Ocean Island Inn | Backpackers | Suites

I stayed 2 nights. I went home oovered in small red bites to my face, neck, hands, arms, shoulders and legs. Any areas not covered with clothing received bites from an insect. My doctor back in Courtenay told me these were not mosquito bites, but were 100% Bed Bug bites, as he had seen them several times. I was SHOCKED AND DISAPPOINTED THAT in 2026 in our Capitol City, we would have such an egregious problem.

The staff were friendly and helpful, and they actually upgraded me from a dorm to a private room, which I appreciated. Facilities were basic but adequate for a backpacker hostel. Breakfast was simple (toast and spreads) but fine for the price. However, the main issue was cleanliness. The bedding clearly wasn’t freshly cleaned. There were multiple hairs on the sheets from previous guests. The room also had mold on the windows, and the window insulation seemed very poor because I could hear the street and rain almost as if the window was open. Unfortunately I also had an extremely itchy night. At first I worried about bed bugs, but it seemed more like an allergic itchy reaction to dust mites or the bed’s skin cell salad. Hard to say exactly what caused it, but it made for a very restless sleep. The location is also in a rougher area with visible homelessness and drug activity, which travelers should be aware of. The staff try their best to provide a budget stay despite this. The most important thing for a hostel is clean bedding. I really hope they improve that. This place is also due for a renovation. The facilities need help.

I requested a female-only room, but staff said none were available, even though several other women told me they also asked for the same and were forced to share with men. Clearly, a women’s room could have been arranged if the hotel cared. On top of that, the last bed I was given was infested with bedbugs. Even after the mattress and sheets were changed, there were still many bugs, and I was bitten all over. I ended up spending the night in the lobby because they claimed no beds were available, which was untrue since other guests told me the next morning they had empty beds in their rooms. To be fair, the staff was polite. Breakfast is varied and location is great. I would not recommend this hostal unless they improve their room allocation policies and address the bedbug problem seriously.

I requested a female-only room, but staff said none were available, even though several other women told me they also asked for the same and were forced to share with men. Clearly, a women’s room could have been arranged if the hotel cared. On top of that, the last bed I was given was infested with bedbugs. Even after the mattress and sheets were changed, there were still many bugs, and I was bitten all over. I ended up spending the night in the lobby because they claimed no beds were available, which was untrue since other guests told me the next morning they had empty beds in their rooms.

Be aware of bed bugs! Very old building, no working AC, rooms are small, dirty and like an oven!! Showers/bathroomd dirty, water everywhere. Loud as on the main street which is full of drug and homeless peope (the whole area!)!! Dinner not edible, and same pasta & curry every night, Breakfast soft toast, cheap juice, ice cold eggs, and canned acid fruits, no hit chocolate any day!! It is a hotspot rather for Asian & Indian tourists. Dont get fooled by the (not understandable) good reviews!!

I hope another hostel is accessible in the coming years because it would make them seriously clean the rooms, namely the insects that bite you in the evening. I woke up itchy on multiple occasions and had bites on my body the next morning. This negative is balanced out by very kind and helpful hosts, an amazing breakfast, and the complimentary evening drink for sure. Its location is also very ideal. Were it not for the bed bugs, spiders or mosquitoes in the room biting you during the night it would be a five star hostel in my view. I can’t say this issue holds for all the rooms, but it sure did for room 16, bed 1 (BEWARE).

Stayed in Room 17K and left early because the room was gross — hairs in the bed, dirty counters, and a small red bug in the sheets that I *hoped* wasn’t a bed bug. Spoiler alert: it was. When I tried to check out early, instead of asking “How was your stay?” or trying to help, the front desk just said, “No refund for you!” — which is a great way to make a guest feel unwelcome, not valued. They say they don’t want to greet guests that way, but that’s exactly what happened. Management says they “need to be advised at the time” to fix issues, but how was I supposed to report bugs at check-in when I hadn’t even been in the room yet? And when I tried to raise concerns at checkout, I was cut off. So, no chance to fix things on site — which they say is why they won’t refund me. They admit their “high standards of quality” weren’t met — the hairs and dirty counters prove that — and that the “nauseating air freshener” is a love-it-or-hate-it thing they could have removed or even moved me to another room, but none of that happened. They claim they found no evidence of bed bugs but will “treat it as such” because it’s a serious complaint. I have photos of the bites I woke up with at home, and I saw a similar bug in my own apartment later. Seems pretty connected to me. Finally, they say they won’t refund me because I “threatened” to leave negative reviews — except I’m just sharing my honest experience, which any traveler deserves to hear. They offered a discount for a future stay, but after this, I won’t be going back. If you want a clean, safe place with guest service that actually listens, look elsewhere.

