Hotel Zed Victoria

what a colorful, clean and pet friendly hotel!!! we'll definitely going back there again on our next trip.

I HIGHLY recommend Hotel Zed. I rarely leave reviews but am for this place because as my trip was approaching I saw some reviews that started making me nervous... ignore those ones & listen to me! Yes, it's a bit pricey but shop around and you'll see it's a good deal. Everything is pricey in this area! Yes the hallways are outside but that's clearly visible from the pictures and wasn't a problem. The halls are perfectly clean and have an outdoor carpet, too. The neighborhood is perfectly fine. It wasn't super noisy but it is in the city! Why are we shocked about city noises!? Very family friendly. My family of 6 loved the sweet suite & could have spent an entire day down at the pool (it's covered, there's an awesome slide & a hot tub). Housekeeping even left an adorable set up surprise for my kiddos (they were so excited when we got back to the room). I would 100% stay here again.

Worst hotel experience ever. Do not stay here. Go a little further afield to an air bnb so that you can sleep and enjoy your your trip. This place is between a highway and a construction site and Kyle at the front desk is gross. Pile driving at 7am during the week. Saturday at 8am - a skillsaw in a room above me. NOT Awesome. Screenshot the photos for your Instagram and go somewhere else...It's not worth it.

Such a great family spot! My boys would have been thrilled to spend all day going down the water slide, but they also enjoyed taking out the bikes for a ride on the great bike trail system just a couple blocks away, playing ping pong, learning how to use a type writer. Breakfast at the lobby restaurant was delicious and handy having a mall across the street. Staff was attentive. Very pleased with this family gem!

I wish they had been honest. this is a motel not a hotel. Had I known I wouldn't have selected. I need an elevator and I don't like being in dark rooms. in a motel, you must keep the curtains closed for privacy or everyone else in the parking lot can look in. That being said the motel carried out its1960's retro chic vibe beautifully.

This place is seriously a lot of fun ! Take an older motel dress it up with funky retro colours and features and you have Hotel Zed. It was spotless , the staff were awesome,they have a vintage VW van for a shuttle bus and the onsite restaurant is great . We will absolutely stay there again and would 100% recommend Hotel Zed to anyone going to Victoria!! Next time we go to Kelowna we will be trying that location which I'm sure will be awesome too. I'm hoping they open more locations elsewhere too.....

This retro 70's Hotel was clean, comfortable and adorable. Our room came with a yo-yo and a comic book, a rotary dial phone and cute 70's decor. The staff was very friendly and the pool had a great big tube slide that my 10 year old loved. You can even rent skate boards and bikes for free! We didn't get to eat at the restaurant that was attached, Ruby's, but it looked good. We had the sweet suite, a two bedroom with a kitchenette. Next time we will stay in the Air-stream trailer out back. There 2 old microbus' for shuttles too, so cool! It was very close to down town Victoria. We will definitely stay there again. The only drawback is no elevator- hauling luggage up the the third floor was a little bit of a drag, but not a deal breaker.

Cutest hotel! They have free bike rentals to make it convenient for you to get around the town. The front desk is very friendly & helpful. They have plenty of parking. They don't have an elevator so be prepared to carry your luggage up the stairs. The rooms are supplies with plenty of shampoo, body wash and conditioner. They also have a stove top, mini refrigerator & microwave. Very kid friendly, I was a little upset I didn't have a bathing suit, they have an indoor pool with a very cool slide for the kids to enjoy.

Loved the hotel and staff. The rides to town on the hotel zed VW bus. Everybody was friendly and fun. Pool and hot tub were kept clean and warm. Great restaurant in the hotel but not ran by them Rudy's. My only complaint is the hotel cleaning, they would just replace towels, not clean up anything or make beds. I have never experienced this, maybe its a Canadian thing.

Great for fun: longboards, ping pong, bikes, hipster, vinyl, fridge in room. Clean. Yay for clean! Disaster for sleep. Paper thin walls, even thinner doors, and the traffic on Douglas. Drunks plus screaming children's parties plus people arguing = stay away if you need a place to sleep. There are other hotels right across the street. My objective was sleep. Hence the low rating.

