Ocean Island Backpackers Inn

Funky, friendly hostel
I've been at Ocean Island for seven months because I came to Victoria to go to school, but I'm still at Ocean Island even though I graduated last month. Here is the best place to live, that's why. I had never felt tired of staying here because Ocean Island is so nice, funky, and cool. Front desk staff are so friendly, kind, and cute! The bar is always crowded especially Wednesday night! There is open mic on Wednesdays, it's one of my favorite weekly events. I can talk to somebody anytime, never feel lonesome, that's awesome! so I definitely recommend Ocean Island if you visit Victoria. Then you can understand why I've stayed so long.

My home away from home
This is a very good place, kept clean, and the staff were friendly (one gave me a piece of cake!) and helpful. It is a block away from the main street, and two from the grocery store. I really liked the vibe there. There was a lounge with real musicians. Lots of local artsy types came along and it was quite a positive experience overall. I would definitively come back!

Perfect -- especially for couples!
My girlfriend and I have been staying at hostels all over Canada, and as soon as they told us we could get a private room cheaper than two dorm beds, we were like "say what?" You usually have to book way ahead of time to get your own room, but this place has so many, we just walked in and got ourselves hooked up in this awesome little room that looked out over the rooftops! Sunsets! Alone time! Sex! Thank you Ocean Island, for the Q time!

Good time for the money.
Sounds like you either love OI or hate it. I didn't have any mix-ups with my room or anything, though it was smaller than I expected. Still it was great for the price. The bathrooms were perfectly decent, the kitchen was nice, and the bar was an unexpected bonus! I'd definitely go again.

Very cool lobby and bar. There was an open session the night that we arrived. We were too mean to pay for a double room so we got the discounted SMALL room that was (in my eyes anyway) an old janitors room. We were warned that it was very small and had no window in advance but it was still unbelievable to pay 44 dollars for a cupboard with a fold down bed onto the floor. Makethe bed yourself and lie alongside the cabinets and fridge. We could only laugh as we were so tired. Anyway we were lucky, another couple had to pay 44 dollars and wait until we finished watching telly so they could turn the sofa we were sitting on into their bed. They were mortified as the television room became their bedroom.

I am a forty-eight year old veteran of cheap travel. This old Victorian hotel reminded me of the hostels of my youth, complete with patchwork painted walls and fringe! There are lots of social areas -- to include a small café. The rooms, beds, and sheets were clean and the common areas are scrubbed in the early morning each day. I found the multi-bed rooms to be quieter than the smaller rooms. The Inn sits in the middle of a very exciting part of town where everything is within walking distance. They even have a secured parking area. Unfortunately, I opted not to pay the deposit and found myself scrambling for the meter every few hours! Next time.

if this hostel was a musician, it'd be keith richards.

right off the bat, we were given a key to a room that was already occupied, (we wanted private room) so I immediately questioned the safety of my belongings in the hostel. the bathrooms were gross, and we always had to wait to get in. The bedroom was tiny, though not nearly as tiny as the first bedroom we were granted access to accidentally. The staff (aside from one sweet bartender) was uninformative, and could not even give us answers to simple questions that we would expect the staff to know. The vending machine ate our money, and the staff was so busy (and understaffed in my opinion) that we could not even let them know. The internet access is very convenient, and private, so that was cool. On the flip side, we met some awesome people from all over the place.

Wow. I feel like I stayed at a completely different hostel than some of the people that have already rated Ocean Island. I've backpacked all over the world, and rarely have I ever felt so welcome, secure, and comfortable in a hostel. I stayed in a female only dorm and met some amazing girls from Japan, Australia, Korea, and the UK. They have a really neat program where you can pay for your dorm bed by doing some work. Since I'd already paid, I helped out with the laundry and got coupons for spending in the bar! How awesome is that? It was a really great night with a super busy open mic thing going on in the common areas. It was cool to see people I recognized as guests performing for all the other guests! Anyhow, I just don't understand all the negative comments on here... it almost makes me believe they've rated the wrong hostel or something...!

Having travelled the world for over two years now, this has to be the worst place we stayed in. Filthy bathrooms and showers. The small double room is a broom cupboard with cardboard walls! The staff made a noise throughout the night -- although we paying guests were under a noise curfew after midnight!! They were busy, abrupt, uninformative, and unhelpful on reception with little local knowledge of bus routes etc. None of the usual Canadian hospitality. Moneygrabbers who do not refund your money when you want to leave the place early, giving them more than 24hrs notice.

