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Hostelling International-Vancouver Downtown
Category: Hotels & Travel Hostels Hostels [Edit]
1114 Burnaby StVancouver, BC V6E 1P1
Neighbourhood: West End
(604) 684-4565
11 reviews for Hostelling International-Vancouver Downtown
11 reviews in English
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Review from Joseph C.
4/25/2012
My go-to place to stay in Van. About 30 bucks a night for a prime location, quiet but still close to everything, with complimentary breakfast. Knowledgeable and helpful staff (changed my reservation a few times without issue), and the events coordinated with the HI Central hostel are great for those just discovering the city.
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Review from Kevin G.
Vancouver, BC
5/1/2012
We stayed here the first couple of weeks in Vancouver in November and December 2011.
Well, the Hostel is Good for a fair Prize. A typical HI Hostel.
A big good equipped kitchen, a really good included breakfast (sometimes you can find the rest in the free food area :) especially muffins) , nice and comfy rooms. The staff is, as in the most HI Hostels, very nice and helpful and can give you some advice for the city.
Location is good, quiet area but still central. The rooftop was totally cool and very comfy! Beer permitted ;-)
The only thing, and that's why it only gets 3 stars, we had a mouse in our room. It is an old building, and if you listen carefully you can sometimes hear the mice running in the false floors.
When we told the staff that we have a mouse in our room they directly offered us another room and we didnt had to pay extra because it was a private.
But somehow we were wondering if they didn't tried to get rid of them.
So we don't know if they are still there. -
Review from Daren D.
6/28/2011 3 photos
Definitely a great value for inexpensive lodging. It may not be for everyone, though, if you're not cool with sharing a dorm style room (private rooms available for higher price, I think) with up to 3 people. The bunks were decent enough, but climbing above is sort of a pain. Bring your own lock if using a locker. Small lavatory in room, but might as well use the restroom down the hall which has better space for crap and can shower. Also, anyone who's anyone can stay here. I've seen young to *gasp* old senior nude men in the restroom doing whatever. I like the improved awareness for being green and conserving. Free towel use.
Stuff there include:
Self-serve kitchen
TV/Theater room
Games room
Internet room
Library room
Organized events
Rooftop patio
2 things that stuck out during my stay were value and culture (I heard french and german each day I was there)... the blackboard behind the counter with several different languages is awesome, too. Korean and Thai food within 1 block.
More stuff not included in this review.Listed in: Vancouver, BC
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Review from Alouise D.
Edmonton, AB
6/16/2011 1 Check-in Here
I really like this hostel. Good neighborhood, relatively quiet, nice staff and decent price. They had a lot of activities to do, although i was busy with a conference and didn't get to do them. I felt completely safe here, and I was travelling alone.
The bunkbeds aren't super comfy, but they definitely are not the worst bunkbeds I've slept in. It would have been nice to have a bench or additional shelf in the shower section, right by the door. just someplace you could put your bag or clothes on without them getting wet. The paper towel dispenser in the women's washroom on the 2nd floor frequently didn't work. And the elevator was rather slow. Some small issues but on the whole this was a great place to stay in Vancouver for a few nights. -
Review from Steph G.
1/24/2012
The best part about this hostel for me was the location. It felt safe and was a 1/2 mile walk to the beach. The staff were friendly enough, although they didn't go over and beyond by any means. I guess I could've felt more welcome, but I didn't necessarily feel unwelcome. Decent selection for breakfast in the morning, although it was pretty crowded. The bed was comfortable for a hostel and it was quiet at night. My roommates were all respectful and cordial and each person gets their own locker in the room, so I felt like my stuff was safe. Public transportation in the city was great and the hostel is definitely within walking distance of restaurants and a drug/grocery store. I would stay here again in a heartbeat. Can't beat the price versus a hotel.
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Review from Jenny C.
8/7/2008
Magnetic key cards are generally a great thing... they're easy to carry, small and unobtrusive, and often times a good card to hand to a taxi driver as you try to find your way home.