Loving the retro, fun atmosphere of HotelZed. So far after 1 night we have had a wonderful time here. The rooms are clean and the beds are comfy. The employees are super nice and helpful. The VW Bus is a free shuttle...awesome ride! And you are just across the street from a huge mall for extra shopping. This hotel is off the main path a bit, but there is transportation of the shuttle, free bikes at the hotel, or walking, or rent some scooters...we are doing that today. Love this place for a cool experience in this beautiful city. Can't wait to swim in the pile and play some ping pong too!

This hotel is Fun! It's a theme- 70s!! Complete with rotary phone and pink/orange colors:) Also Pingpong, atari game console, free bike rental, hot tub, slide and pool! The staff are friendly and helpful- shout out to Carmen who writes the Biking blog and sent us down the Gallopping Goose trail! The restaurant is quite delicious too. Retro does not mean old and dirty- the rooms are spotless!

What a fantastic find!! It's fun, colourful and comfortable! I stayed here with my kids and we all enjoyed our stay. The rooms are retro, and they have lots of little touches, like the rotary phone and the instructions on how to dial the rotary phone. I'm definitely coming back!! It's not a high class type of hotel, and if you're wanting the Hilton, this isn't your place. But if you are looking for a comfortable FUN place, fairly close to down town Victoria (with a shuttle Beatle), this is your place!!

I was not really sure what to expect. Their website has kind of a hostel feel to it, but when I got there, I was really pleasantly surprised. Their staff was super accommodating when we needed to stay an extra night. They were also super friendly about us having a dog. The beds are super comfortable, the bathroom was spotless when we arrived. We didn't use any of the amenities such as the pool or hot tub, and we didn't rent any bikes or anything, but the basics of this place are great. And you can't beat really good free coffee in the 24-hour lobby. Definitely will remember this place in the future.

Pretty cool hotel...we spent one night in their fully equipped Airstream travel trailer. Although it was a bit chilly during the night, it was fun. Super friendly staff. Hotel is located only a few minutes away (by car) from Chinatown.

My partner and I decided to go on a whirlwind trip to Victoria, and it being my home town I had a multitude of couches that we could have slept on, but I figured it would be more fun to get a hotel, and Hotel Zed is a pretty new, funky place that I thought would be a good candidate. Boy, was it ever. I cannot say enough good things about this place. This used to be a run-down, nasty motel right next to the Denny's parking lot a little ways outside of downtown. Now, I mean, it's still next Denny's, but now it's radical as Hell! They did such an amazing job making this place totally unrecognizable to what it was before, and creating something truly unique in Victoria. The lobby has free coffee, a record player (with good record selection), super funky hang-out area, typewriters you can use to write letters for free (or buy a cheap postcard to type on). Downstairs from the lobby there is a rumpus room with free ping-pong and Wii, which is open til midnight. My boyfriend and my two friends brought some drinks down there one night and had a total (respectful) riot. There is also a restaurant attached to the lobby, if you're feeling peckish. There's also a pool (with a crazy waterslide that terrified me that I repeatedly went down), a hot tub and a sauna. And if you forgot your bathing suit and just sit next to the hot tub in a leather jacket while your friends splash around in the pool, nobody will kick you out. I can neither confirm nor deny whether my boyfriend did this. But above all else, it's the staff that makes this place really stand out. Everybody is really helpful, nice, and silly. They have a shuttle bus (which is a VW van) that will just drive you and drop you off/pick you up anywhere (within reason) that you ask. And it's FREE (though we, of course, tipped, and so should you). This place is just all across the board super radical. Oh, and did I mention it's probably the cheapest hotel in all of Victoria? Yeah. Believe dat.

The only reason for two starts is a cool 70s feel throughout the entire property. Everything else is just awful... The room was super hot, two fans, no a/c unit, stinky, and the outside noise is simply unbearable... it seems like it was an attempt to remodel an old, beat-up, cheap motel that the owners tried to convert into a hip hotel. The cost was $256 Canadian dollars. NOT WORTH IT AT ALL!!! I was charged $100 for a deposit and holding my breath to get back... So, if possible, stay away from this place, unless you ran out of affordable options... If it wasn't for a very friendly staff, it would have been a total disaster...

