Samesun Vancouver

I had a great experience here! Everything is well maintained. My bunk had a fan, light, and plug and was comfy. There's a good vibe and lots of people hanging out in the common areas if you want to make friends. I went to trivia in the bar downstairs and it was really fun. I felt very safe staying here and it was close to the places that I wanted to visit downtown.

Fairly big hostel - pretty clean. There are about 6 toilets and 6 showers per floor. I stayed in a 4 bed female dorm. Beds were comfy, although the rooms were quite warm (I stayed in summer). Next to each bed is a little fan, light and power point. Beds have blackout curtains which were great. Lockers were large enough for my 65L backpack. Hooks in the room for towels etc. the rooms were a bit small e.g if one person has their bag on the floor it’s a bit awkward to get around. kitchen facilities were quite good. Free breakfast was great - large selection of bagels + spreads, fruit, oatmeal and hot drinks. Staff were friendly and helped me to book a whale watching tour. They also have a large luggage storage room. The hostel is in great location and easy to walk to most places. They have washing machines and dryers (about $3 per load). Bathrooms were relatively clean - they had a door that locked rather than a curtain which I liked.

Honestly one of the best places I’ve stayed at and super enjoyable. The bathrooms were clean for the most part and the staff were very nice. There were always plenty of things to do from the bar games to meeting people and the beds were clean and nice. The breakfast was also quite nice and simple and amazing. Great place, hoping for its quick rebuild after its fire.

I stayed here for a week. Best hostel ever. The rooms are basic nice hostel rooms, common areas good and cozy, showers and toilets good, staff is friendly, location good. There is a special adventurous and warm vibe to this place and all the guests are vibing it. The neat breakfast is a super nice bonus to the already affordable price.

All in all pretty good. The hostel is located on Granville street, where most clubs are. Many homeless people there but very central. The dorms for 6 don‘t have curtains on the bed and are pretty loud since the window is faced to Granville street. Breakfast is nice, there are three different kinds of bagels, toast, cream cheese, margarine and jam every day. And also some cut vegetables and fruit. Staff is very welcoming and ready to help any time. Front desk is open 24/7. There are activities organized from the hostel which is great for meeting new people. Bathrooms are okay but could definitely be cleaner. It‘s expensive for what you get but personally I was willing to pay it

Location is smack on downtown. There’s easy access to buses, trains and food. The free breakfast is simple but a boon if you wake up hungry. And the coffee is decent. Each bed has a light and a small fan. The privacy curtain is a nice touch. The guest kitchen is well equipped and you can easily refrigerate your food and make a decent hot meal here. It’s attached to a quiet lounge where you can catch up with work or enjoy the meal you prepared in the kitchen. There is a fountain here to top up your water bottle. Showers are decent with ample hot water. There are enough toilets and shower per floor so waiting time is acceptable. The laundry room nearby can wash, dry and iron. The breakfast room turns into a bar in the evening and it’s not overly noisy or crowded. They also provide a bag storage facility which can be helpful. The toilets and shower areas are apparently cleaned twice a day. Unfortunately some guests are filthy, inconsiderate and wasteful. Bidets would be a huge improvement both for cleanliness and paper wastage. The bad attitude of some guests are reflected during breakfast. Taking more than they need. Excessive wastage of tissue. Hogging tables after they finish when there are people waiting to sit. This can be easily resolved by implementing a service buffet rather than a free for all. The corridors outside the rooms are air conditioned. In my opinion, a set of fans to circulate the air towards the washrooms would be better for ventilation Samesun Vancouver is decent hostel and a great substitute for decent 1-3 star hotels that Vancouver lacks.

Stay: 9 Nights Solo Travel Room Type: 6 women room - Forward facing to Granville Street - Yes it was quite loud, bring your Ear plugs or ask for a quieter room. The rooms had a charging station next to the bed with a fan/light, small locker. The bed was extremely comfortable! Breakfast consists of bagels, bread, spreads & fruit/veg, it does get repetitive if staying long term, so there was some days I skipped. Bathrooms Facilities are well equipped with shampoo, conditioner & soap and hot showers with great pressure. Recommend to take flip flops! There is a slight sewer smell to the drains, however with the high use this makes sense, it does not appear to be in regard to the place being “unclean”. Tours run from Wed-Sunday. I completed 4 of the group tours, Donny was extremely informative with his knowledge on the sites, his honesty & his ability to engage with a vast range of personalities & nationalities is truly priceless for Samesun! I will add and additional note that Marushio & Pablo were great as an additional tour guide! All staff were very friendly during my stay & helpful when required. Overall the place is aged & it is a hostel, however I found it had what was required. Potentially the rooms could install some additional fans for air flow as it can get stuffy with having to close the windows. I really enjoyed the Musical Bingo & Trivia night with my new friends from the tours! Overall I really enjoyed my stay here.

The people were really friendly and the activities, that the hostel organizes are fun. The breakfast was okay but there wasn't much variety. The hostel was a bit dirty (especially the shared washrooms) and it was very loud. I stayed for 3 nights so it was fine but if you're staying longer I wouldn't recommend it. Additionally, the room (6 beds) was very cramped and there was not enough space to move around freely. I was on the third floor and so the wifi was bad but on the lower floors it's really fast.

