The place was clean! A bright, simple room, one queen bed, a window to the street, bathrooms close by across the hall. There's a roomy kitchen-living-relaxing space, fridges, free tea and coffee (the manager, John, makes a pot in the morning.) The location was excellent--right on the corner of Bastion and Commercial street, giving you walkable access to all the main attractions of Nanaimo. You can tell the place is cared for--houseplants are watered, no dying philodendrons malingering in the hallways! I appreciated John's attention to making sure he'd be available for dropping off and picking up my bags. Since he's not at the front desk constantly, you may have to use your phone to check in, and he'll show up promptly. There is a short staircase, if that's a concern. For my money, this is a great place to stay in Nanaimo.

I was surprised to find such clean, ideally located hostel in downtown Nanaimo. John was amazing. He accompanied my request and went beyond with friendliness and professional handling the situation. A really gem in town. Thank you.

This was a really cute place. Everything was so clean, the kitchen was a great space.

Great location. Value for your money. John the owner is a great guy. Accomodating and friendly

Awesome customer service - went far above and beyond to make sure I got checked in, even at 1:30AM (they normally close standard check-in at 8PM).

Very nice, respectful and clean.

John the steward of the place was great. He's helpful and helped us check in no problem.

Fine for a stop over, hostel lovers or for those that don't need much space. Room was very small but clean, building is old and charming; creaky floors with thin walls. The bathrooms were not very clean, smelled like urine with dirty, small and grimy shower.

The staff was very kind and friendly but the room condition was not recommendable.

If you’re open to bare-bones, inexpensive, quirkiness, remember this is a hostel (though I rented a private room. Very accommodating, all requests fulfilled. Friendly staff.

Amazing for stay in Nanaimo

So clean and comfortable. Would stay a week if i had time. Want to return

Felt like staying at a youth hostel, brought back great memories! Huge common room with cooking area. Lots of private bathroom/showers. Found an excellent Mexican restaurant Gina’s walking distance. Close to ferry.

Friendly staff, let me check in early. Great location, could use ac, and an in house coffee service, even if i had to pay.

Comfortable bed and cosy warm bedding. Older but very clean facility. Well equipped communal kitchen with pleasant dining room.

I had a disappointing experience during our stay. The room had a strong, unpleasant smell.The beddings were also in poor condition — they looked old, felt dirty, and had a noticeable odor The towels provided were dirty—one even had blood and a hole in it, which was unacceptable. Overall, the cleanliness and condition of the room were poor. I wouldn’t recommend this hotel for families. It would be better if the air conditioning or ventilation was improved.

I think this is a great little place if you wanna stay a couple nights in Nanaimo, but don’t want to pay the big hotel prices. I was accommodated for late check-in, which was very nice and I was even able to self check out. A parking area is right next to the hostel which is great. This hostel has everything you need to get by however, some of the amenities were out of service such as the oven and microwave when I was staying. There was also a door lock that was out of service, but you can make deal with the inconvenience. I’d suggest coming here if you are okay with being flexible and are not planning on staying inside most the day. Would come back again!

Economical. Clean. Spacious common area with comfortable furniture, tables, chairs, large communal kitchen, refrigerators, tea and coffee in the morning. Lots of books to read. Probably the nicest hostel I have ever stayed at. I felt safe and comfortable in this hostel.

Personal amable, especialmente Jonathan y el host. El cuarto estaba limpio pero el tapete se notaba sucio

I lucked out during my stay since the roads around the Painted Turtle were closed due to construction. Arrive after 4:30pm and no noise! Oh and the industrial size fan in my shared room was the best surprise EVER!!! :)