Super trendy and cool hotel! I have to agree with other reviews; this is not a luxury or fancy place; but is probably one of the funniest hotels I have ever been !! If you are looking for fun, excellent service and a comfortable place to stay, you'll definitely have a great time here! The staff is super super friendly and very focus on service! Service for me was outstanding!! Since I arrived, the front desk staff were very welcoming! I arrived about one hour earlier than the check in, and because my bedroom was ready they let me enter without charging early check in ( i believe that was great as most places would have charged ). They also have bikes that you can use for free, and a ride to the downtown in a super fun van! The maintenance people was also super friendly and service orientated. I wish I would have stayed there longer and I could have enjoyed the pool.. I only walked by and saw it and it seems like the people there were having fun! The room was very funny with old phones and the decoration was very cool. It was also clean and the bed comfortable ( which is the most important part for me) If you want to have a different time and have fun in a cool hotel, you will enjoy your stay here! I have nothing to complain about this hotel and I definitely would love to go back!!

Me, my parents, sister, bro in law, and nephew had a great time at this hotel. The water slide was scary and fun at the same time, you go down so fast Make sure you cover your mouth when you hit the bottom because a good amount of pool water went in my mouth, I'll live LOL. For fun with the family this is the hotel to pick.

Sadly we didn't have a very good experience. When we arrived they told us they had a room ready so we went to our room and it wasnt, in fact there was someone cleaning it. so we returned to the lobby where they said we could hang out till it was cleaned. We should have been offered a new room at this point. Second our shower didn't work, cold water came out the shower head and hot water out the tap. When mentioning this they said they would look into it. I do understand that this is a plumbing issue but no one came to look and again were not offered another room to stay in. When mentioning our stay at the end they did give us half a night free. I appreciate the jester. However it doesn't make up for to two reasons people come to a hotel. It's to sleep and shower. I will say that the maids did a great job in cleaning our room during our three night stay.

I had stayed at the Hotel Zed in Kelowna. I had to travel to Victoria for work, but I also had work in Sidney. This location provided a good opportunity to have my stay without being right at the inner harbour. Due to the mega cost savings I booked into the rad apartment for the space- and also because it sounded rad. The hotel is super fun, decorated in such a festive way and the staff is very friendly and welcoming. I was all checked in, but then I had a little surprised when I was getting my room key. She said "and you'll go down the stairs to your room". The rad apartment was clean and colourful... but it's a basement apartment. It just gave me an unsettled feeling as a solo traveller- literally just me being me. There was nothing wrong with the room itself- I just didn't vibe with the "basementy" feel. So I immediately went to front desk and asked if there was any way I could switch to King for a night. They had the space and they happily obliged. I was much happier in this space. For the price you can't beat this place. They even have a retro VW shuttle if you wanted to go into town, free bikes and long board rentals. My main thing is- know what you're booking. This is a clean, retro, vibrant decorated motel. If you only stay where the fluffy white robes roam- this place isn't for you. If you want some epic Instagram galleries and friendly service- then book away.

This hotel is so quirky it's impossible not to smile. From the front desk with skateboards and boardgames to the room with 60's decor. I would stay here again on our next time through Victoria if possible. The front desk staff went out of their way to make our stay awesome, even moving our room to a pink room to make my daughters trip. Big thanks hotel Zed!

Stayed for four nights in July. The hotel is not within reasonable walking distance of downtown, so you're reliant on its shuttle or catching a $ 15 dollar cab or a $2.50 bus each way. It's an old hotel made new (-ish), but the rooms still smell of stale tobacco, so definitely ask for a non-smoking room. The hotel provides free coffee for guests, but there's no bar, so buy room provisions elsewhere. Staff is friendly and helpful, and the restaurant seems popular, so the food must be good (didn't eat there). Room was clean, shower was hot, plenty of towels. Big minus - the wifi. It crashes every ten minutes. They have to get that fixed or the hotel is a deal-breaker.

