasn't a lot of space to put my stuff down in a clean area. The bathrooms are shared, but they do have a really great mirror to put on make up. Extremely cramped living quarters with very little space to put luggage down. They require you to buy a lock for $8.95 if you want to stow valuables and it's a big bulky lock, that's heavy and you probably don't want to buy (wish they would rent the locks because I have no other use for this bulky thing). The worst part is the stairs... It would be a great work out, except that it's super annoying when you have heavy luggage to carry upstairs multiple flights of floors. There is no elevator, there is no AC, you better arrive tired because it's pretty loud at night. This hostel is 3 stars imo but I gave them an extra star because their staff is super friendly, it's a good location, their breakfast is convenient (fresh bagels with fruits and vegetables), and Vancouver needs more budget-friendly options.

    I went there today to check it out because we never know if the photos make justice to the actual…read moreplace, especially when the location is shady like it is in Ocean Beach. I'm a very calm, sweet and good looking young woman and I'm not going to be humble about it. There was no reason for that bald male receptionist to be that rude to me given all the sketchy ppl that usually go to Ocean Beach. If you're a nice female customer, I would look for a safer location, and would never put your safety at risk on that place. The customer that was there was looking at me like he wanted to apologize for the receptionist's rudeness. It was really bad. I understand that ppl are not allowed inside to see the place for safety issues, but there are way kinder ways of saying it to a potential future customer. I can't stand when people in low paid jobs act like they have power (small power) and decide to be rude to kind people like me, and they do that with a big and ugly gummy smile on their faces. It's so petty!

    Photos
    Samesun - Trivia night in the Beaver

    Trivia night in the Beaver

    Samesun - 4 bed dorm

    4 bed dorm

    Samesun - The Beaver restaurant

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    The Beaver restaurant

    HI Vancouver Central - View from my 4th floor room, not facing Granville Street

    HI Vancouver Central

    3.8(32 reviews)
    1.2 kmGranville Entertainment District, Downtown

    I am a lifetime member of Hostelling International and have stayed at many hostels across the U.S…read more and Canada. This was my first visit to Vancouver, so it only seemed natural to check out one of the HI locations. I only stayed a couple of nights, but had a pretty good experience overall. Here are some comments: 1. The best thing about my room was the great bed and comforter. Hands down, this may have been the best hostel comforter I've ever experienced, and everyone else who has stayed there knows exactly what I am talking about. 2. The four-bed room is ideal for travelers and I liked the in-room sink and lockers. It is super convenient with the bathrooms and showers down the hall. 3. The WiFi is HORRIBLE. The only place where the signal is strong is the reception area on the first floor. Otherwise, you are basically playing Russian roulette with the signal strength, and areas where it should be strong like the tables near the kitchen are actually weak. 4. I also understand that elevators are not always necessary, but the stairways from the 2nd floor up are small and really difficult if you have a suitcase or god forbid, more than one. 5. I was always gone early in the mornings so never took advantage of the free breakfast, but the kitchen area was well stocked and clean, and the large fridge made it easy to store your own food. 6. Lastly, this hostel is conveniently located near tons of good restaurants, clubs, and bars, but when it is full of drunk people, it's not so much fun if you are not the partying type ... or over 30.