Make sure to bring a towel and flip-flops if you're planning to take a shower. Also bring shampoo and soap, considering their version looks like it would contain sulfites. The bathrooms have a lot of toilet tissue on the floors and they have signs that ask them to be notified if it's not clean but I didn't have time to wait. I didn't take a shower because there wasn't a lot of space to put my stuff down in a clean area. The bathrooms are shared, but they do have a really great mirror to put on make up. Extremely cramped living quarters with very little space to put luggage down. They require you to buy a lock for $8.95 if you want to stow valuables and it's a big bulky lock, that's heavy and you probably don't want to buy (wish they would rent the locks because I have no other use for this bulky thing). The worst part is the stairs... It would be a great work out, except that it's super annoying when you have heavy luggage to carry upstairs multiple flights of floors. There is no elevator, there is no AC, you better arrive tired because it's pretty loud at night. This hostel is 3 stars imo but I gave them an extra star because their staff is super friendly, it's a good location, their breakfast is convenient (fresh bagels with fruits and vegetables), and Vancouver needs more budget-friendly options.

I went there today to check it out because we never know if the photos make justice to the actual place, especially when the location is shady like it is in Ocean Beach. I'm a very calm, sweet and good looking young woman and I'm not going to be humble about it. There was no reason for that bald male receptionist to be that rude to me given all the sketchy ppl that usually go to Ocean Beach. If you're a nice female customer, I would look for a safer location, and would never put your safety at risk on that place. The customer that was there was looking at me like he wanted to apologize for the receptionist's rudeness. It was really bad. I understand that ppl are not allowed inside to see the place for safety issues, but there are way kinder ways of saying it to a potential future customer. I can't stand when people in low paid jobs act like they have power (small power) and decide to be rude to kind people like me, and they do that with a big and ugly gummy smile on their faces. It's so petty!

I don't recommend this for a solo female traveler. Location is on the part of downtown where there are bars/clubs around. They don't provide towels and there's no elevator so be prepared to carry your luggage. It's a scarring experience that I didn't even finish the entirety of the trip I paid for.

Lovely clean welcoming hostel, very helpful, thoughtful, caring staff, breakfast superb, bagels toast jams fruit tomatoes cucumber eggs coffee oats and milk ...what more does one want. Well breakfast almost done, people may take what's left for their lunch!! How beneficent is that? No 50 bus right across the street marvellous goes up and down Granville Street to waterfront. Staff so so helpful with directions too. Notice the excursions offered on the wall to the left of the reception area. Great deals. Ok so it being a heritage building owners not allowed to install lifts at the moment, and the stairs up are hard going if you're arthritic as I am, but so helpful staff relocated me to first floor, carried my bags for me even and I do appreciated that being as disabled as I am. Kitchen is very clean and very well equipped with pots pans ..everything a kitchen needs and big fridges...

Came in with low expectations because of prior reviews & this was my first hostel but it exceeded what I thought! Came into Vancouver for spring break. The hostel is in downtown Granville Vancouver which is surrounded by SO many different options of food & bars. Not to mention that everything is basically walking distance. Had an amazing time here and it was only around $82 US dollars for three nights, which is an absolute deal. Stayed here with two of my girlfriends in a four all-female dorm and we got lucky with a fantastic roommate. We didn't buy locks (I would recommend you should if you have valuables) but they do provide lockers for you in your room to put your stuff in. Bunk beds and rooms are small but just about what you'd expect. I didn't notice any unusual smells like in prior reviews, unless you're talking about sharing bathrooms with everyone on your floor. But like what do you expect when you're living in a hostel? Showers and toilets have their own stalls. Pretty private but you can hear others in the stalls in the toilet. I also absolutely loved the bar in the hostel lobby. Drinks are great for a fantastic price and a huge selection of drinks. They also have food! People who don't stay at the hostel are allowed at the bar so it was a great opportunity to meet new people. Overall great experience and the staff was helpful.

First off, the Vancouver hostel market in general is poor. The hostels cost approximately 1.7x what comparable markets cost elsewhere, and the hostels are of much lower quality. I couldn't find any hostels in Vancouver that have air conditioning (which includes Samesun Vancouver). A lot of the hostels also have old facilities. Samesun is a hostel that has an older feel. The bathrooms definitely seem old. The check-in process was also poor -- the employee seemed very disinterested and almost annoyed. The saving grace of Samesun is the new pod setup. The new pods are well-constructed and have two (2) fans, which helps mitigate the heat issue mentioned by other reviewers. **** If you stay here, get a pod room! The pod rooms seem to be the 6-bed setups. The pods here are probably the best hostel bed setup in Vancouver. The hostel is safe, the beds are clean, and it's adequate for a stay. But just come here with tempered expectations.

I have no idea why this gets a 4 star rating. We paid $248 for one night for no elevator, no ac in the room, shared bathrooms and uncomfortable bedding. This place does also not accept ppl under 18 which is not clear anywhere on the website. The only reason this review gets a 2 star instead of 1 is because they were nice enough to let my daughter who is 17 stay because we were unaware of their rules. The floors were very worn and the room looks nothing like the picture on Expedia. No idea why you would ever spend $200 on a place like this!!