We stayed at Hotel Zed a couple months ago, and having just opened, the staff was more than welcoming and we had a BLAST. It's hard to give a bad review when we were upgraded rooms upon arrival (Gotta love little surprises like that!) The decor is exactly as delightful in person as it is in the pictures. The customer service, while still working out the kinks, maintains high standards. Incredibly great front desk people. The "rebel" who drives the VW bus is a sweet, older man who used to drive transit buses in the area. A darling man who was more than accommodating. He even picked us up from a nearby park, even though it wasn't on the way. It led to a charming adventure trying to get our bikes loaded on to it. Speaking of bikes, FREE BIKE RENTALS! For serious! We reserved 2 bikes for the duration of our stay and had a lovely time exploring "middle town" Victoria. So fun. The bikes are comfortable and well maintained! The hot tub wasn't ready when we went, but the Zedinator (their water slide) had just been installed. Great use of a small pool space. Despite being in a none too picturesque area, Hotel Zed stands out like a rainbow coloured beacon of hospitality. Staff treated us like family and we certainly felt sad leaving. We look forward to staying there again. Do the scavenger hunt! It's adorable! Try EVERYTHING in the lobby. The "rupus room" is fantastic.

We stayed for 3 nights in this funky updated old strip motel. While the location was only ok, the "hipness" of this motel was never in question. The kids really enjoyed the Zedinator, so much in fact that they spent as much time in the water as they did sleeping. We played ping-pong, ogled the skateboards, bikes, and VW bus. The on-site restaurant was good for both breakfast and dinner. We accidentally left a wallet there, which was graciously returned to us in the US (on my FEDEX account but that's another story). I'd stay again....

What can I say? The vibe is great, he people and polite and helpful, rooms just right, and location great for the Highland games.

Loved staying here, really clean, everything is brand new, and all the rooms have internet; which was always fast, no issues. I would give it a perfect score if the rooms had A/C. I was here in late Aug and a few days it was a bit stuffy. Overall, great staff, and great experience.

Hotel zed was a great stop for the kids. Room was dated but updated with enough fun stuff that they really did a great job. Rotary dial phone and retro sink and stove. Room very clean and staff super nice. Free shuttle to town in an old VWbus. Had breakfast at the restaurant. Attached to the hotels 'twas excellent ! Best hash browns I have ever had. Room was also a great price Great pool slide. Overall a really quirky fun place to stay one maybe two nights max.

Really cool place. Super funky and fun. Really close to the mall so I was able to pop over with the kids and buy some much needed fall clothing. Dennys is also right there too so breakfast out was easy.

We loved how funky and fun Hotel Zed was! Room was pretty clean except the toilet could've been cleaner and the stains on the chair was a bit off putting. Hotel doesn't have a/c but they do have 2 electric fans in the rooms to help keep you cool when the temp rises. Our room had a balcony w/ a sliding glass door but it didn't have a screen so we could leave the door open to let the warm air out. We did try to keep it open for a while but bugs started coming in so we had to close it. The worst thing was when I tried to take a 15 min shower and had the water turn ice cold for no reason by our knowledge. I don't know if this happened b/c someone in another room flushed their toilet or what but that wasn't not pleasant. We had a room with a king size bed and it was more spacious than I thought it would be by what other reviewers said. There is an old school metal office desk in the room but it is the only "table top" to eat on or etc. it would've been nice to have another place for storage. The desk also serves as the dresser for the room and only has 4 drawers to accommodate your belongings if you plan to stay longer. Frig is loud when it's fan runs. Towels were surprisingly soft however they seemed to be almost kid size. Hotel is located in the city center however it is too far to walk to go to the many markets. There's a Denny's, KFC w/in walking distance and there's also Ruby's that's located on the other side of the hotels' office. Shannon was really welcoming and really nice when we checked in. This was our first visit to Victoria, we had heard about a brewery that we wanted to try and the supervisor on duty gave us a map of the city and showed us exactly how to get there plus she also provided parking info for downtown Victoria!

Great place of the main road .. For kids the water slide is a sure winner.. Heated pool awesome during off season... Very convenient to downtown .. The bug van is great trip down memory lane.. Free drop off and pickups is a must-do...