    Without a doubt this was one of the worst hostel experiences that I have ever had, if not the worst…read more(and I've stayed at a lot!). Positives: - elevator - price - staff was able to fix a situation -they along with their sister properties do run some cool activities which are either free or low cost (their saving grace IMO) Like many lodgings in central Vancouver, there are a ton of homeless people in front. Not taking away stars due to that since it's very common. Despite this I never felt unsafe outside since it's in a lively neighborhood anyway so you are never truly alone. Complaints? I was told ahead of time by their staff that their bedrooms have AC. Most of their bedrooms do not have AC, rather they will give you a tiny desk fan (so you are f***ed if you are the top bunk!). I was beyond pissed because I deliberately chose this hostel due to it stating that they have AC which is a must for me since I didn't have a humidifier with me, as well as it separating rooms by genders (a must for me since I want to change in my room and well, men are slobs and fart). I went down and said to please refund me if they cannot place me in a room with air circulation and that I would be finding new lodging. They did find me space, however I had to ask for a partial refund (instead of just getting it...) since I went from a 2 person dorm to a 4 person one. Their keys regularly stop working so for 1 night stay I think I had to change my key 3 times (if not more). I thought I was the problem until I saw that others had this issue on here and Tripadvisor as well. My experience gets better LOL.....At around 2AM the girl I met prior who shared the dorm with me screamed after seeing a plump, naked elderly, Frenchman in what I think was supposed to be her bed. This was a female only dorm. Naturally there was no one at the front desk, and no one answered the phone. My roommate (not sure how to word that) looked everywhere for any employee and found 1 somewhere. He had to escort the man to another room. I kind of felt bad for the French guy because he told me that he was there before me or the girl checked in which honestly might have been true. Afterward, my roommate and I laughed this off and I thanked her because I was fast asleep apparently when the guy came in (it was my first day in Vancouver and was a long day so I was out). I had the free breakfast in the morning which I thought would be similar to the free breakfasts in Europe. From what I can recall it was just toast, bagels with very little cream cheese left that people scrapped off from the dish (there was an attendant there too), juice, coffee, and I think apples. I'm not much of a breakfast person but thought it would be a bit more than that (they have a better selection in prisons). The kitchen wasn't the cleanest and there really isn't any cooking facilities aside from a refrigerator. I believe there was a microwave though. The hostel itself is very bare bones. Looks like a homeless shelter and there are few outlets to plug in things in your bedroom (I think mine had 2). The bathrooms were single bathrooms with a toilet and a shower and while I wouldn't say they were dirty, they weren't that clean. They also were gender neutral, so girls get used to seeing toilet seats not put down, and pubes on/around the toilet. Staff although nice, seemed to not know what they were doing...How do you mess up the genders in a dorm room meant for 4 people?!? Check in seemed to take awhile as well despite there often being at least 2 people at the front desk. After 1 night I stayed at the Hyatt LOL. Cannot recommend. You have been warned.

    Photos
    HI Vancouver Central
    HI Vancouver Central - Bunk beds come with sheets, blanket, pillow

    Bunk beds come with sheets, blanket, pillow

    HI Vancouver Central

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    HI Vancouver Downtown

    HI Vancouver Downtown

    3.5(33 reviews)
    1.8 kmWest End

    Good: 1) Staff are nice and helpful…read more Bad: 1) No air conditioning, room was very stuffy at night 2) terrible location (although there is a great Persian restaurant called Cazba nearby) 3) 1 men's bathroom per floor, only 2 small sinks, VERY small and crowded with multiple guys in there, not all the toilets have hooks on the doors, and one of the 3 showers was not operational for 3 days 4) very expensive for what you get. Simultaneously the worst and most expensive hostel I've stayed at. But I hear high prices are true of Vancouver accommodations generally.

    Definitely a great value for inexpensive lodging. It may not be for everyone, though, if you're not…read morecool with sharing a dorm style room (private rooms available for higher price, I think) with up to 3 people. The bunks were decent enough, but climbing above is sort of a pain. Bring your own lock if using a locker. Small lavatory in room, but might as well use the restroom down the hall which has better space for crap and can shower. Also, anyone who's anyone can stay here. I've seen young to *gasp* old senior nude men in the restroom doing whatever. I like the improved awareness for being green and conserving. Free towel use. Stuff there include: Self-serve kitchen TV/Theater room Games room Internet room Library room Organized events Rooftop patio 2 things that stuck out during my stay were value and culture (I heard french and german each day I was there)... the blackboard behind the counter with several different languages is awesome, too. Korean and Thai food within 1 block. More stuff not included in this review.

