I am sitting on the bed in room 22B, and I'll tell you...I am pleased as punch. It is clean, and…read moretastefully, sparcely decorated with an IKEA meets World Market vibe. Now if you know me at all, you KNOW I love fresh air. At many hotels, I 100% loathe the act of desperately sucking my "fresh air" through some dusty window air conditioner thingy, but in 22B, glory be! I can open fully an old-wood-framed window and lay here gazing at the green leaves of a tree swaying in the breeze as I inhale copious lungfuls of the oxygen I love so much. In addition to free air, free breakfast is also promised, which is pretty normal in hotels, but get this...drumroll...FREE DINNER and a drink! We, unfortunately went out and wasted our money on bad food at a restaurant (Dosa Paragon...read the review), so don't know how the free dinner was here. My expectations are reasonable, so if they have coffee and bread at breakfast, we are good! If they have a waffle spinner,that would be typical but surprising here. Yes, it's a little noisy, but not as much as I feared for being in the heart of a bustling downtown. Stay here and get room 22B! Update: Excellent breakfast and there is a communal kitchen! No waffle spinner.

*BED BUGS* Stayed in Room 17K and left early because the…read moreroom was gross -- hairs in the bed, dirty counters, and a small red bug in the sheets that I *hoped* wasn't a bed bug. Spoiler alert: it was. The air freshener under the sink was so strong it made me nauseous. When I tried to check out early, instead of asking "How was your stay?" or trying to help, the front desk just said, "No refund for you!" -- which is a great way to make a guest feel unwelcome, not valued. They say they don't want to greet guests that way, but that's exactly what happened. Management says they "need to be advised at the time" to fix issues, but how was I supposed to report bugs at check-in when I hadn't even been in the room yet? And when I tried to raise concerns at checkout, I was cut off. So, no chance to fix things on site -- which they say is why they won't refund me. They admit their "high standards of quality" weren't met -- the hairs and dirty counters prove that -- and that the "nauseating air freshener" is a love-it-or-hate-it thing they could have removed or even moved me to another room, but none of that happened. They claim they found no evidence of bed bugs but will "treat it as such" because it's a serious complaint. I have photos of the bites I woke up with at home, and I saw a similar bug in my own apartment later. Seems pretty connected to me. Finally, they say they won't refund me because I "threatened" to leave negative reviews -- except I'm just sharing my honest experience, which any traveler deserves to hear. They offered a discount for a future stay, but after this, I won't be going back. If you want a clean, safe place with guest service that actually listens, look elsewhere.

Here it is, folks, the only game in town. Short of spending $80 or camping out in someone's back…read moreyard, here's your only other option. And boy does it have last resort written in big block letters across it.. None of the rooms are "rooms" per se, they have doors, sure, they have beds in them, no doubt, but none of them have four walls. That is, in order to get to the bathroom, outside, laundry machine, you will have people walking through your "room". I've stayed in shitty hostels. But for the most part, they all had walls. And do you like to have internet in your hostel? Great, sit by the window and hope to catch a stray bit of bandwidth from the owners' house. Truth is, the place is pretty comfortable and it's a lot cheaper than staying a hotel. It just seems to suffer from a bad case of only-game-in-town.

I will always remember my time at the ToadLily House fondly. The communal style is perfect for…read moremeeting and getting to know the many wonderful people who come through here. The owners are genuinely kind, gracious people who will make sure you're comfortable and taken care of. I would stay here over a hotel any day.

This place just gets better every year! Been coming back whenever we can and they keep getting…read morebetter. Started coming 6-7 years ago. French Press and real cream in the rooms? Excellent restaurant? It's all here. Love this place.

My boyfriend and I traveled to the area so I could start a giant tattoo by @annmarietattoo and this…read morehotel was the most fun ever!! Loved all the vibes and great amenities! Especially the restaurant right on the property. We are there quite a few times and the food was always picture perfect and delicious. The room was amazing and super unique which matches exactly the kind of place we were looking for!! Highly recommend a stay here!