They can also be bad... Like when you stay at a hostel and it won't open your room door upon returning from the shower... (thank heavens for flip flops and bathrobes!)
The idea of hostelling is relatively foreign (for lack of a better term) to me. But upon arriving in Vancouver on a cheap school trip last fall my peers and I were directed to stay here at for our 4 day adventure.
It's by far the best hostel I've stayed at, and is in a great location near downtown. The rooms are small but nice... they include comfy bedding on bunk beds, lots of outlets to charge your phone and camera, a desk, lockers, and a vanity. Plenty of room for 4 girls to temporarily move into for a few days.
A small typical continental breakfast is in the kitchen in the mornings, and could probably be skipped for a coffee and local flavor instead. The staff is great and friendly, they have lots of resources on things to do and places to see depending on what your interests may be.
And they didn't even bat an eye when a girl with her head wrapped in towel and juggling bottles of shampoo and conditioner showed up at the front desk looking for a new key.... -
Review from Mary Liz C.
12/20/2011 1 Check-in Here
I have mixed feelings about this HI. On the one hand, it had everything that a hostel needs to have, well-equipped kitchen, clean rooms, and a couple of common areas. I guess I felt that the whole place was a little too large. It had a very institutional feeling to it, like a large college dorm. It also did not strike me as an easy place to meet fellow hostellers. The staff varied from being quite friendly to being incredibly apathetic. One evening there was a problem with the fire alarm. The staff person didn't want to just come upstairs with me to check it out until another person came down with the same complaint. My other comment is that the cleaning staff on the day we were supposed to check out came into our room without even knocking. Check out is at 11, and they woke up our fellow travelers at 9 by walking into their private room to ask if they were checking out... Seems a bit odd and a violation of privacy to come into a room 2 hours before check out. The location is pretty ideal, not quite in the center of town like the other HI, close to the river, and nearby to plenty of attractions. The hostel is adequate, and I would stay here again, if I found nothing else to be better. However, the next time I go to Vancouver, I think I'll try the HI Central first.
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Review from Brian K.
8/31/2008
3 stars for a hostel (not a hotel). Very friendly staff. As you can imagine, the "washrooms" (what Canadians call bathrooms and restrooms) and rooms are somewhat dirty. But then again, if you're paying ~$35/night you better shut your lips and stop whining.
Location is EXCELLENT. It's strategically and centrally located for all the tourists places to see. Again, excellent location. No additional cost Wi-Fi in the lobby. Lots of info and a very useful map in the lobby area (that you can take).
MAJOR TIP: If you are super busy in your regular life like me where it's hard to plan for your vacation, you can literally come to this hostel with no knowledge of Vancouver and then explore every single piece of it without getting lost. The maps and information at this hostel are THAT useful. -
Review from Khamis H.
1/22/2010
Prime location, helpful staff, free breakfast, awesome kitchen, clean rooms. This place has a TON going for it as a hostel. I really enjoyed my stay and the staff certainly helped me get around.
When I landed coming in from the States I didn't even know the cross roads of the hostel. Just got to Davie and asked around. It worked! And I found my way around just like that during the rest of my time in Vancouver. This is really a great place to stay when traveling alone. -
Review from Sophia M.
9/12/2009
This was our second time staying at this hostel. Great location right off of Davies Street, close near lots of restaurants and a little grocery store to pick up provisions. Just a few blocks to the water as well. Our private room was a little dingy, but the shared bathrooms were clean. This hostel offers free breakfast, including bagels, fruit, cereal, juices, coffee, etc. The folks staying at this place represented a wide range of ages. Only bummer was a family across the hall from us with crying toddler that yowled intermittently through the night. Normally this would annoy the crap out of me, but I appreciate that this young family was still getting out there an traveling, even with a wee one.
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Review from Rachel K.
3/23/2009
Stayed here for two nights in mid-March in a room with two others on the second floor (a private room since we knew each other). Not the best hostel I've stayed in and it was a little cold during the day, though the blankets were a lot warmer than I expected. The breakfast was the real highlight--lots of stuff to eat ranging from oatmeal and bagels to fruit and muffins.