I had good experience when I was stay in Tokyo Hostel so I decided to try again when i visit Vancouver in last minute trip. This is one of bigger Hostel and is very central located basically right in the middle of their downtown. Lots of bars nearby and short distance walking to major grocery and department stores. Majority of peoples stay here are younger and solo traveler. But I do see some older people stay here. The hostel definite is design more for younger people. In general the place is great in location, staff, free breakfast, and smaller room ratio with roommate. If you go with like group of friend like 4 of you can basically book the entire room possible might be better suited but chance that happend will be slim if you book too close to the day if you book advance than this is great since you can all stay in room with people you know but ideal of hostel is really get to meet new friends and be flexible. I not a fan of their bed especially the top bed, not ideal if you are kinda overweight. It is pretty made for teenager not full adult. It is quite common that you might drop something from top bed. Overall this is great hostel just need improvement in the room and restroom.

Fantastic value. Clean facilities & access to full kitchen & laundry. Our private room included a mini fridge & safe. As nice as the nicest hostel I've ever stayed in. The free breakfast is great. We are already planning another visit staying longer.

One of the best hostels I've yet to stay in. This place has it all: a two-level bar for the rowdy crowd, quiet common areas for the chill crowd, organized trips (we went on one to Lynn Canyon which was spectacular), clean facilities, and helpful staff. Everyone who worked there was very cool, the bathrooms were among the cleanest and most spacious I've ever seen in a hostel, it's got comfortable beds with plenty of privacy, and is right off a major street with plenty of plenty of things to do.

I booked a solo trip to Vancouver and decided to stay at the Samesun. I couldn't decide if I wanted to stay at this location or across the street at the HI Vancouver hostel, but after speaking with people who have stayed at the HI - Vancouver, and Samesun, I found that I made the best choice. I stayed in room 308 in a 4-bed female dorm. The lockers in this room are extremely small and only fits a small backpack. Everyone in my dorm either put a lock on their actual luggage or kept it out unlocked. I kept my money and passport on me and left my bag out and had no issues with theft of anyone going through my luggage when I wasn't in the room. I've stayed in many hostels and I was impressed with how clean the bathrooms and showers are at the Samesun! The free breakfast is great! Hardboiled eggs, fresh fruit, an assortment of bagels, oatmeal, muffins, coffee, and tea. I definitely took advantage of the fresh fruit, hard-boiled eggs, and coffee each morning and saved me a lot of money! I'm 29 and was worried that I would be surrounded by 19-year-olds my entire stay, but most of the people I met were 24-late 30's, which was a huge relief. The free-low cost activities are a must! We hiked Grouse Mountain and did the Quarry Rock hike. The activities allowed me to meet new friends and went on adventures with them outside of the hostel. For those that have heard that this is in a sketchy area, I wouldn't say that exactly, but there are quite a bit of homeless in the area. I felt like it was just like any other street in a downtown location and not once did I feel unsafe. Great hostel, friendly staff, & perfect location. Now that I'm turning 30, I think my hostel days are over because I like my privacy haha, but I highly recommend the Samesun to anyone traveling on a budget or solo.

Terrific Hostel. The common areas are very nicely laid out. Also, it's a very cleanly hostel. The management and employees are just very accommodating. For example, they let me mail my bike there and they kept it in a secure place until I arrived, which was appreciated. They let me assemble it in the basement and provided all the tools I needed. Oh and the breads and other baked goods served at breakfast were quite good-- Likely from a local bakery. Obviously the breakfast at a place isn't that important, but the general point is that they don't nickel and dime you, which is appreciated.

Fully not impressed. I tend to travel solo, so I really value hostels that have a nice, social atmosphere for me to meet other travelers, maybe put together some random adventures. And Samesun is most definitely not that. The front desk people seem like they don't want to be bothered and the general atmosphere of the place is a little too crowded, a little too boring. The main problem, I think, is that they have a bar. It's a fine bar, pretty affordable, but whenever a hostel has a bar, they rely on it to manufacture the social life. Which it doesn't. The layout of it is conducive only to sitting at a table with people you already know and doing things you're already planning on doing. I'd definitely hang out there. But in a hostel, it just sucks away any chance you have to get to meet new people. Otherwise, the hostel is fine. The rooms are clean, secure and comfortable. It seems like a good place to go if you're traveling in a group. But if you're alone and like me, this isn't the place for you.

Came in with very low expectations (given the price point) - I had a very positive surprise, especially with how clean the bathrooms were. The small negative was that some of the rooms face Granville street which is loud till pretty late at night (~1:30 - 2:00 AM), but asked at the front desk and got placed into a different room no problem. Get's hot during the heatwave but the personal fans are pretty solid. Overall a very pleasant experience for the price.

