C & N Backpackers Hostel

Cheap bus still shit!
Guys, don't stay at this hostel. it sucks. it's unfriendly and there are a lot of freaks, it's pretty clean, but still they let in all the weirdos in here. If you can at all, stay away from Vancouver. too many scary looking junkies!

i stayed at this hostel for a few months in the summer/fall of 2006. it is cheap and easy to get downtown by walking the viaduct or skytrain. it is fairly clean, but has the occasional cockroach/mouse. unfortunately, the guests here are treated like it's a group home/like children. there are many rules, including no guests allowed in dorm rooms or even in private rooms. there are cameras everywhere, and yes, this is a clue that it is like big brother here. one staff member is great, but the main staff member is aggressive and pushy. i felt very uncomfortable, and would not recommend a long stay at this hostel, unless you keep to yourself, and can keep your mouth shut no matter how rude the staff are. also the neighbourhood is very sketchy.

I stayed at this hostel in 1998 and it was ok. It was good value, but had they summer rates by the month, I would have stayed longer. The staff was friendly at the time. It is a good, no frills place to lay your head at night while in Vancouver!

I stayed at C&N Main Street for two months. I met some really cool people there. While there only two out of the four showers were working. The man who I won't name but anyone who has stayed there knows who he is -- he is supposed to provide travelers with a service but instead patronizes them and rips them off if he can. I would recommend staying here if he was to be sacked as the rest of the staff are fantastic. Unless you are an attractive female or are not worried about been screwed out of money then give this one a miss. I would also like to contact the owner and make them aware of what this penny pincher is about.

Great place. Very friendly and helpful staff. The location itself is a bit dodgey and I wouldn't walk outside on my own at night. Inside is a different story. Small, cosy, spotless and two kitchen. Great mix of people staying there. We stayed for about a week. Hired bikes for Stanley Island and walked into town. Chinatown is 5 mins walk for dinner

This place used to be a dive in a dive hotel. Now it's been painted, cleaned up considerably and is not too bad. It's literally next door to the bus station, and does have a bar that looks raw at first glance. But I've often stayed at the Cambie in Gastown and NEVER had the problems with noise at C&N that I had there! (And the first night I was there they had free beer at the bar, compliments of Molson, and I never felt out of place, unwelcome or a tourist.) The staff were friendly and the place was clean. I got a fifth floor room (it is in an old hotel) and I could even see the mirror dome of Science World in the morning sun. And the fire door was open in the mornings to sit and look out over the neighborhood. It's cheap, too, and has a cafe, small lockers, and lots of hostel and Vancouver info. There isn't much for cooking facilities other than a stove, but in Vancouver you never need to cook. There's also someone at the desk 24/7, so they have a good idea of what goes on at all hours. I don't mind the area it even if there is the occasional sleeper in the Grand Central Station Park, and never had trouble walking (not late) after dark. It's also a block from the Skytrain and the SeaBus, and there's a bus stop at the front door to take you downtown, the airport, or anywhere else you want to go. I'd stay there again.

This place is dodgy - it always has been and their Web site is so misleading that they should be put out of business for false advertising! You get what you pay for!!

Mixed opinions on this one. After we traveled over 4,000 miles to see Vancouver the only the thing my girlfriend and I wanted was a bed with clean sheets (pubic hairs and stains were on the sheets provided). Unfortunately we had to get a fresh set of sheets, but even they didn't fit the bed properly. However the hostel is central and close to the Skytrain. The other guests seemed friendly enough and the room was secure. The bathrooms were cleaned everyday; how the other rooms fared I don't know. But if we hadn't borrowed bedding from a hotel from a visit to Seattle we would have booked out, as soon as possible.

This place is terribly located. It's very unsafe. The only good thing about the place is that it was clean. I just wish I had picked somewhere else.

It's in an old building, but it's nice and clean. The staff are friendly and helpful. Towels you receive upon request. The pickup from the airport is fantastic. Some rooms are newly renovated, and have TVs and fridges. They have a big DVD collection, many of which I've never seen before. All together, it is worth the money.

DON'T STAY HERE!! The place is a dump. There are holes in the floor and walls, and the shower was a wooden surround with a floor that was disgusting. There's no 24-hour Internet. Avoid this one, people.

Right next to the railway station, but ridiculously far from downtown or any proper area, no towels or anything, VERY few showers, staff are rude and unhelpful. Would never come back there or recommend to anyone.

VERY unsafe location - first night I even thought the whole of Vancouver is like that. Rude staff, nothing is allowed and they make you feel like sh*t, increadibly small rooms with no maintenance.

I don't know what they're saying about the luxurious condos around. Vancouver doesn't have much of a ghetto... but if it did, this is where it would be. That didn't really bother me, though. What bothered me is that none of us could sleep because the smell of the cleaning solution was burning our eyes. We had to get up in the middle of the night, track down paper towels and water, and try to rinse off the floor. It was terrible. And there was a lot of street noise. However, I did meet some neat people at the hostel.

The building is old, but the atmosphere is cozy and the staff is friendly, helpful and nice. The hostel is centrally located. Everything is in walking distance. And the people are nice. The best is the free limo pick up from the airport.