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Ocean Island Backpackers Inn, Victoria Reviews (1)
By Cardinal Angelfish on
Dec 16, 2008
Guest Review
Guest Review
Well, first off, the hostel is one block away from the main street (Douglas) which places it about two or three blocks from the city centre. If you're looking for a quieter room, go for one of the rooms on the top floor: they have a café with a bar that's open with music playing for most of the evening and you can hear it on the first floor (though it closes at midnight and things settle down just a little after that). Also, being on the top floor gives you views out over the local area. My room looked out over an old Jewish Synagogue and down Pandora St.
About the café, in a city where even a cheap meal tends to run about $10, they offer meals for $5.50 and under. The dishes aren't anything fancy, but they're surprisingly good for the price. Don't take it from me, see their menu:
http://www.oceanisland.com/cheap_eats/menu.html
The rooms are reasonably (though not dirt) cheap and you get a little more than you pay for. You can pay very little and get a tiny room (just a little more than a dorm bed, and much better if you're traveling with your partner), or you can pay about as much as you would for a hotel room and end up with, well, a hotel room (private bathroom, TV, fridge, etc.) and there's a selection in between. There are 6 bathrooms on each floor and though old (I stayed right before they started renovating them, so they are probably new now), they're cleaned a couple of times a day. I mentioned that a bathroom was getting grubby to a staff member and immediately someone ran up to clean it, which was nice. Also, the doors to the hallways and the rooms are locked and there are lockers in every room.
The hostel is in an old heritage building that's pretty charming. They have the standard hostel amenities, laundry, etc. I'd say the most useful to me was their indoor bike lockup. You can see what they have on their amenities page:
http://www.oceanisland.com/amenities/menu.html
The staff is friendly for the most part, and you can tell that they like the place: most of them come back to have a few drinks at the bar and mingle with guests after their shift. There's live music pretty much every other night and it's a good place to meet locals and travelers.
In short...
Pros:
Cheap accommodation, cheap food, clean, fun, friendly atmosphere, SE Asian art and masks on the walls everywhere. Also, they have these little pamphlets and a Victoria Guide that I wished I'd heard about sooner, it's a ridiculously detailed guide to the city as seen through the eyes of hippies and indie rockers.
Cons:
There are some tiny, tiny rooms here, the smallest and cheapest have no windows (though they are ventilated and private), there's no elevator, the first floor is loud until midnight (if that matters to you). The local seagulls can be loud first thing in the morning.
About the café, in a city where even a cheap meal tends to run about $10, they offer meals for $5.50 and under. The dishes aren't anything fancy, but they're surprisingly good for the price. Don't take it from me, see their menu:
http://www.oceanisland.com/cheap_eats/menu.html
The rooms are reasonably (though not dirt) cheap and you get a little more than you pay for. You can pay very little and get a tiny room (just a little more than a dorm bed, and much better if you're traveling with your partner), or you can pay about as much as you would for a hotel room and end up with, well, a hotel room (private bathroom, TV, fridge, etc.) and there's a selection in between. There are 6 bathrooms on each floor and though old (I stayed right before they started renovating them, so they are probably new now), they're cleaned a couple of times a day. I mentioned that a bathroom was getting grubby to a staff member and immediately someone ran up to clean it, which was nice. Also, the doors to the hallways and the rooms are locked and there are lockers in every room.
The hostel is in an old heritage building that's pretty charming. They have the standard hostel amenities, laundry, etc. I'd say the most useful to me was their indoor bike lockup. You can see what they have on their amenities page:
http://www.oceanisland.com/amenities/menu.html
The staff is friendly for the most part, and you can tell that they like the place: most of them come back to have a few drinks at the bar and mingle with guests after their shift. There's live music pretty much every other night and it's a good place to meet locals and travelers.
In short...
Pros:
Cheap accommodation, cheap food, clean, fun, friendly atmosphere, SE Asian art and masks on the walls everywhere. Also, they have these little pamphlets and a Victoria Guide that I wished I'd heard about sooner, it's a ridiculously detailed guide to the city as seen through the eyes of hippies and indie rockers.
Cons:
There are some tiny, tiny rooms here, the smallest and cheapest have no windows (though they are ventilated and private), there's no elevator, the first floor is loud until midnight (if that matters to you). The local seagulls can be loud first thing in the morning.
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