I seriously agree with all the negative comments posted here and wish I had looked at this site before I booked at Ocean Island. When you look at there website it looks fantastic, I was so excited. When we got there I was devastated. No joke, it was that bad I cried for half an hour. I booked a double room and it was filthy. AND I MEAN REALLY FILTHY. These rooms are not cleaned and the photos on the internet must have been taken like 20 years ago and that was the last time they cleaned the place. The sheets had not been changed, and the rooms smelt like stale pot smoke. I've never felt more insecure in a place in my life and I've stayed in red light districts all over the world and felt like my person and belongings were safer there. If you like slumming it, filth, rudeness, incompetantcy and the like then sure stay here but when you're travelling/backpacking and you're tired, hungry, dirty, irritable you dont want to stay in a sh*thole like this. Lucky I really enjoyed Victoria because I spent so much time away from the hostel for the reason that I couldn't stand being there.

I'm fairly surprised to see such harsh comments about this hostel on here. I stayed here for about a week in July. I got a super cheap room, almost as cheap as if I had stayed in the dorm. There were tons of friendly people, guests and staff, many of which I already miss! The staff at the front desk was really helpful with suggesting places to eat or go out or whatever. I met the owner on my last day... he actually helped me carry my bags to the Tofino Bus (which stops right at the front door!!). This is one of my favourite Canadian hostels... I felt like part of a family for the week that I was there. I would recommend it to anyone.

Worst hostel ever. Avoid like the plague. I'm not sure who came up with the idea that this was a friendly hostel, but nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, I have never felt so unwelcome at a hostel in my life. I've stayed at hundreds of hostels around the globe, and this one truly takes the cake for the most rude and unwelcoming. The place is run by a greedy man who will do anything to suck you out of your money. He instructs his workers to take money for a key deposit and makes sure that they refuse to give it back if you don't check out on time. This is why he makes sure that they conveniently forget to wake you up by 11. These are actually the *finer* points of this place, which is operated by some of the most cliquey and stuck up people I have ever met. As someone who has been involved in a lot of music and art scenes, the fact that these people are calling themselves artists is flat out sickening. I have stayed at plenty of hostels run by much more creative and intelligent people who actually knew how to treat their guests with respect. This is a hostel operated by stuck up pseudo-hipsters. It gives anything that is truly alternative a bad name. Not only are these people rude and incompetent, but they flat out lie to you about room accommodations. Anything to make an extra buck. Their computer system does not work. They insult you too, like you've just walked into a fancy business and happen to have the wrong hairstyle. Yes, they flat out insult you. Why did anyone ever call this place friendly? The majority of people who work at this hostel are people who actually live there, and for some reason they've decided that anyone who does not work and live there is to be treated with a coldness that rivals that of a republican convention. Find another hostel, find a place to crash, find a place to squat, or split a hotel room with some friends. Stay anywhere except for the Ocean Backpackers Inn when you come to Victoria.

I have stayed here dozens of nights over the past five years. It can best be described as "hit and miss." The staff are very friendly... unless you have a complaint or problem, when they quickly switch to surly and unhelpful. The bedrooms are usually pretty good (though noisy: at a major intersection), but the washrooms are borderline acceptable — I've taken up going to the nearby YMCA for a swim and shower. Sometimes there are rather "marginal" characters staying in the dorms. Last time I was there, I had decided to end my stay a few days earlier than originally planned. I went down to let them know in advance, so that I wouldn't lose any money (they want 24 hours notice). I was told that their computers were down, and to come back in 20 minutes. 20 minutes later I was told to come back in an hour. An hour later I was told to try again in 45 minutes. 45 minutes later I was told the computer still didn't work. I said, "Well, I need to get to bed and want you to know I am checking out. But I don't want to pay a penalty because your computer isn't working." No problem, I was told — just explain to the staff person in the morning. Anyway, to make a long story short I got screwed for the cost of a night's stay, because of their mistakes. Poor communication and lousy customer service. Next time I'm there, I plan to try another hostel.

Ok, yeah, the rooms are small, but for just over $20, you can have your own space for a night or more. Plus they have great weekly/monthly rates. The staff are friendly and helpful, the building is funky, the location is great, and for someone who has been out on the road awhile, having my own albeit tiny room for a price I could afford was downright decadent. I highly recommend staying here!