I am uncertain whether my symptoms were caused by an allergic reaction or bedbugs, but regardless of the source, I felt compelled to leave. During my stay, I noticed a progressive decline in my health, which seemed to worsen the longer I remained. The overall cleanliness of the establishment was highly inadequate. However, upon relocating, my health began to improve.

I will never stay here again. Service was terrible. Bed bugs, blood stained sheets, hair in food. Dirty room. Bad area of town. Beatles and mice. Staff did not care. Terrible beyond belief!!!

I had bed bugs bites after my stay here in ocotber, I checked my travel itenary and I am quite confident it‘s from this hostel. I heard they do check HI hostels with a dog from time to time, maybe that‘s worth considering. Apart from that I enjoyed my stay. The free breakfast and dinner is great and its good for socializing.

The hostel is quite dirty and I found a bedbug in my bed. At least the staff is very nice and you get free breakfast, dinner and welcome beer. I would not come back anyways.

Everyone is very nice and the location is great, but my room was swarming with bed bugs

Bed bugs! Steer clear. Also very dirty. Disgusting. Never recommend. Id like a refund

I was a bit wary about staying here due to some negative reviews I saw but it ended up being great! Me and my boyfriend stayed here for three nights and we had absolutely not issues whatsoever. We found the room and bathrooms were clean and the space felt safe. I checked for bedbugs (as I do at all hotels) and found nothing but I would recommend checking just in your room just in case. Overall great stay!!

We stayed here for 2 nights. It was a relatively pleasant stay as we were primarily just coming back to sleep and shower even though the room we had had no standing space. Unfortunately, as we were getting ready for check-out my mother found a bug at the foot of the bed in the bedsheets. In the span of about ten minutes we found three more. They were not bedbugs but it was still highly unpleasant and soured our experience. We informed the person at the front desk during checkout but they said and I quote “it’s not what you think it is and probably just some type of fly”. That just made us feel worse. They did say they would send housekeeping up to investigate but that doesn’t make us relieved as we were already leaving. If you stay here, check your bedding first thing after arriving.

Bed Bugs Alert!!!! It's 5:00 am now. Check the pictures and the videos. I was visiting with my father and in the middle of the night I noticed these bugs crawling right next to my face. In the dark I couldn't recognise and got up to see 2 more. I rushed down to wake up others. In the meantime, with lights on, we noticed 2 more crawling all over. Then we saw a notice outside the door of the dorm that we must vacate the room by 9am because of deep cleaning and maintenance!!! Do you see the audacity of these people???? They put up a notice, knowing that there are bugs in the room, but they cannot inform us or they didn't even think of relocating us to another room or dorm! Our health doesn't matter? Or is it okay for a bug to bite us?? Upon complaining to the guy at reception, he told us to vacate the room right away or sleep there until 8am and they will give us a refund. Where are we supposed to go in the middle of the night? Or are we supposed to risk our health knowing that there are bed bugs floating all over the mattresses and sleep on it because the manager is not here yet? Pathetic reply to such situations. BEWARE OF THE BED BUGS GUYS!

Almost everything was nice about the place except for the bed bugs. I really wish they gave the guests a heads up about that because they are a pain to get rid of.

