My 4 adult children,3 grandchildren and myself are spending a weekend in Victoria in Jan or Feb. and I would like any recommendations for hotels/motels,within walking distance to the Museum and harbor. We are on a budget, so under $100. Also any recommendations for children-friendly restaurants. Thanks.

a hotel for 7 people for under $100 is going to be pretty tough. do a search for a comfort inn & suites. i remember coming across one last summer that was reasonably priced and looked nice for families (but i doubt under $100 - remember hotel tax & gst). good luck

Sorry, I should have explained that's how many in our group - of course, we would have to have 2-3 rooms. I did look at some of the Comfort Inns and some other "chain" hotels, but I just wanted to know if anyone had found anything good at $100 or less per room, within walking distance to things. It's hard to tell by just looking at a picture. Thanks for your help.

Barb,

Last June we stay at the Helm's Inn (www.helmsinn.com). Very nice place, excellent location within walking distance from Inner Harbour and the BC Legislative Building; and the price was very acceptable.

jet29

Try the "Traveller's Inn" chains. They are sprinkled throughout Victoria. Very reasonable and they include a kind of continental breakfast.

A cautionary word - the Travellers Inns have received awful reviews on this site and elsewhere. They're not very clean and the staff seems incompetent and generally unpleasant.
I'd suggest you try the Executive House Hotel. It's downtown, very close to everything and they have suites with full kitchens. Right now they have winter rates advertised - $80 US ($105 CDN) for a room - not sure what the rate is for suites. I've stayed there and liked it just fine.

Thanks for the responses. The Helms Inn looks great. I hope the pictures are not deceiving. The rates are certainly good and the location looks perfect.

Another "nay" for Travellers Inn. We stayed there few summers ago and the rooms were not that great and hallways were rather stinky. Breakfast was terrible, really.

Has anyone been to Crystal Court Motel? The location and prices look good. Also any recommendations for "family" style restaurants within walking distance of the harbor area.

I don't know anyone who has stayed at the Crystal Court Motel but it is in a fabulous location, across the street from the Spaghetti Foundry and about as close to the main sights as you can get . The place is old-old-fashioned and hasn't changed much in years so, from the outside at least, it is nothing to write home about.

Helm's Inn might have nicer rooms (?) and, personally, I'd probably prefer it. It is just up the hill from Crystal Court by the corner of Beacon Hill Park. Next to it are the Shamrock Suites, a motel with outside entrances like the Crystal Court, but it appears to have been renovated and spruced up quite nicely (on the outside anyway). They also have a lovely-looking heritage house B&B in behind.

I don't know about family restaurants but Milestones at the Inner Harbour might fit the bill. For large sandwiches, Sam's Deli is in the same area, on Government Street near the Empress Hotel. We didn't much care for Copper John's up the street. Wharfside on Wharf St. isn't my favourite either but they do have a great location over-looking the harbour. You can get quick, inexpensive lunches in the museum's cafeteria, and breakfasts and lunches at the Dutch Bakery downtown on Fort Street, 700 block.

Dear Barb,
My husband and I once stayed at the `Admiral Hotel` right at the inner harbor within walking distance to just about everything. Visit their website at:
http://www.admiral.bc where you can catch some pictures of the rooms. We stayed in a one-room suite w/living room plus kitchenette. Also included is a continental breakfast and free parking in back. Longer periods of stay are also accepted. Their rates are the best in Jan and Feb. Keep in mind, rates posted are in Canadian dollars, which means a lower price in U.S. dollars. This hotel worked out very well for us for the one night as the next day we moved into our vacation rental home for a month's stay on the island.
Good luck to you and family.
Francie

A couple years ago I stayed in the Traveller's Inn that does not offer breakfast (whichever that one is - I think City Centre) and it was fine and unremarkable - about equal to a Doubletree I stayed at in Portland. The nice thing is two king size beds in each room. The nearest TI location is about a 20-30 minute walk from Parliament, though.

I would ordinarily recommend Priceline, but apparently Priceline includes the Red Lion which is some distance away from the center as a 3* hotel. That means that any 3* or less bid is not really a safe bet if you want a close in hotel. The only 4* that has shown up is the Empress, but that often only offers 1 queen-size bed per room.

I can recommend the Royal Scot - we stayed there over Thanksgiving. It is a suite hotel - studios to two bedroom suites with full kitchens (I understand it used to be an apartment building that was converted). We stayed over Thanksgiving. It's in a block or two from the Inner Harbour behind the Legislative Buildings.
Rooms are clean with pull out sofas for the kids - it should be close to your budget. The hotel also has a pool and games room for kids - check them out at www.royalscot.com. Good luck!