Great place! Hostel rooms are located on floors 2 to 4 I believe. Restaurant and bar at the base which made a great place to relax after being out and about all day. Location was perfect in downtown, downtown itself was dirty and had homeless people but the hostel was perfect! I walked everywhere from the hostel. Stanley park, Canada place, English bay, Granville island, gastown, Chinatown..etc... Best pricing for a room and met a lot of travels at the restaurant below. Great city and great vibe!!!

Good and probably one of the most affordable places to stay in Vancouver (the winter rate was as low as $28/night for a hostel dorm bed but a bit more for private rooms (I think you can get an even cheaper rate if you stay longer than a week). I was there for a week and it was a great, safe location, with convenient stores, shops, restaurants, transportation nearby and that I could use as a base to walk or get anywhere. The shared dormitory and a shared bathroom (separate for men's and women's) were surprisingly clean at almost all times. Samesun also offers free continental breakfast (toast, bagels, muffins butter, jam, coffee/tea, fresh oranges, fresh fruit salad), free wi-fi and has a common room upstairs and a bar/small restaurant called the Beaver on the first floor that you can use to meet new people, too. The hostel offers some trips and activities (walking tours, trivia nights, adventure tours, etc that their customers can join in, some even for free (and actually are a good way to meet/chat with other travelers), too. At night, the place can be really loud up until 2-3am (Granville is an entertainment/bar/night district after all), so if you are looking for a peaceful night, either ask for rooms that don't face the street or look elsewhere for more comfortable nights. For the price that I paid, however, this place is quite worth it if you are looking to save some money and are not too picky about noise (get an earplug or update yourself to some rooms that don't face the streets). However, if you are looking for more upscale/luxurious place to stay, this is definitely not a place for you. The people were pretty friendly and I got to meet/chat with many interesting people from all walks of life, too. I would recommend this place and wouldn't mind staying here again, especially if I'm just looking for a low key place, on a tight budget or am not looking to splurge while on vacation.

Clean and nice place, central location, average price and met lots of fun people. Thank you

This hostel is just an awesome place to be. It's adjacent to public trans including buses, trains, and water taxis. If you feel like staying in, the hostel has steady bar with a generous selection of beer and food. The people who help run this place are friendly and knowledgeable of Vancouver. The rooms are great. Each co-ed floor has shared bathrooms (one for all males, and another for all females). The hostel keeps them very clean. But patrons are expected to pick up after themselves That being said they routinely clean the bathrooms diligently. The hostel is worn in enough to feel homie, but maintained enough to feel comfortable and clean. The complimentary community breakfast is a big perk too. It allows people to meet and hang out. (Breakfast usually includes toast, bagels with condiment toppings, cereal, juice, fruit, coffee and VEGEMITE!! ). My girlfriend and I came to Vancouver with a plan of things we wanted to see. However, if you just act on spontaneity, the hostel has daytime and nighttime activities ( bicycle tours, Brewery tours, aquariums, museums, hikes). Each evening, they even host events in the bar (e.g. beer pong or Mario Kart tournament). Prices are pretty decent. My girlfriend and I got a private room, but if you are traveling alone, a dorm is a great way to go. We paid a little less than a hundred bucks a night for our room, so I would imagine that a dorm would be at least half the cost (please check). However, like every big beautiful apple tree, there's always one bad one in the bunch that ruins it for everybody else. During one of the events, the hostel hosted a beer pong tournament ( awesome!). When my girlfriend and I tried to sign up for it (on time). The woman who greeted us at the bar sent us to the guy taking names for the tournament. He suggested we order a beer and wait till he comes to the table. Fair enough. So we bought a couple beers and hung out for 20 minutes. Never came by. So we went to visit him and ask again, and he said they were full, but also that nobody else was waiting, and we would be able to sign up in a few minutes. So we bought another couple drinks and went upstairs to the game, and talked with everybody for about 45 minutes. Still nothing. So we asked the guy about it again. ( Long hair, early thirties(?) guy, kind of skinny, calling names and taking pictures). He said nobody had dropped out yet (even though I heard him call about three or four names of people who weren't there). And we were still not able to sign up. A half hour later: Still full. When I asked him for a 4th time (about an hour and 45 minutes later) he again said they were still full but to hang out). We wasted time for 2 hours while this guy was being weird about signing up for the game. It's not even that the guy was being a dick, but Vancouver is a great place where there's always something to do, we could have done something else. It's a bummer having a good night wasted when we were only in Vancouver for about 5 days. So that nonsense aside, this hostle would have been a mistake to pass up. Great place, great people.

I stayed at this hostel for five nights and didn't have any major issues. The all-girl four room was clean and the various girls that stayed were cool. The hostel was cleaned daily and I saw how hard the staff worked to get everything tidy. Breakfast was sufficient with bagels, toast, fruit, hard-boiled eggs, juice and coffee. The bathrooms and showers were newly renovated - there was only one day that I was inconvenienced when all of them on the second floor were shut down; the bar downstairs offered a free drink the next day to make up for it. The hostel is on Granville street which shuts down on weekends and becomes a big party. It may have been worse than normal since I was in town for Canada Day 150; but I was towards the back of the hostel and didn't notice the noise too much. Good place to stay for cheap.

