Our family will be visiting here in August after an Alaskan cruise. I was here about 30 years ago, and remember its beauty. We will be traveling with our 2 "ultra-sophisticated" teens. We need 2 rooms or a large-ish suite.Can you suggest something cheaper than the Empress, but with the fabulous location and possible view? One travel planner suggested the Queen Victoria Inn---comments?

We're just back from Victoria. Stayed at a delightful downtown hotel, the Bedford Regency (or Regency Bedford?) A very pleasant, smaller, older hotel (always our preference), but very, very well-kept. They have a web page; the front desk told me about it at check out....but I'm not unpacked enough yet to find it! I'll make a note of your address and send it on to you when I find it. Good luck!

Thanks would appreciate the address when you find it. Where is it located? Near the Empress??
Thanks again, Ellen

I was in Victoria about 8 years ago and stayed at the most wonderful bed & breakfast called Abigails Hotel. It was a beautifully restored home, with wonderfully large rooms and only 2 blocks from down town Victoria. I hope it is still there and if you stay there. I hope you love it as much as I did.

Yes, it's right downtown (the Beford Regency) and we walked to the Empress for cocktails in a neat, paneled Kipling's Bar (forget tea...at least we thought so, at $25 pp). But it was walking distance to terrific shopping, the waterfront, etc. Sorry I haven't come up with the address yet -- I haven't finished unpacking. YOu know how it goes! But I'll try to do so soon...or just try a dogpile search and see where you get....They are incredibly helpful and turn up tons of stuff!

Two years ago I stayed at Ocean Point Resort on Songhees Road. The room I was in had a nice view of the inner harbour and the Empress Hotel. Accomodations are pretty first rate and the price is a little less than the Empress.

By far our favourite place to stay in Victoria is the Royal Scot Inn (also referred to as Victoria's Suite Hotel). If you want to settle in comfortably with plenty of room (full kitchen and living room and one or two separate bedroom) you cannot beat it. It is 100 yards from the Parliament Buildings and one block from the Inner Harbour. The AA rating is "apartment motor inn, 3 diamond, and special rates for AAA members". Also has restaurant, heated pool, sauna, whirlpool, exercise room, video-game room, secure parking. The only thing is there is another hotel in front blocking the view but then only one side of the Empress has a view. If you want the experience of the Empress (also one block away) you might like to like to partake in the Empress' afternoon tea of scones and fancy sandwiches at a 'steep' $25 CAD per person. Although the Empress has been refurbished quite recently it is still old and stuffy. Aside from tourists the Royal Scot rents weekly and monthly to those who find themselves in Victoria on extended government business. My Automobile Association book shows AAA summer '98 rates at the Royal Scot as $125-219 CAD XP15 (children under 16 free). They list having 4 two-bedroom suites along with 3 luxury Royal Suites with full kitchen which may cost more. Their phone number is 1-800-663-7515 and their email address is: [email protected] I think your family might enjoy a visit to the Provincial Museum (again only a block or two away). For comparison the Empress rates are $235 to 325 2P/2B XP25. Although it is listed as a 4 diamond property, it also lists that "rooms vary greatly in style". Friends returning from a overnight stay at the Empress last weekend said their room was disappointing. Ocean Pointe has a 'four diamond rating' $149-399 2P/2B XP25 and is a newer resort but right out 'on the point' and quite far away from the Empress, the Parliament Buildings etc. Regency Bedford, a '3 diamond historic hotel' is listed at $165 2P/2B XP $20 and Abigail's a 3 diamond historic B&B $145-165 2P/2B XP30. Queen Victoria Inn is a 3 diamond hotel $125-225 XP20 with 6 two bedroom units (91 of the 128 rooms have kitchens with a 15 extra charge). Remember all these prices are CAD. Have a wonderful Alaskan cruise. Are you spending any time in Vancouver before or after your cruise?

3 yrs ago yesterday, we were in Victoria on our honeymoon & also stayed at Abigail's Hotel. Absolutely fabulous. The bathroom was great!

My wife and I stayed at the Chateau Victoria a few years ago and found it to be great. The staff was absolutely wonderful, the restaurant on top was very good and the hotel is located near the Empress, about two blocks away. It is a suite-style hotel and I'm sure they can provide a great deal for you and your teens. Best of luck.

I really can't see what the attraction of Victoria is....we visited in May and it was so touristy and crowded I felt like I was in Disneyland. The Buthcart gardens were very English and rigid and crowded and much too expensive. I was really expecting something more quaint.

A word of advice. If you are coming to Victoria around the weekend of Aug. 15th, I suggest you book your room as early as possible. There is a Dragon Boat competetition in town in the inner harbour and it will be very hard to get a room then. Hope you enjoy your stay here.

Abigail's Guest House is pretty popular, I'd say.
We were in Victoria in 1991 and we stayed there, too. We had a small suite with bedroom, bath, living area and kitchenette. It was very reasonable as I recall, probably around $50 per night. It was slightly off the beaten path past the Empress from the dock then to the right and a few blocks down the street. At the time it was recommended by Fodor's as a best buy. We liked it very much. We walked all over. Took a bus tour to the gardens on day. We loved Victoria.