I would give the Hotel Zed 5 stars, but we checked in on the hottest day of the summer and there is NO air conditioning...our room was sweltering all night. Other than that, Hotel Zed is retro and charming. They have amazing customer service, and a variety of quirky and wonderful amenities like a ping pong table, typewriters, rotary phones, longboard skateboard and bikes for 'free' rentals, and a water slide. The room was funky, clean and comfortable. We were delighted!

Funky as funky can be and a nice little clean spot for a night in Victoria. The price can't be beat either but a little more art on the walls of our room would have been cool. Retro furnishings, a rotary dial phone in the room and a Spider Man comic book add to the vintage charm. We will be back and will request a room that is not directly across from the maids quarters. Note to self (ok, and you): If you see a sweet rate on a discount website and ask for that rate, try to remember that you may be looking at US Dollars vs. Canadian. So having Hotel Zed price match Priceline saved me $3.00 and in hindsight, is a little embarrassing. I'm not that cheap. Thanks to the front desk for making me not feel insanely dumb.

We booked at Zed because we saw the water slide online and our daughter really wanted to try it. The room was ok, the staff was amazing and all the little extra services made up for the rest. We just were unlucky that one night a crazy couple verbally fought right next door. We called in, and that was it. The shuttle is great, it is like having your private chauffeur in a cool car. For the price, it is great! Try the water slide!

Update: They not only took the pre authorized amount, they took out that amount + the actual charges. I was also told that someone would follow up with me today, naturally, that never happened. It goes without saying, we will not return to this property. My an loved this hotel, that's why it got even 2 stars but my experience was less than pleasing. I was just getting ok with the noisy environment when it was time to leave after 2 nights stay.Let me preface with the fact that I believe the guest/ hotel relationship is one of mutual trust. Upon check in I asked the usual questions about pre authorization and charges to convert to USD and got a tidy, "Just the total amount!". Upon checking my bank account nearly a $100 CAD had been taken. At checkout, I asked about this and the front desk lady took a very aggressive stance and proceeded to show me a receipt with a signature. I pointed out this was NOT my signature. She asked for ID to compare. It was obvious that it was not my signature. She asked about the check in lady. I explained, she was fine but I felt she was being aggressive. She took it down a notch but it was only after I pointed it out to her. I felt violated by someone signing for my card but upset with the managers agressive response, just as much! She turned away to call someone without so much as a word, she offered 20% off and s magnet. By that time, I was so uncomfortable, I just wanted to leave. I will pay more for a better experience on my next trip to Victoria.

Met every single expectation beautifully. Can't get over how much my two kidZ loved the typewriters ! Clean rooms - amazaballs restaurant attached to lobby - such nice people pool was great (even though they struggled to get the chemicals just right...were very friendly about getting it back in order again) Thank you zed!

So much potential but so so many things wrong so let us just list few as i would run out of space otherwise. Number 1# The fucking noise. the woman at the desk i just love told us we got you a nice quite room but apparently we were transported to bizzaro world as we were woken up at 7 am to the fucking construction crew putting the the 2 person spa. now a little about this. i do construction and never have i been able to make that kind of noise till 10 am anywhere, just so fucking ridiculous when you need to drill into cement ...maybe wait till later or d o that shit it the day but that really does not matter when so see how laughable the way this 3 person crew was trying to install the thing, beyond amature hour and 3 people? just wow. The tub in our room is not properly installed as if you step close to the edge it will band a bit..they are so in for it with that shit install man. No A/C in room but plenty of heat. A super loud mini fridge that is worthless and i almost forget when i was showering the water went cold so no shave for me either i guess.. so fun....really not enough hot water? what kind of shithole does this? oh yeah this place. Our rooms windows all were facing the car lot an ally so we got the hear all the shit ricers go by till 3 am and then at 6 am the car lot get in their shipment of cars..so i guess that is why the construction crew does not care as no human is going to be sleeping though all this and i sleep over everything so more fun. The rooms smell so much like VOC's from the shit paint they used to try and cover up the obvious cigarette smoke that has permeate everything and the remole crew, probably same as this spa crew did the revamp of this place looking at all the shit work. No vending machines but 2 dollar water and soda from their fridge. No printer but typewriters if i am transporte in time for the need to type and not use say a pen or email but the hipsters will love this. The pool says you can use from 10am to 9 pm but then they tell you only 4 pm till 9pm....funny they even say that as the construction crew had completely blocked off all access to the pool so no pool and o not even bother after you smell how much chlorine they use to kill off all the germs from the kid pee i assume. The bed and pillows are about what i expect to get in sleepover train...shit and uncomfortable as all hell. They had a free dial phone and instruction on how to use...if you need instructions to use a dial phone just wow....wow and another hipsterish pointless and useless item. Parking is free and internet but that was the ONLY good thing they offer and would gladly pay for a real hotel with amenities for adults then this shitty made for 20 something hipsters which is all this place is for. It tries to be so alt and cool but is just a shit joke for cheap kids really. Avoid this place if you need to sleep or shower or want to have a hotel with anything you would normally be accustomed to. Pretty much the worst place I have ever stayed outside of once when i was like 19 and stayed in the tenderloin in San Francisco...anyone that knows what i am talking about should just shudder now. If we had camped in the park we would have gotten better sleep and most likely more amenities so you many want to consider that if you have to stay in Hell or HotelZed as they call this redone motel 6.