We stayed here for two nights while on vacation. The hostel was really clean and the staff was incredibly friendly. They had a bar with a millllllion different beers on tap and it seemed very lively. They are great with storing luggage before check in/check out. They also have guided adventures that are cheap, have extremely friendly guides (thanks Chelle!), and May even stop at a local brewery on the way home. The breakfast they served was also filling (bagels, toast, fruit, coffee). The beds had privacy, individual fans, lights, and best of all, PLUGS!! The bathrooms were clean and useful. The location is great for restaurants and bars. I would recommend!

The staff is really friendly and helpful. They gave great recommendations for everything from dim sum to beer. The happy hour is a good value, 4-6 pm in the lobby with a huge selection. The Whistler Honey Ale was my favorite. If you forget a lock, they are available for purchase for $8 USD. They provide towels and there is plenty of refrigerator space. I stayed in a 6 bed female dorm, I really liked each bed was a built in with an outlet, shelf and light. The only downfall was the door to our room was really difficult to open, so it made a pretty loud noice when ever it was open and closed.

To preface this review, I had never stayed in a hostel before. I've been to airBnBs and hotels, but this was my first hostel. I had been told to not expect much so I wasn't really hoping for anything amazing. Background: Me and my friend had to room with two other student volunteers for SIGGRAPH, a weeklong conference at the near-ish VCC. I arrived with my friend, after the other two Student Volunteers had arrived and checked into the room. Upon arriving, we found that somehow one of the student volunteers who had already checked in under a different staffer had been charged less than 1/4 the sum cost of the room for the week. It was unclear to us how this happened. We then spent about half an hour trying to explain to the staffer at check in that we in fact were not going to pay more than the amount we were meant to pay in order to compensate for the cost they had not properly charged the first student volunteer from our group. Then, after we had to go tell her ourselves that she had to pay more, somehow Samesun managed to charge an extra 126 Canadian past the amount the rooms were supposed to cost. So eventually we get into the actual room. The rooms are okay, you get an electrical port on the side of the wall and a lamp by the bed. That's actually alright, and why I'm giving them 2 stars. bathrooms are another story - piss on the ground, mystery leaks, etc. Definitely wear shoes of a sort. Also, the air conditioner doesn't work. The room each night was stuck at a perpetual 82 degrees Fahrenheit. Definitely will want to get a fan or something if you have issues with heat. Towards the end of the week, both our group and another group of SVs across the hall had been given a "Notice" on our doors that the rooms weren't clean enough for the hostels standards. This was particularly odd considering we were both groups that would be checking out the same time. For my group especially it was odd since it should have been on record we would all be checking out the next day. Overall, my takeaway is that you shouldn't stay at this hostel unless financially you have no other option.

I will say right off the bat, I'm not really a fan of hostels. I think it's a sheltered way of traveling, where you're often only exposed to other travelers equally clueless of the area, and getting to know the local area is why I want to travel! That being said, Samesun is exactly what you'd expect. I booked it on a Fri night about two hours before arriving from my phone, and when I got there, there were a lot of late teens/young 20 year old's there to party. (Many it seems being from the US where they're still underage) Samesun is in a hoppin' area of Vancouver with lots of bars and even one in the lobby to prevent you from ever needing to get out onto the streets of Vancouver. Perfect! I was beginning a road trip across Canada, so spent most of my evening using their wifi and a few guidebooks from their extensive lending library to plan my trip. For that, Samesun absolutely fit my needs. And the bed was shockingly quite clean and comfortable, had a little shelf, even for the top bunks, and a reading lamp! (though again, my use of hostels is limited to only a handful of times and in developing countries, so maybe my perspective isn't the best for this.) I did end up going out and by the time I got back it was around 2am and my room-mates still weren't back, but I had no issues with the level of noise for sleeping. I can see it being a potential problem if you wanted to go to bed early, however. I woke up the next morning, had a nice [free] breakfast of a toasted bagel, fresh fruit and coffee, complete with jock looking twenty year olds grunting and yelling at the Rugby game playing on the big screen TV's. Seriously, I was astonished that there isn't a turn-off button for sports for these people, even hungover at 8:30am. The icing on the cake that really wins them 5 stars? When I checked out and returned the borrowed guidebooks, I asked the front desk guy where I could buy one nearby. But apparently Vancouver is lacking conventional bookstores at the moment because one just closed and the other expected to be open won't be for a few months. So he gave me the book! A $38 hostel, and he just gave me a $27 Lonely Planet guidebook! Which, man, sure came in handy the rest of the trip! For this, 5 stars. Thanks front desk guy! It came in SO helpful for the whole trip! Fun Tip: If you have a car and arrive after 8pm, instead of parking in the Holiday Inn garage for $21 like they suggest, you can pay a street-parking meter (2 hr max) until 10pm and then it's free until 9am! It was perfect for me!