Beg bugs issue and smells bad in rooms

Bedbugs, No sense of responsibility, Poor hygiene

BEDBUG ALERT!!! Ik had een privé kamer wat in eerste instantie er al niet erg fris uitzag. De badkamers zijn ook super smerig. Keuken stonk enorm. Toen ik wilde gaan slapen om 12 uur snachts zag ik een bedwants. Foto gemaakt en meteen naar de receptie gelopen. Die gaf twee opties. Verschonen van lakens (wat niet helpt bij bedwantsen) of uitchecken met volledige terugbetaling. Morgen kon ik met d'r manager praten. Ik vroeg waar ik nu nog terecht kon. Ik kon geen ander bed krijgen want ik kon de bedwantsen misschien overdragen. Begrijpelijk dat ik niet bij andere gasten kan slapen, er waren nog andere prive kamers vrij, maar dat wilde ze niet vrijgeven, anders moesten er twee kamers worden gereinigd. Ik kreeg een lijst met opties om naartoe te gaan. Wat super onverantwoordelijk is tegenover andere hostels/hotels. Ik kon zelfs niet bellen want ik heb geen Canadees nummer. De balie medewerker belde een aantal opties, niemand had plek. Het voorstel was om op de bank te slapen in de 'movie room'. Een kleine (de badkamers waren nog groter) smerige kamer zonder ramen met alleen een bank en een tv. De bank stonk en was helemaal uitgezakt. Het was overduidelijk dat dit nog smeriger was als de kamer. Uiteindelijk heb ik volledig het bedrag wat ik heb betaald teruggestort gekregen en heb ik met behulp van mijn moeder uit Nederland een hotel kunnen boeken. Het was ondertussen 02:30 's nachts. Ik ben nog nooit zo onrechtvaardig behandeld. Dit hostel maakt zich geen zorgen over het welzijn van haar gasten. Ik ben nu veel geld kwijt aan een hotel en heb misschien bedwantsen opgelopen door dit hostel. De volgende ochtend ben ik langsgegaan om een vergoeding te vragen voor de hotelkamer en ik zag dat de kamer weer beschikbaar stond! Onmenselijk! De 'manager' gaf aan dat ik alleen kon praten met de eigenaar. Het was niet bekend wanneer die er was en ze konden niks doen. Ik kon een e-mail sturen... Vreselijke en onmenselijke ervaring. Ik kan niet geloven dat iemand zo laat aan haar lot wordt overgelaten. Het is dichtbij de stad, niet in een fijn gedeelte. Ga hier niet heen, al zou je ervoor worden betaald!

No paper towel in bathrooms. But I sort of understand...

Booked a room for me and my daughter. When we got there I made the beds and soon after found bites on my arm and face. Went down to front desk to ask for a different room or refund. Management could not provide a different room and would not refund the cost of the room. Had to find different accommodations for the night and had to wash everything we took on our trip. I googled the hostel and they have had other incidents of bedbugs. Would not recommend staying here. Pay the extra and stay somewhere that is clean with good customer service.

Was there for two nights. Heard rumor saying about bedbugs spray whatever. I didn't catch the whole sentence. I don't see any bugs during my staying. The hostel has the vibe of vintage. Good place to stay as a backpack person under the budget. The front desk people are really nice and helpful.