My wife and I booked 4 nights over the holidays and absolutely loved our stay at the Hotel Zed. Since we have a car, we didn't mind staying just outside the downtown core (5-10 minute cab or free shuttle at the hotel) and it's also conveniently located across the street from a mall and health food store for amenities. The rooms were clean, and came as advertised: funky carpet, cool furniture and lots of little touches. While you could spend more money for an upscale accommodation, we thought this was a nice balance. Our only regret was that we didn't make use of the many cool things they offer guests, from the hot tub, ping pong room (really wanted to do this!) laundry room and even the free shuttle. We also LOVED the restaurant on site. The Ruby was one of the best breakfasts we've had in a long time (the mexi benny with chicken was superb and granola was unique and delicious). We had other dinner plans each night, otherwise we would have dined there for dinner for sure. We also saw alot of young hip couples traveling from the US and all over as the hotel apparently is pretty new and attracting new clientele. Also noticed how upbeat and friendly the staff are, they clearly have a solid culture in place as everyone we talked to, from the front desk to the cleaning staff were so helpful. Only feedback is the walls can be a bit thin so if you plan on having people over, conversational level laughing is recommended! Stayed December 2015

Super fun motel (I wouldn't call it a hotel) that we visited in June, 2016. The staff was friendly and helpful and the amenities of the VW van as a shuttle, free bike rental, free use of manual typewriters, and the fabulous decor made it a wonderful experience. Having a breakfast cafe right on site was also very nice. The only reason I gave this four instead of five stars is because their wireless internet was very sketchy and we were dealing with some things back home that made this challenging. A terrific value!

Great dog friendly boutique hotel. This hotel isn't right downtown but they've got a VW bus with a 911 engine that will whip right down to the harbor, close to the center & government buildings. They'll even pick you up. The rooms' decor fit the vibe of a unique hotel dedicated to being just slightly different, but keeping all the amenities. Definitely recommend staying at this spot.

I knew Hotel Zed was going to be fun and eclectic, but (this is gonna sound weird), I wasn't expecting it to be so... clean. My husband and I have stayed at places ranging from 5-star deluxe resorts to total dive motels, and the motel stays have always been done with an open mind and good humor. (One of our faves was the Crystal Court Motel in Victoria when it was still in business, so that's saying something.) Hotel Zed has been beautifully transformed in not only style, but function as well. No peeling paint, cracked plaster, or mildew to be seen or smelled. Even the parking lot is immaculately kept. MCM is one of our favorite design movements, so the flip clocks and rotary phones (along with the instructions on how to use them) are utterly fantastic. We came with our 10 month old basset hound, Potato, who loves the space as well. Thank you for the love, dedication, and creative vision it took to revive this place.