Great service here, the bar tender Benny went above and beyond throughout my hole trip here, definitely recommend this hostel, it's in the middle of everything and the staff is always giving %110

This place is AWFUL! If I could give it NO STARS I would. I stayed here for two nights, and then I left and went to a hotel. The place smells. The bathrooms are dirty, and the showers were cold. The beds were dirty, and the rooms were dirty. The breakfast was terrible and made me sick. It was just one nightmare after another. I slept probably three hours total the whole time I was here, and finally left to a hotel and could not have been happier to leave and get out of here. BEWARE! Do not stay here. The staff was rude to me. One night I asked for an extra blanket, and the staff questioned why I would need at all... It was noisy and gross... just stay away. Stay somewhere where you'll feel safe and where it is clean!

Best. Hostel. Ever. This was my second time staying at Samesun Vancouver and I love it. Some of my best travel memories are from this hostel. I couldn't recommend it enough. The employees are top notch. Kodi with an I? Lit. The absolute best lad around. Actually took my heels off for me so I didn't hurt myself going up the stairs (saint). 10/10 deserves a raise. Benny from New Zealand? Swell. Babysat my drunk friend and our bags while I went to get the car. The Beaver is fantastic. Good food and better drinks. Care for a pitcher of alcohol? This is your bar. For only (roughly) 20 Canadian dollars you can order a pitcher of your favorite mixed drink. Benny the bartender is a legend. Stay at the Samesun. I guarantee you won't regret it.

Good location. Worst hostel experience I've ever had. Payoff through an app and then decided to cut my stay to only a night. Was told I would be refunded the 4 extra days I paid, but was not. Basically charged 225 for 1 night. Do not stay here.

This review is for 12/31/2011 to 01/03/2012. With my last minute trip to Vancouver swinging into full motion, I had no place to stay. I could check into a nice hotel or find a buddy to stay with. However, I did find a hostel, but it wasn't any ordinary hostel. This hostel had class and that fit up my alley. Vancouver is home to the SameSun Backpacker Lodge. I am not too familiar with hostels since there is not that many in the United States or perhaps I am really closed off to the world. I booked my hostel online and had no idea where I was staying. First impression was that I was staying in some ghetto building in New York with random sick people, but I forgot that Vancouver is much classier than that. For about $20 a night, you can have a place to sleep, shower, and have free breakfast. Are there any downsides? Nope. Not even with sharing the room. I had three other roommates and they were wonderful. With only a short stay, I didn't get to know them well, but I did get to informally meet with them. Meeting new friends in a town you've never been in plays a big role. The building is secure with a password that rotates. Make sure you find out with the front desk. Every room has their own design and I got the French Flag Door for Room 211. I am not sure if there are "WASHROOMS" on every floor. The washrooms or restrooms, as a Yankee would say, has three shower stalls, two toilets. There is free Wi-Fi in the building for us members who want to be in contact with home without buying a cellphone plan in another country. As I mentioned before, there is free breakfast at the Beaver inside the hostel. There is a kitchen and recreational room for those who want to stay indoors if its pouring outside or just lazy to leave. Basically, think of SameSun as a dormitory with class. After breakfast is over, the Beaver operates into a restaurant and dining hall. If you don't plan to stay at the hostel during most of your stay, the location of where your hostel is pretty cool. It is in the middle of downtown where all the clubs and bars are at. There are tons of places to shop, dine, and have fun. Just seconds away from fun. Before you leave, make sure you grab your linens since all they ask you to do is turn them in. Ugh....I miss this place already. As I was leaving the Tuesday morning, I got to meet the guys who made the video. If you haven't seen it, here is the link: http://youtu.be/CbtQz9fxXN8 . Just don't watch the movie, Hostel. Its not the same thing..lol. Yelp is My Review, My Story, and My Life. Its time to share it.

I stayed here for two nights, and overall this is a great hostel. Pros: Staff is extremely friendly and helpful Good deals on food and drinks at the bar downstairs Great common area for hanging out, relaxing, or getting some work done. Large lockers to store bags in Daily events to give you a tour of parts of Vancouver, with just the right amount of tour guide. Short, to the point, then go have fun and explore on your own. Cons: Limited washroom availability Room door was very loud and impossible not to wake up when it was used.

If i say just cons, The common room, second floor smelled disgusting. It was like urination. I stayed for 3days and one night some guys laughing and running and screaming at the corrider at 1:00am. I was shocked. And bathroom is too far from some rooms.

I stayed here at the Samesun Backpacker Lodges Vancouver . The rooms are clean there is restaurant downstairs which has a great free breakfast . Nice place to stay at if u like to party and drink

This place has a really fun down-to-earth feel. Staff are very friendly and helpful. And the free breakfast (toast and jelly/jam) is a bonus - or for $2 get a hot breakfast. Plus free wifi is great. And the pizza shop next door is super convienient :) But like most hostels, it didn't really feel that clean, and was noisy at times (from party goers coming in). We had a private room and bathroom which made it much more bareable. If you are straight and looking to party then this is the place for you. If you are gay, try a hostel on davie street. If you are looking for a good nights sleep, or a longer stay, find a hotel. Also be warned that there is NO air conditioning (well, when we stayed - Fall 2009) and it is an old building with poor circulation so I would imagine in summer it could get quite hot sleeping. Plus sleeping with the window open is very noisy from traffic and outdoor noises.