1. Booked/pre-paid for lower bunk. Was given upper bunk, although presented receipt/proof of lower bunk booking. Was told person on lower bunk had already checked in - no one had checked into the room when I arrived; lower bunks in the room were either unoccupied or had a one-night-stay guest in one, sometimes someone staying 2+ nights in the other. Upper bunks difficult to climb up and down (need better handholds). Pro: sturdy bunks - didn't wake up when person on lower bunk moved. 2. Front reception: Some staff kind/helpful; others less so. Lengthy line-ups at front desk most times; other times ignored for a few minutes when approached counter (no other guests there); once, registered guests in line were ignored to help a new booking that walked in. Recommendations: Front desk staff ask, "Can I help the next person", or have numbers given out during busy times to help people in order; staff acknowledge you're waiting, "I'll be with you in just a moment". I didn't want to be rude and interrupt, so it's good to at least be acknowledged - some staff did this, but others didn't. 3. Food/Kitchen: No breakfast. Website not updated to indicate this - it only indicated no supper due to covid. Free food fridge/cupboards (fridges get cleaned out each week so don't forget to change the sticker to the next week's colour before it's cleaned out, or your food's moved to the 'free' section). One oven works; stovetops worked. 4. Sleep quality: Absolutely terrible. Hostel is located within a block of tent city: constant screaming/yelling/loud offensive music through the night (and daytime) in the street below; loud vehicles/semis passing by; gunshots one night. 5. Safety: Although I initially felt unsafe walking alone at night, I was not aggressively approached by anyone. A simple 'hello' was typically returned in kind. Hostel front door, main floor bathroom, and access to upper floors are securely locked at all times. Guests have keys to access building, main floor bathroom, and access to upper floors. No one ever asked me for unauthorized access outside or inside. 6. Cleanliness: The dirtiest floors, and most dimly-lit, rundown-looking hostel I've stayed in. Hostel responses to other reviewers indicate high cleanliness standards, but this was not entirely evident the week of my stay. Possibly because of the high traffic through the hostel. Also, a large rodent was investigating the common dining area one evening. No bedbugs were encountered or mentioned by others during my stay. Bathrooms typically quite tidy/clean. 7. Other comments/pros: You meet a lot of people from around the world; some guests happy to buddy up for a day/meet for lunch/an activity. A place to prepare/store you own food. Mini fridges in the rooms you sleep in. Visit in common areas if you want to. Secure place to keep luggage between check-out time and when you leave to your next destination. Guests respectful of quiet times. Sound didn't seem to carry from below or rooms around us. Some very inconsiderate guests left their dirty dishes piled up and unwanted cooked food in pots on the stove after they'd taken what they wanted. Please clean up after yourself - in Canada, regardless of where you are from/what your home is like, it is disrespectful not to clean behind yourself in a place like this. 8. Location: Located within a block of main downtown bus terminal area, and within easy walking distance to the harbour, shopping, other key attractions, but is also 1 block from tent city. 10. Price was affordable, but I'll be planning to book elsewhere in the future as sleep quality and feeling safe to walk in the evening is critical to me.

中国上世纪九十年代的招待所，有bedbugsh房间里还带一股臭味

Let me start the review by saying I am a mature female traveller, who has never stayed in a hostel before, many Covid restrictions had lifted and it was August. I opted for the queen room with private bathroom, mini fridge, TV with Fire stick. PROS: check-in was smooth and staff were friendly. My bathroom was basic, but very clean, fridge was clean, small fan and TV worked as expected. I did NOT have bed bugs as other reviewers experienced. (Phew!) Room décor was interesting and unique. Location of inn is good. CONS: No elevator. If you have mobility issues this mightn't be the place for you. Even without mobility issues, I struggled to get my suitcase to 3rd floor room as there was no one to help. My room window was on Pandora street, its very noisy with traffic, sirens and a couple of people who hung out most of the night playing music and/or yelling at each other. No AC in the room but keeping my window open through the night was very noisy. The queen bed is an IKEA-ish metal frame with a 4" foam mattress. Not very comfortable. There are amenities listed on the website that weren't available "due to covid" yet there was no reduction in the cost of my stay from pre-covid rates. For the cost of that room, I suggested you put in a window air conditioner and a proper bed with box spring and mattress. In summary, it could have worse but I will stay at a hotel next time.

We booked a private room for 2 nights, looked nothing like the photos online. Very tiny, depressing, and horrible air quality. No air con, just a dusty fan. After one sleep there, petrified of getting bed bugs and just really not liking the space or area of the hostel. They ran out of towels at night so we couldn’t shower, and in the morning we asked for one and they were still out of towels. We cut our trip short and went home early. If you want a private room in Victoria , I recommend just spending more and staying in a hotel…

Horrible place. DON’T COME HERE!!! I wish I could leave this place 0 stars. My partner and I stayed for 2 nights and we found bed bugs all over the bed. She woke up with over 5 bites all over her body. When we checked around the bed it was covered with bugs. We went to the front desk, the manager gave us our money back but left us on our own for our last night. We took forever to find at least one hotel for our last night and it was over twice the amount. So we lost money, a whole day from our trip washing all our belongings, and the owners of the Hostel didn’t even care. Don’t come here if you are not prepared to deal with bed bugs, dirty rooms, disgusting washrooms filled with hair and garbage, and a bad service over all.

Stayed here for a month. The prices are good, but I noticed some people in dorms had bed bugs. Laundry on site is expensive, and some of the service desk people can be quite rude. They put us above the lounge and it was impossible to get to sleep before 11 due to the annoying music. You do get what you pay for though so we were mostly satisfied with our stay. They do like to keep it clean in bathrooms. Most people there are great so it's worth it to check Ocean Island out.