This place was great! We pour chased the ferry/hotel bundle from Black Ball Ferry. Didn't realize the hotel would be a little ways out and not really easy to walk to. However, they have a shuttle that will pick you up. The room was clean and everything was bright and funky. We enjoyed the record player and games in the lobby. We didn't get a chance to use the bikes, ping pong table, pool or the Wii downstairs. Staff was very friendly and helpful. We will definitely return with our two boys. I think they will get a kick out of the retro vibe.

Wow awesome hotel! What a great and funky hotel, the games room and pool were so much fun, there was never a dull moment. Awesome staff, great environment!

Great place! Had everything I needed: nicely furnished room, comfy bed, Internet, Cable TV. Even a hot tub, pool and water slide. Staff if super friendly and accommodating. They have a free shuttle that took me into town and back to the hotel after I called them. They also have free rental bikes! Cool onsite restaurant serves very good breakfast, lunch and dinner. The only thing that could be improved is the noise isolation between the rooms. But it was quiet after 10pm, so no big deal.

I really wanted to love Hotel Zed, but after a couple of issues, I have to give it a 3/5. I love the atmosphere and the new retro decoration, and the free shuttle to downtown, and the restaurant, but I had to subtract marks for 3 items: 1. We had a plumbing issue and it took over 3 hours to get a plunger - and then they had us plunge the toilet ourselves! 2. The water temperature in the shower is a crapshoot - you never know when it's going to change temperature for no reason. One second its perfect and the next second its ice cold or searing hot. 3. The swimming pool was really gross. There was a sheen to it that looked just really dirty, and there was visible grime on the floor of the pool. A shame, because we had really been looking forward to it. However, I would still recommend this hotel because its definitely got the whole eclectic retro vibe going on, which is a LOT of fun, and aside from the pool, the hotel itself is very well kept up.

Great décor, friendly staff, terrific location and a reasonable price. What more could one want?

For 15+ years, we've been staying at what was formerly called the Blue Ridge and is now the Hotel Zed. We used it as our home base when we were in Victoria for real estate shopping, teaching, our daughter's wedding, our grandson's birth...but no more. When the Blue Ridge first became Hotel Zed, a number of non-pet-friendly changes were implemented (higher pet fees, greatly reduced number of available rooms, tiny sinks that didn't allow for filling pet water bowls, etc.) Today we learned that they've further restricted pets from their facility - no more animals allowed in the cottage we've rented for at least a week each year for the past several years. (In case you are wondering, we are responsible pet people who leave motel rooms clean and with no damage. Our pets don't bark, howl, growl, or run around unleashed.) And so, we say farewell to what was once Victoria's friendliest, most affordable pet-friendly motel. If you are considering a trip to the area and want to bring your furry animal family member(s), we strongly suggest you find a lodging facility that is truly "pet friendly"...this isn't it.

Our 10 year old wanted to comment on the plus side of things: great pool, loved the Zedenator, great video games, loved the typewriters, thought that the typewriters were "amazing." Those thing are all true and it is a great place to go with kids. And I'm all for revamping old, midcentury motels into something funky and creative. However, there were problems. First of all there is no a/c. This is a problem when the temp was only 75 degrees f during the day. I really feel for the families that checked in the day that we were checking out because the forecast was in the 90's. This would be fine if there was adequate ventilation. But there is only one tiny 5"x5" square opening in one window and another small window opening on the opposite side, but neither are large enough to get cross wind action going on. Plus, the hotel is on a busy street and keeping the windows (such as they were) open during the night wasn't a great option (lots of noise.) They gave two fans but basically it just blew hot stale air around all night. None of us slept well the 3 nights we were there. Also, the "free" wifi is not even useable in the rooms - dial up slow. We couldn't really use it. Finally, great that the bus gives rides, but there is nothing noted that it stops at 8 pm and the driver didn't tell us when she took us to the downtown. Not cool. Oh, one more thing: they note that they have a washer and dryer but it is only one of each - and from the 70's. Very slow and was hardly available. The staff was nice and helpful overall, but pretty nonplussed about the frequent complaints about the lack of a/c and the slowest internet ever. We are headed back to Victoria soon and as cool as the Zedenator is, we are going to skip staying there again until they get the rest of their act together.