My bf and I travel frequently but this was our 1st hostel experience as a couple. I didn't know what to expect but we loved everything about Samesun and The Beaver (the bar and restaurant.)  We were greeted by Ben and Connie with welcoming smiles. Check in was quick yet very informative.  They both took time patiently answering all my questions. They recommended Simons bike shop cuz he offers their guests a nice discount. It was $24 for 24 hours. Rent bikes and bike through Stanley Park! They have day trips and nightly events planned on the board at the front desk so you always have the info and something to do.  The hostel is attached to The Beaver.  Two levels, good seating, several TVs, and a big screen projector that always had the games on with sound (my boyfriend had to watch the playoffs) but she'd quickly change to music during half times etc so we were both happy.  They have happy hour everyday 4-6 and the food is good, try the Korean Fries and the Tacos.  Michaela is a fun knowledgeable bartender and the shot list is extensive.  We had so much fun tasting several shots, try the Reese's Pieces and Ryan Reynolds. We loved saving money cuz every morning they have a nice spread for breakfast.  We ate as different times each morning and every time it was stocked and the bagels were still warm :)  Assortment of bagels, cream cheese, butter, jam, yogurt, muffins, fresh fruit, eggs, oatmeal, coffee, and juices.  We were joined by 2 staff members Tom and Lena one morning just to check in on us to see how we were liking it and again offering suggestions of things to do. It was a nice breakfast experience.  We had a private room with a shared bathroom.  The bathrooms and showers are nice and were always clean, I never had to wait to use either.  Bed was comfy and there was never any noise to keep or wake us up. We had a tv, mini fridge, blow dryer, and 2 big mirrors in our room so I was happy to be able to get ready in the room. There is a lot of places to chill and meet people cuz there's always a group hanging in the lounge, on the couches, or open patio.  Everyone including the staff were so friendly and we loved the vibe of mixed ages (not all just 18s). The kitchen is big looked perfect if you want to make some food.  Overall I would highly recommend Samesun for solo, group, and couples.  Thanks again we hope to come back.

I like the Samesun in Vancouver for several reasons. It's one of the nicer Hostels I stayed in, but it definitely has the greatest atmosphere, for me one of the big plusses for Hostelling/ Lodging. The kitchen is well equipped and has space for all ya goodies. It has a lot of common spaces, and you''l probably make some new friends or even meet olde ones, ya'll never know. The biggest downsides are Granvillestreet in the front (what's also a plus), and that the WiFi, if crowded goes down to almost ISDN.

Good place, clean, nice helpful staff they go beyond their way to assist. Street at night alot of homeless however still safe. Train station close by less than 7 min walk. Close to shopping area and lots of restaurants there. THANK YOU

It's been several years since I stayed here, when my sister and I first moved to Vancouver. We stayed at the hostel for about two weeks while we looked for our own apartment. I have to say we had a decent time, the location was great and the hostel was fairly clean. It was a sociable place and we met many, many people from all over the world. Be warned it's a party hostel, so a quiet night is not what you'll get. At first my sister and I were worried about safety since the hostel is near several porn stores. The neighbourhood tho wasn't an issue and we were fine walking around very late at night. For what you pay it's not luxury but it'll do just fine.

Went with three friends for the weekend to Vancouver and had a great stay at Samesun! It was our first time staying at a hostel and we had an awesome time! We arrived way before check-in time and had no issues dropping off our bags in the luggage room. Desk attendants were very friendly and helpful, the room was clean, bathrooms were nice, and there was a great common area. Room was ready for us when we returned late afternoon, but had been ready for a couple hours (earlier than 1). Great location on Granville & Nelson, walking distance to everywhere in downtown Vancouver, including Stanley Park! Free breakfast was great (fresh bagels and cream cheese, muffins, fresh fruit, coffee & juice) and check-out was at 11 AM. We didn't have any issues leaving our bags in the luggage room for the day until our bus at 6:30pm. I felt very safe at Samesun! Traveling with all girls we were a little nervous about our first time at a hostel, but we had no reason to be. There was a code to get upstairs where the rooms are, and it changes every day. At night, someone stands by the door and asks to see your room keys before you can go up. It wasn't cheap, but it was cheaper than a hotel, and a fun atmosphere for the weekend. All in all, a great stay! We'll be back!

This hostel is probably one of the better ones to go to in Vancouver. It's downtown on Granville in the shopping/bar area of Vancouver. Close to the Stanley Park and easily to get by Skytrain. The hostel itself is enormous. Just spend an afternoon in the common area and for the night or next day you have already plans to do trips with other backpackers. The kitchen is small, but it got all necessary things you need for cooking, unfortune is that if you need pots or pans you have to hand in your room key and go downstairs to get these at the reception. Next to the kitchen is a small nice outside smokers area, if you do not like to hang out on the street. Restrooms are small, but clean. Per floor three showers and three toilets, but never a line up. Rooms are different, according to size. Small and big. Most rooms are quit small, but hey it's only for sleeping. All amenities needed are present. A fan, an open window, mirror, hangers and lockers. Every bed has a private shelf to store away some stuff. Enough outlets to charge all you got with you. However it is a bit noise, how hard the staff tries to keep everyone quiet between 11PM and 7AM, not only from the hallways but also from the rooms above. Including in this hostel is the Beaver Bar with pretty much, for Canadian notion, cheap beer and good food.