I don't know why I never thought to look for a hostel to stay in during our spontaneous weekend…read moretrip to Victoria, but thankfully my wife did. When all of my searches kept coming up with $300+ options (USD) and nothing else, I thought we were doomed to pay premium price-gouged tourist prices for our lack of planning, but she happened to stumble upon this charming little place, where our small private room cost us a mere $48 USD! What a savings! Sure, hostel life isn't for everyone, but my wife and I love it...sometimes even prefer it! For all the "inconveniences" such as sharing a bathroom, or an almost total lack of interior décor, it quickly becomes apparent to the budget traveler that these things are really secondary to the most important facet of travel: simply needed a place to rest your head, and unload your stuff. And that is exactly that Turtle Hostel offers. If these are all the things you need, Turtle Hostel is going to be a five-star experience for you. My wife was able to book the room as we were driving up towards the ferry to Victoria, after calling to confirm whether or not having our 2-year old son would be an issue in our small private room, to which the owner woman said it wouldn't be, as long as he was relatively quiet (he is). After the room was booked, the owner texted my wife's number back to confirm that the reservation she'd just received was us, and answered many of our questions in real-time, which impressed us both, and helped assuage any concerns we may have had. We arrived at the hostel between shifts, when no employees were present, but we were texted the door entry code to allow us entry, as well as our room number and directions to it, finding it to be unlocked, and with our room key inside, waiting for us. Yes, the room was quite small, and furnished with only a bed and a small table, but it was exactly what we had expected, and all we needed. The rest of the adorable, rustic house included a communal kitchen, several shared bathrooms on each floor, an upper deck exterior patio, and above all, peace and quiet. We saw a few other patrons over the course of our stay, almost all of them from foreign countries, and all of which were quiet, polite and unassuming. Everything, throughout the house, was clean, orderly, and well-laid out with signage, including the wi-fi password. When the night shift employee arrived, he collected our cash deposit for the key ($30 CAN, although we only had change for $40, which we gave him), that was promptly returned during our check-out. Location-wise, it's a relatively 15-20 minute short walk (for us, anyway) to the heart of downtown Victoria, so bear that in mind when booking, but I guarantee there is a snowball's chance in hell you will find ANY accommodations closer than this for under $150 USD, even during the off-season. The glitz and glamor of Victoria fades a little bit this far inward, but is quickly restored in a block or two, so don't let it discourage you. For all the flak that this hostel seems to catch online, I feel that most of it is misrepresented by travelers whom are not used to, or prepared for, the hostel experience. As I said before, it's not for everyone. But if you're one of those brave, adventurous souls whom, like us, travel for the love of experiencing things that new, exciting, unusual, and occasionally a little dangerous, then places like the Turtle Hostel are just what you are looking for: cheap, clean, and down-to-earth.

This hostel should be shut down. It's on a very bad corner with homeless people in tents across the…read morestreet. I asked if they had bed bugs and she told me yes but not near the room I was taking. I told her I would need a refund if I saw any bed bugs. The place was very dirty I lifted the mattress and it was filthy underneath and I saw a bed bug. I left and had no place to stay that night as every hotel was booked that night due to a bike race. She wouldn't give me a refund for both nights and insisted she refunded my card for the one night but did not refund me after a lot of back and forth about it I finally gave up. So they took my money on top of it all and lied about it. I'm reporting them to the better business bureau next

We stayed here for 3 nights in a private family room for 4 of us, and overall, it was a good stay…read more On the plus side, it was a great location right in Friday Harbor, liked the common room w/ pool table, games, TVs and community kitchen. Cons: only one key for a room that slept 6, no closets, dressers or shelves; we had a sitting room, but if you turned lights on, they were also on in the bedroom; the bunks were fairly rickety, and every time my daughter above me rolled over, the bed shook and I woke up. I also misunderstood that we had a private toilet, shower, but all rooms share community bathrooms. Not super cheap for a hostel ($250/night for our room), but on an island w/ extremely limited, was nice to have a place to stay!

The two of us stayed at the hostel in late June 2022. It was VERY expensive for a hostel, but…read moreheck--it's summer--and we were glad to have a place to stay that night. The only room we could get was one with two bunkbeds, with a very slim double on the bottom of one. That's the one we used. No one else shared the room. The showers down the hall were hot, and one of them had a hair dryer. Later I found that the very large and nice kitchen / lounge / pool ball area also had additional, larger bathrooms. It would have been nice for Manager Min to show that to us when we checked in, but on the other hand, he clearly had a lot of responsibilities. Next time we'll ask for a little tour! :) As another reviewer noted, patrons were polite and quiet. Min was helpful at all times, as was the young woman whose name I didn't catch but who filled in for him at times. She provided us with additional bath towels at no cost.

