Strathcona Hotel

The hotel was the cheapest I could find (after extensive research) in a "good" neighborhood of Victoria. Some of the cheaper ones were far from the center and/or had reviews which talked about drug deals outside in the street at night. I would recommend it with the caveats in my review. Ask for a quiet room. We stayed at the Strathcona on May 28 & 28, 2006. First the good: The hallway of the floor we were on had recently been wallpapered and painted and had a new carpet. Our room was recently painted and had two paintings on the wall. Our room had double pane glass (more later on that). Much of the bathroom had recently been redone (the tub enclosure and the floor). The price was $76 US. Now, the bad: The bathroom was tiny as was the room. We had twin beds. They were very soft and bouncy and need to be replaced. Ideally, we would have taken the mattresses off and put them on the floor, but the room was much too small to allow that. There was only one luggage rack, although the room was for two people. The distance between the end of the bed and the tv and luggage rack was about 2 1/2 feet. Our room overlooked the outdoor patio &volleyball area. The double paned glass helped some but we still heard quite a lot. However, the weather was bad so the outdoor patio closed early. The breakfast was juice (poor quality), poor quality bread, bagels and muffins and excellent coffee or hot chocolate. We ate on the patio one evening. Food was mediocre. However, the location was good. At the lower end of Douglas St. - but even there we had bums hanging out outside the hotel on a Sunday evening. By Monday, they were gone. It is located 1/2 block from the public bus stop, so it is very convenient if you are coming from the airport or going to the Swartz Bay ferry or to Butchart Gardens (which is very easy to do by public bus. You can leave your things there and then catch a bus right from the Gardens to the airport and Swartz Bay ferry.).

Unique Quality: Low price and good location.

Directions: About 3 blocks from the Inner Wharf and the Empress Hotel

Price was very reasonable $59.00 cnd. so wasn't really expecting much. Well I wasn't dissapointed. Hotel is located within walking distance to most downtown/ inner harbor sights.Service was good , rooms were clean. The hotel furnishings and decor are dated (not in a good way) but they are currently renovating. Should be nice when they are finished. Several bars and restaurants in lower floor, other restaurants,bars,shops nearby. Convenient , clean and cheap, if that's what you are looking for I recommend the Strathcona.

Unique Quality: Location is great.

Directions: Downtown Victoria.

We investigated this place while relocating. It was economical, and we almost stayed here, but opted to spend a little more to stay at the Queen Victoria.

This is an interesting hotel, it has a volleyball court on the top level, and a restaurant, lounge, a club and of course, a hillbilly bar.
The hillbilly bar reminds me of home, except the hillbillies throw potatos here.

Unique Quality: The parking situation is not up to standard, but it's a fun hotel and the english accent bums are close by!

Directions: The Victoria tourist trap district.

The Strathcona Hotel is also a good value for being directly in the center of town. Located only a block away from the Empress and Government St., the Strathcona, offers comfortable rooms and sits directly next to two other good establishments, Legends nightclub and the Sticky Wicket Pub & Restaurant.

Unique Quality: On the top of the Sticky Wicket and joined to the Strathcona is the Roof, a patio which cooks up BBQ for either lunch or dinner. Also here, is (as the Strathcona claims) the world's only rooftop beach volleyball courts. So provided that the weather cooperates, you can play volleyball...in the middle of the city (?).

Directions: On the lower end of Douglas, directly next to Legends and the Sticky Wicket. The Empress and the Eaton Centre are also nearby.