Great hostel with incredible vibe! Good value. Prime location. Staff is super nice and helpful. They keep the place pretty clean. The best part is Beaver Bar is located at the bottom so great hang out spot to meet new friends.

This was the first hostel i stayed at so it was a very good experience!! They have pretty good beds with all sorts of dorms. Bathrooms are pretty good. They provide a good free breakfast with heaps of range. They have one better then a common room (although there is a good common room) they have their own pub! Cheap beer great food and heaps of fun themed nights! Every night they have a 5 dollar dinner which of the ones i had were delicious Hostel is in a great location! Overall one of the best I've stayed in.

I stayed here on my first visit to Vancouver this July, solo. This is one great hostel - right in downtown and close to most of the major attractions. The front desk staff were very pleasant and helpful when I was looking for things to do and directions. The premises itself was very well maintained, which is a major peeve with most other hostels I've been to. Clean bed, a charging point and a bed lamp right next to it, plus free wifi - couldn't ask for more ! The pub downstairs is a great place to hang out and meet new people. Includes a decent breakfast in the price too - win win !!

This is a great backpacker hostel. It's centrally located, making many of the city's attractions not much more than a 15 or 20 minute walk away. The atmosphere is defanately that of a capitol city backpacker hostel; travelers coming and going to the downstairs pub and the bars a short walk away. Me and my female friends all felt that it was quite a safe hostel, with several security doors and 24 hour staffing, and free security lockers for your backpack. Like many backpacker hostels, it's the crowd that really makes this place shine--my dorm-mates were loads of fun every time I've visited! All in all, not the best place to go if you're looking for a serene night's sleep (Try the Hosteling International across the street), but the best backpacker destination in town.

I haven't stayed in a hostel in years. Many many years. And one could maybe argue my life has jumped the shark for staying in hostels...pretty sure my use of that term in that way proves this point rather well. It was an experience and overall if you are going to stay in a hostel in Vancouver this is a good one. Clean (as clean as hostels go) and a nice bar downstairs. My only complaint was some of the front desk staff wasn't all that friendly. To be fair they were working the late shift so maybe that is par the course but more than once we got very irritated looks when we needed help opening our door. I'm being picky I suppose but still worth mentioning. If I planned on staying in a hostel again (I don't) I'd stay here.

One of the best hostels I've ever stayed at. Very clean, good breakfast, great downtown location, and very social, I always make friends here. The staff is really helpful too.

This is definitely the place to be for backpackers!! The hostel stuff is really nice and friendly. They help you with everything and want you to feel comfy. Washing rooms , laundry room and the kitchen are always clean. The wifi connection is always good. In the common room is a good pool table where you can play all night and you have enough space to hang around. The balcony is big enough to eat & drink some beers until 11pm. I really enjoyed staying in the samesun! When I ever come back to Vancouver I'll stay there again.

Decent rooms, nice layout and great location. Unfortunately, of the 40-50 hostel experiences I've had, this was the very worst in customer service. The front desk asked us to be sure and have a key to our room to be let back in at night. We needed to show it at the front desk to get past the door to get upstairs. A guy working the front desk let me girlfriend in while I finished talking to a buddy outside. She showed her key and was let upstairs. I walk in a couple of minutes later, and the same guy, who I show an identical room key to refused to let me upstairs to my room. This was after a long night out, and I just wanted to go to sleep in the room I paid for, with my girlfriend. I got really upset and regrettably yelled at the guy for not following his own rules and disrespecting a paying customer by forcing him out of his room. I'm steaming at this point while waiting. The "manager" walks down 30 minutes later, looks me up in the system (not sure why, they said we just needed a key) and then let's me to my room to go to bed. I couldn't sleep so i walked back down to talk to him and ask what the disconnect was. He said he needed to leave for some reason, and left this guy who hasn't been trained yet to run the front desk. Rough..... Would never recommend a place that allows untrained employees to deal with their Customers. Stay at one of the many other great places in Van.

It's a pretty good hostel for what it is. Are there better? Ofcourse there are. Will this get the job done? Yes it will. The best part of this hostel is the location. It's right on Granville and you get access to the best bars and restaurants so it's a great place if you're young and want to party. Everything else is average though - having said that I stayed in a bunk bed when I normally get a private room so that probably has a lot to do with it.

If you enjoy waking up to the ripping sound of electric saws used for "renovation" directly outside your room at 8am, and for 4 hours straight after that, then this is the place for you. We received no warning. Musky. Unisex shower/sink rooms can generate extremely awkward encounters. As with the rest of Vancouver, parking is abysmal and will cost you an arm and leg. As with any hostel, it's easy to meet people and is cheap. The renovation noise was straight up infuriating, though.

This hostel puts effort into bringing travellers together and giving them activities and tours throughout the day as well as great local knowledge. The bar on ground level also has something going every night of the week. Stay here for a social time!