This hotel was accommodating and friendly. Most affordable stay in the city. The bed was clean. My…read morebiggest complaint is the bathrooms were not clean and smelled bad. There was buildup of dirt in the showers.

It's a very nice hostel in a very nice location. But badly…read morethere weren't many people around. Badly, when you want to charge your devices, you also have to turn the light on (at least in the b dorm), what is quite annoying, especially for overnight. This hostel is not suitable for big and heavy suitcases, because there's no elevator, but when you're with a backpack/ smaller suitcase it works just fine. For your convenience there is a bar right around the corner, and the super market and a drugstore/ banks are just about a 10 minute walk away.

Well, it isn't the Fairmont Empress... but then again, I paid less for two nights at Swan's than…read moreone at the Fairmont. Originally a grain and feed store, the Swan was converted to "condo" style suites with a living area, a kitchen and one or two bedrooms (ours were upstairs). There is only one bath on the ground floor. Overall, the rooms were clean and well appointed with lightly used furniture that gave it a "lived in" look and feel as opposed to being run down. The bath was nice and and having a kitchen can be helpful if you stay awhile. Then again, there are many interesting places to eat, including the Swan Pub downstairs... you might not want to cook. The location borders Chinatown and the Market Square area and is located in a "Heritage" area here in Victoria. We had no problems with parking at the lot across the street and but I would guess that it might be a problem over the weekend. So, if you are looking for an eclectic and funky hotel in the middle of a fun and cool city neighborhood, you could do a lot worse than the Swan. The only downside? No air conditioning so, if you are here in August (like we are during a heat wave), the rooms can be warmer than you may like it. But just crank open the downstairs windows and let the cool evening air come in. No flies or mosquitoes to bother you. And they have plenty of fans available. Also, the water heater is electric and only 30 gallons. Just be creative with showers and don't hog the hot water and everyone should get a nice hot shower.

Location is great but the rooms have wooden floors so it sounds like the people from upstairs are…read moreechoing into our room. Definitely do not stay here. We can not stay in our room we have to leave. Totally ruined our stay and my partners birthday.

Very nice property located in the middle of downtown…read more Room has huge, clean and well appointed. Fitness center was also large and had plenty of equipment. Breakfast choices were great and the staff in the restaurant were all very friendly.

This is the downtown location, which is perfect as it's 5 minutes if that walk to the wharf, and…read moremost tour buses like Malabar shuttle is right around the corner, Butchart Gardens bus is same leaving from the front of the Empress which is before the wharf. Plenty of easy walking distance to restaurants, Chinatown. Rooms is nice, the only issue is the elevators extremely slow and they only have three with one down. With that said I would return as there's no need for a vehicle in this area

Claustrophobia enthusiasts or those looking to relive their college dorm room days (minus the beer…read morekegs) take note: the Orca Inn is available to indulge your fantasies. Harsh? Hardly. I know they say they're 'no-frills' and ...they are all that. But that doesn't mean this multi-building single-story complex can't do better. Pros: -An awesome desk person, check in was delightful, helpful and very informative -Water/ice/ coffee station. Very cool. -Decent air conditioning -Close to CoOp market and San Juan Bakery -Lots of parking. -Fridge and microwave included. Cons; -Paltry room size. You can barely walk around the bed, and the shower is no bigger than a coffin. As a bonus, ours came with a bee carcass in it. -Bathroom door barely had room to close. Sounds were emanating from toilet randomly at night. -Lighting is horrid -Bedding is from last century -Paper-thin walls - you can hear every footstep outside your door. -Outrageous pricing for what was a closet. I know it's summer. Still. I wonder: Was this an old army barracks not-so successfully repurposed to serve civilians? Seems likely. Oh well. I realize it's probably the cheapest accommodation on San Juan Island in high season, but, nope, never again. A good night's sleep: is It too much to ask for?

For all the haters out there, I'm going to have to disagree with the negative comments. First of…read moreall the office gals are super friendly and helpful and the room was very clean. I'm talking cleaner than all of the Hilton hotels I've stayed in for the last 10 years, clean. So, kudos to housekeeping! This hotel doesn't purport to be anything other than what it is: an affordable, no frills accommodation in a naturally beautiful place. Nobody comes here to just sit around all day at a hotel anyway. I've stayed at several places in Friday Harbor and honestly this was exactly what I needed. They have a water cooler with ice right by the office, too! I thought it was super convenient - location was near a grocery store/pizza place/bowling (walkable) and parking was plentiful. I'd stay here again for sure.