need help with Victoria hotel
 

I will be visiting Victoria for two nights at the end of August. I will be travelling with my husband and two 13 year old daughters. I have gotten several suggestions - Prior House (B&B), Fair Holme Manor (B&B), Abigail's Hotel, and the Marriott Inner Harbor. Can anyone tell me what might be the best choice?

I can't help with the others, but we stayed at Abigail's in March. We were very happy there and would highly recommend it. The hotel is an easy walk to the inner harbor area, and is very close to Beacon Hill Park, which we were at every day. Our kids were with us, and the hotel was fine for that. They do not allow children under the age of 10, so it mostly caters to adults. The staff is very friendly and helpful. Our room was very nice, and spacious enough for the 4 of us. The hotel has appetizers around 5pm each night and guests gather in the library to socialize, and for a small fee you can taste various wines. There are some games and lots of books in the library, as well as a tv. The breakfast is very good, and they even offer light options.

Hopefully others can comment on the other hotels so you can decide what fits your family best.

The first three are rated by Karen Brown (see Pacific Northwest at www.karenbrown.com). Personally, I'm not a B&B person, so I can't speak first-hand to any but the Marriott (see pros and cons below) and Abigail's (which is very nice, within walking distance of the Inner Harbour). The two B&B's are in old residential areas a short (i.e. 5+ minutes) drive away. Nothing to do in those neighbourhoods but to walk and admire the scenery, though.

The Marriott is very nice and new and I've stayed there multiple times. Two things: If you do book it, it's worth paying for a view room -- the view is spectacular on the higher floors. It also has a great location, right behind the historic (but somewhat overpriced and non-air conditioned Empress Hotel). However, the Marriott was built as the first phase of several towers on the same block, and you'd be well-advised to see what the construction schedule will look like in August.

The other big hotel in the Inner Harbour area with pool etc. you might wish to investigate is the Hotel Grand Pacific. A good mid-sized modern boutique hotel is the Magnolia Hotel.

Without your own transportation, Prior House and Fairholme would be a little awkward. They are in a lovely area but not like downtown where you can easily walk to restaurants.

Thanks so much for all the info. I have a few questions. Does the Abigail hotel have TVs in the rooms or just in the library and is the breakfast included in the rate?

I am concerned about construction near the Marriott so just to be safe I will steer clear of it. I will look into the Hotel Grand Pacific. The Magnolia doesn't have rooms that will hold all 4 of us.

So...I guess it is between the Abigail and the Hotel Grand Pacific... I will look into the rates and go with the less expensive of the two. Oh, one final thought for mms - if the only tv is in the library, was it hard to watch what you wanted - ie - alot of people watching tv.

There were no televisions in the rooms and breakfast was included in the rate when I was there, but that was 2 years ago.

Littlemountain is correct. The funny thing is, we never watched tv and even with the kids we did not miss it at all. When we were in the library it was turned to digital music channels, and while we could have changed it when noone else was in there, we didn't. The kids never asked about it either. Upon checkin, the hotel staff gave us a tour of the hotel and mentioned to feel free to turn the channel. The breakfast is included in the rate, and it was very much worth it.

to mms - I called Abigail's today to get pricing info and was told they have a country room available with 2 double beds, but that it would be very tight for us and they didn't recommend it. Do you remember what type of room you stayed in? Thanks so much for your help.

You might get more space at the Royal Scot Suite Hotel, or at the Regent but for probably more money.
http://www.royalscot.com/
http://www.victoriaregent.com/

I have stayed at the Marriott & it was really nice, plus it is centrally located (right behind the Fairmont Empress Hotel) and close to shops, restaurants and attractions such as the Museum and the inner harbour. As the hotel is so close to the centre of the city, you will be able to catch public transport around.

The construction around the Marriott isn't right next door as the condo building next door has been completed. However across the street is going to be a construction zone for the next year, so it could be a little noisy.

Anyway, good luck with the search...
p.s Victoria is beautiful at the moment!

mag1063--We were in a Country Room, lol! Not sure if they have different sizes for those, but ours was quite large and we had no problem with the 4 of us. And we even brought tennis and lacrosse gear, lol! I wish I could remember our room number to help you. But the room was plenty big and it worked great for us.

Thank you everyone for your help. As it turns out, the Abigail was booked so I booked the Hotel Grand Pacific. Next question - We will be in Seattle, but will also be visiting Vancouver and Victoria. I am trying to figure out what the best route would be. We will have a car. I read somewhere to do the following: Seattle to Vancouver (we will spend one night), Tsawwasswen Ferry to Victoria (we will spend 2 nights), Coho Ferry to Port Angeles to Seattle. Is this the best route? Thanks so much.

Yes...good route.

As far as Seattle, I can probably help with that. We used to live there, DH was raised there, and inlaws are still there so we go back often. Let me know if you need any help with that:)