    Photos
    HI Vancouver Downtown
    HI Vancouver Downtown
    HI Vancouver Downtown

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    St Clair Hotel-Hostel - Front Desk

    St Clair Hotel-Hostel

    3.2(20 reviews)
    0.4 kmDowntown

    After reading other traveler's experiences, I felt compelled to share a review, which I seldom…read morewrite. I am a 40 year old female from the US. I have not stayed in a hostel in about 12 years, but I was looking for inexpensive accommodations to explore Vancouver. Prior to my late night arrival I was emailed detailed instructions on how to access the building and I had zero issues getting into my room. The rooms are small and warm. I stayed here in October, and it might be a bit uncomfortable in the summer. However, the rooms were clean, free of pests, and I did not experience any of the street noise that other travelers commented about. Some of the showers are icky, but if you shower on a different floor than your room, others are much cleaner. The building itself is quiet, and the other guests were respectful. I felt very safe inside the building. That being said, the neighborhood can be sketchy at night. There are drug addicts on the street after 10 PM. I live near Portland, OR which has a huge homeless population, so I did not feel too uneasy. It might be a good idea to take a taxi at night if you feel uncomfortable. My only complaints were the condition of the showers on my floor and that the bunkbeds were a bit short. I am 5'7". This is by far the cheapest and least sketchy place to stay in town for the price. A private room was around $60 USD per night for 2 people. There is not a "hostel vibe" that you experience in other properties as the common areas are very small and the cooking areas are in the hallways. However, if you are looking for a place to lay your head while you spend your time exploring and money on good food and entertainment, this is a good choice.

    Squeak squeak squeak is all you hear on the lower bunk because…read moreThe bunk beds shake and make noise every time the person on top moves Cheap and affordable rooms, only $25 per night in a 4 bed dorm room Lots of European traveling in groups stay here Age range: around 20s to 40s, my roomates were in their 20s Internet was very spotty and disconnected often Restroom does not have a sink, have to go back to room to wash hands Historic building in downtown Vancouver, close to Granville SkyTrain station Originally built in early 1900's to accommodate railway and ocean-going travelers Showers and toilets are communal, two stalls per floor TV room downstairs had cable but the TV was 13" dorm sized Entrance is locked after 10pm, safe and secure location Located about 10 to 15 minutes from nightlife on Granville Street Conclusion: I'm a light sleeper that was assigned to the lower bunk. Due to the random person on top twisting and turning and shaking all night (smelled like weed and talked to himself), I could only sleep 45 minutes that night. I was only expecting to have a roof over my head and a pillow under my head for maybe 6 hours, but it didn't happen. Unless you are on an extreme budget, whip out an additional $10/night and stay at Hostelling International Vancouver Central instead. It's right in the middle of the entertainment area of downtown Vancouver, the beds are much more comfortable, and the facilities are a bit more modern.

    Photos
    St Clair Hotel-Hostel - Lobby area

    Lobby area

    St Clair Hotel-Hostel - Private Double Room

    Private Double Room

    St Clair Hotel-Hostel - Private Twin Room

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    Private Twin Room

    HI Vancouver Jericho Beach

    HI Vancouver Jericho Beach

    3.6(19 reviews)
    6.9 kmPoint Grey

    The surrounding neighborhood is nice and the staff is attentive however, overall, I cannot…read morerecommend staying here. For $58 including parking, the facilities are really subpar. It is noisy, and this has to be probably the least accessible hostel I've ever stayed at. I understand this is a historic building and modifications can't be made to the building, but this is just me sharing for other disabled travelers. Moreover the night that I stayed unfortunately had a large high school group who were extremely noisy . If I could do it all over, I would've stayed somewhere further out and paid a lot less. There were Airbnb in the $40-$60 range that were 30-90 minute drive from Vancouver ....closer to Vancouver some listings were in the $80 range, which is what I would have recommended instead of staying here . You're almost paying the same price just to stay here however you have a lot less privacy amongst other unpleasant attributes about this property and hostels in general. . Lastly, this is probably the third or fourth HI property that I've stayed at and my least favorite. To compare the very first one I stayed that was in my hometown in Santa Monica, which is actually cheaper than this place however, the facilities are infinitely better . Make it make sense.

    check in quick was and easy, then I went out back and gave $5 to someone and then a guy named Steve…read moremade me a hamburger. I wanted to touch his large beard but he said no Private room we had was cozy, other guests were quiet and respectful so we had no problem going to sleep and staying to sleep Good beach access to we loved walking around the area

    Cambie Hostel - hostels - Updated May 2026

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