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Grand Trunk Hostel

Vancouver (Gastown)

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Address
55 Powell Street, Vancouver (Gastown), British Columbia, Canada   Map
Price
Share room: $15/day, $90/week, single : $25/day, $150/week, double room with 1 double bed: $35/day, $190/week, twin room with 2 beds: $40/day, $210/week Check Current Prices by Date Here
Location/Contact
Details
Grand Trunk Hostel Online Booking
Arrival Date:   Nights:  People: 
Their Description

Features

  • Kitchen
  • Lockers
  • 24 Hour Free Hot Showers
  • Washing Machine (laundry)
  • Clothes Dryer
  • TV
  • Phones (public or in room)
  • Travel information provided
  • Lounge / Common space
 
The Hostelz.com Review
The Grand Trunk Hostel is located in Gastown in downtown Vancouver on 55 Powell Street. If you are arriving by bus or train, you can take a taxi from the station or hop on the sky train. If arriving by air, you can take the Airporter Shuttle Bus and get off at the Water Front Hotel, then walk east for about five minutes.

The Grand Trunk Hostel offers dormitories, singles, doubles, twins, triples, and quad rooms at very affordable prices. Grand Trunk Hostel also provides lower weekly and monthly rates for guests that may want to stay on a long term basis. Warm linen is provided, and each room has a fridge and cable TV. There is a guest kitchen with basic cooking facilities. There is also a laundry room with coin-operated washer and dryer. Shared bathrooms are located on each floor. Free wireless internet is provided, so feel free to bring your laptop if you wish to surf the web. Otherwise, there is a free computer for guest use.

Grand Trunk Hostel is in a very old, worn-down building. Everything in the building is quite aged and the hostel is in dire need of a face lift. Both kitchen and bathrooms require a proper scrubbing, and most of the pots, pans, and kitchen facilities need replacing. The only common room is the small guest kitchen and as a result the hostel has a quiet atmosphere. The hostel may be aged, but still offers character with its collection of quirky memorabilia

Official office hours are from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., but in reality you may often be faced with a locked reception door and a note indicating where the manager has gone (often the Indian restaurant next-door). If you are looking for a basic, no-frills, budget accommodation in central Vancouver, then the Grand Trunk Hostel may be the place for you.

— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
March 2007


Ratings & Comments

2.1 Average from 7 Ratings

This is an open forum, and unlike other hostel guide websites we don't censor out the negative comments.
We can't validate the legitimacy of comments posted on this site—so take what you read here with a grain of salt.
Comment by R. Sauter, Canadian
March 2008
2 Imagine a neglected dorm run by guys with minimal cleaning.
Except it's run by a lady and resided at by a shuffly guy -- nice enough folks overall. With all it's grime, has some interesting charm about it. Perfect for the young and restless, not so great for my parents. I'd suggest not getting room 18, as it was next to the kitchen (interesting grease smells) and had air coming in the window from the exhaust of the restaurant next door. The folks staying there ranged from longer term (one-plus month) to a few weeks residents, and a few shorter term. Some rooms were draftier than others, but it's Vancouver so it's never extremely cold. Smoking in the halls was common. Flip flops in the shower rooms are a good idea. Cable was free, wireless internet was unsteady, but ok from the second floor or lower. I think there was even ten minutes free long distance on the phone. I'd stay there again if I made sure to get a room on the top floor on the East side of the building. One block south from here, where East Hastings meets West, is a really unfortunate area where many addicted individuals meet to share/get hard drugs. Stay on the brick-laid sidewalks and you'll be fine.
Comment by andys, british
September 2007
1 Awful.
This place was utterly terrible. It was shabby with electrical wiring hanging from the walls. The bathrooms were pretty shocking with signs asking people not to put the (nonexistent) toilet roll down the toilet and a bin with used toilet roll next to the bin. The staff were surly and rarely seemed to be in the office. It may be cheap, but it's very bad value.
Comment by Anonymous
November 2006
3 I stayed a week during summer 2006 and overall I was satisfied, mainly because of the price. They offer single rooms with TV and fridge for a very low price. Bathrooms were clean. People I dealt with were nice. Negatives -- they don't seem very organized as far as reservation goes. Not the best area, and you have people looking at you when you enter the hostel. It was noisy. Basically, you get what you pay for.
Comment by sanaenonaka
October 2006
5 This hostel is very well located with super friendly staff who are always there to help. It was not just me, but also the other budget travellers who really got benefited from their bunch of free services with only $15. The owner is a very patient and generous gentleman who rarely shows his temper although sometimes some customers could be very unreasonable. I stayed there for two weeks and I like this hostel personally with all the services with that little money and would like to recommend it to all my friends.
Comment by Katie
August 2006
1 This place was dirty and it smelled. The bathroom had stains all over the floor, walls, et cetera. The managers were completely unfriendly and just downright rude. It was a horrible experience and I would never ever go there again, nor would I encourage anyone else to do so.
Comment by Anonymous
April 2005
1 Oh my God, this was the worst hostel I have ever seen. If you are the kind of person who doesn't mind staying in cheap accommodations, this would still most likely be below your standard. It was dirty, and I certainly did not feel safe there at all. I could not recommend this place. Even if you have a really low budget it is not worth it.
Comment by Annoyed
November 2004
2 This place had very unfriendly managers, but it's a good deal I suppose.
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