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Post by shanniebananie on Apr 24, 2024 0:47:52 GMT
I would love hotel recs for Victoria, BC. Myself and 2 friends plan to visit in late September. What about someplace that has a suite? We each like our own bed. Are there VRBOs?
What activities do you recommend?
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Post by epeanymous on Apr 24, 2024 0:57:00 GMT
Victoria is one of the only places I've actually taken a bus tour -- last time I was there, I took the passenger ferry from Seattle so didn't have a car and wanted to get out a bit, and whatever bus tour I took was actually pretty nice. For obvious tourist activities, there is tea at the Empress and a trip to Butchart Gardens. Mostly when I go I just walk around a lot  . The two hotels I've used are the Empress and the Regent Waterfront. I don't know the air bnb situation. The only advice I have is that a lot of the city is walkable, so I'd stay near the middle to take advantage of that. |
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Post by Delta Dawn on Apr 24, 2024 1:36:02 GMT
I live in Victoria and suggest taking a water taxi around the harbour and get off in front of Fisherman’s Wharf and you could see China Town. Don Mee is famous for dim sum. There are lots of nice restaurants downtown.
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Post by grammadee on Apr 24, 2024 2:52:50 GMT
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Post by bc2ca on Apr 24, 2024 16:11:52 GMT
The provincial government is changing the laws regarding short-term rentals effective May 1/24 so the type of rental grammadee linked is not available for you in September. If you put in a start day now, you will see the earliest end date is 90 days later. Bed and Breakfast places and some short term rentals in private homes are still allowed. CBC story on changes to BC short-term rental rulesWe usually stay with my Victoria based sister now that her kids have left the nest, which is no help to you LOL.. In the past,another sister always stayed in the Hotel Grand Pacific near the Empress and Inner Harbour. They found it more cost effective to get 2 adjoining rooms than a suite for the family. Biggest bonus was probably having 2 bathrooms. We preferred the Oak Bay Beach Hotel as it was closer to the family, but not in a great walkable area. I second a trip to Butchart Gardens and afternoon tea whether at the Empress or elsewhere and will add an Italian dinner at Pagliacci's, breakfast at Jam Cafe (don't let the line scare you away, it is about the only place I'll line up) and a visit to the Royal BC Museum. Purdy's Chocolates are far better IMHO than Roger's although I've bought Roger's in the last few years just to collect the Misha Smart tins in their Canadian Art Tin collection. |
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Post by MichyM on Apr 24, 2024 16:35:32 GMT
I would love hotel recs for Victoria, BC. Myself and 2 friends plan to visit in late September. What about someplace that has a suite? We each like our own bed. Are there VRBOs? What activities do you recommend? I was up there last spring and stay at the Worldmark in a 2 bedroom/2 bath suite with kitchen/dining room/living room. It's off the beaten track near the ferry terminal, but we didn't mind as w enjoy walking (and did take the little foot "ferry" a couple of times when we were beat). I've also stayed at the Chateau Victoria in the same type of suite. The Empress is LOVELY and I've stayed there before but it's going to be $$$$. |
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Post by Karene on Apr 24, 2024 22:08:10 GMT
We stayed at the Days Inn on Belleville Street. It wasn't very expensive and had a view over the harbour at the ferry terminal. Our room had 2 queen beds. It was walking distance to walk we wanted. We took a sunset whale watching trip outof Fisherman's Wharf and we also did a seaplane tour of the city. We could walk to both. Another day we took a drive up the west coast towards Port Renfrew and walked in the rainforest to Botanical Beach. It was raining that day but still interesting. It was beautiful and sunny on our seaplane and whale watching trips.
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Post by busy on Apr 24, 2024 23:32:21 GMT
breakfast at Jam Cafe (don't let the line scare you away, it is about the only place I'll line up) Can't agree with this more. One of my favorite breakfasts anywhere. We go every time we're in BC. |
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Post by melanieg on Apr 25, 2024 2:02:56 GMT
If there is a Staybridge there, they offer a 2 bedroom suite at their hotels (1 king and 2 queen plus sofa bed).
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Post by drummergirl65 on Apr 25, 2024 3:05:26 GMT
I've stayed at the Chateau Victoria as it's walkable to a lot of places. They have a really nice restaurant upstairs called Vista 18. Great place for a good meal and to watch the sunset. Do be sure to check out Chinatown. Fan Tan Alley is an interesting spot. Then catch a water taxi and head over to Fisherman's Wharf. Not very big but has some great fish and chip shops. Take a stroll down the breakwater and you might see some seals etc. For fun we have done the "haunted" walking tours. Fun for some interesting local history. Pop into Murchies tea salon for a good cup of tea and goodies. I always enjoy their paninis and scones.
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valincal
Drama Llama
Southern Alberta
Posts: 5,807 
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Post by valincal on Apr 25, 2024 7:12:03 GMT
bc2ca Good to see you back! 🥰 Our friends who own airbnbs in Kelowna have decided to sell those properties. It will be an interesting summer in the Okanagan without Airbnb and Vrbo rentals. We own a home in Vernon (where we spend about 6 months a year and do not rent out) and because our primary residence is still in Calgary we will have pay the speculation and vacancy tax as it’s been expanded to our area.
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Post by fredfreddy44 on Apr 25, 2024 14:37:46 GMT
I would love hotel recs for Victoria, BC. Myself and 2 friends plan to visit in late September. What about someplace that has a suite? We each like our own bed. Are there VRBOs? What activities do you recommend? I was up there last spring and stay at the Worldmark in a 2 bedroom/2 bath suite with kitchen/dining room/living room. It's off the beaten track near the ferry terminal, but we didn't mind as w enjoy walking (and did take the little foot "ferry" a couple of times when we were beat). I've also stayed at the Chateau Victoria in the same type of suite. The Empress is LOVELY and I've stayed there before but it's going to be $$$$. We stayed the Worldmark there exactly two years ago. It was a lovely trip. We took the water taxi as far as we could and walked back. My husband did a fishing trip and I did the airplane ride over the city. We both did whale watching through Prince of Whales. It was nice to cook our dinners or go out, depending on our mood and we had a wonderful 7th story view of the harbor. |
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Post by bc2ca on Apr 25, 2024 18:46:31 GMT
I was up there last spring and stay at the Worldmark in a 2 bedroom/2 bath suite with kitchen/dining room/living room. Thanks for mentioning this - I'm going to pass it on to a few friends that don't have a Victoria home base now that their parents have moved into senior living places. Can't agree with this more. One of my favorite breakfasts anywhere. We go every time we're in BC. DD lived in Vancouver for a few years and every trip up included a stop at Jam. It was the first thing scheduled in for us.  We own a home in Vernon (where we spend about 6 months a year and do not rent out) and because our primary residence is still in Calgary we will have pay the speculation and vacancy tax as it’s been expanded to our area. Ugh, we've owned a condo in Vancouver for almost 30 years that is rented out with the long term plan that we would use it part time when DH retired and float between Vancouver and San Diego. We would get hit with both the Vancouver tax and the BC tax unless we change our residency back to Canada, so are trying to figure things out as DH is sort of retired this year. shanniebananie, I haven't been to the White Heather Tea Room but it is highly recommended by friends and preferred over the Empress. It is on a nice street to poke around just a few minutes away from downtown and would be perfect to combine with a trip to Craigdarroch Castle. I mentioned Rogers Chocolates up thread. They are a Victoria original. Munro Books is another Victoria original, an independent bookstore that is worth a visit. Murchies is the local tea & coffee shop. If you like historic sites, Fort Rod Hill and the Fisgard Lighthouse National Historic Sites are worth a visit. |
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