Wouldn't go back

We will not book this hotel again. Our room was dirty, had an unpleasant odor,stains on the carpet and bedspread, and when we awakened in the morning, found a strange looking, small bug in bed with us. We decided to cancel our second night, and went to another hotel,The Shamrock, which was very nice and very clean. When we checked out of the Carlton Plaza, we reported the bug to the desk clerk .He insinuated that we were not telling the truth, and didn't even apologize !Maybe we had an unusually poor room and bad luck, as we chose this hotel from others' good ratings.

We loved the Carlton Plaza!

My mother and I stayed at the Carlton Plaza 07 - 11 Dec 2006. As two little old ladies traveling together, we loved it!

The entire staff is very helpful and pleasant. They recommended restaurants and interesting sights around Victoria, and even helped me find a dentist for an emergency visit.

Upon check in, there was a mix up with our reservation, so they upgraded our room to a suite. We had a lovely smoke-free room with two queen beds, a kitchenette and sitting area. The room was clean and well-stocked with lots of towels. The kitchenette contained the basics, which we did not use. We did use valet parking, and our car was always brought around promptly.

We ate breakfast at De Dutch, the reasonably good and reasonably priced in-house restaurant.

The Carlton Plaza is within walking distance to all of downtown. The city bus system appeared to be extensive, although we chose to walk or drive our car when leaving downtown.

Great price, great beds, great location!

This hotel exceeded my expectations and made the trip to Victoria, BC a pleasant one. We were lucky enough to get a corner room (king bed, kitchenette, couch) for $110 US. It was amazing! The room was nicely decorated, with multiple pillows on the beds to suit our preferences. They have valet parking which is a must in Victoria and we could have the car anytime we wanted. The Carlton Plaza has a great location on Johnson street about a 10 minute stroll from the Empress Hotel with many shops (Starbucks, Gap) along the way. There is a great inexpensive pizza place just around the corner. There is also a night club on one of the corners of the hotel. Great price, great beds, great location!

Good Location, clean and reasonable

We stayed for two nights at this hotel and we were pleased to be upgraded to a non-smoking suite because they ran out of non-smoking rooms. We booked it because it was the closest hotel to the train station. In fact it was close to everything we wanted to get to and we walked everywhere. The front desk staff were great. We did not try the restaurant. There is no pool.

Nice hotel in convenient location

I booked this hotel on the phone and paid around $85/nt which I thought a fair price for early season.

Location is near the heart of things downtown. Like any major North American city Victoria has its share of assorted nutcases, fruitcakes and hobos wandering the streets at all hours, quite a few hang out on Douglas round the corner. None appeared threatening or aggressive compared to the downtown USA variety. The area is safe and secure but may be noisy at night due to the proximity of downtown pubs and nightlife (hint: closing the window works well).

After a tiring day getting there, it was welcome to find a nice room, 2 queen beds, free broadband internet (I needed to get online after being out of reach, the hotel's service had been disabled initially, however the front desk staff phoned Tech Support and got me online swiftly), free local calls, free tea/coffee, free newspaper. Reasonable price laundry service was done same day (Saturday) with no problems. Drinks machine and ice on same floor. Great view from the 6th floor. Cleanliness not an issue at all, bathroom was spotless (I opened up the combined liquid soap/shampoo/conditioner dispenser unit and took a peek inside, one of the tanks had a line around the top, that's how hard I had to look...). Comfortable bed.

Valet parking was fine, 10-20min wait, believe in peak season there's a payment. As a Brit, I always thought the idea of valet parkng was that the car got cleaned ie "valeted" while you're in the hotel, no such luck here or anywhere else I've been in US/Canada...)

Didn't have breakast but looked a better deal than at many similar standard hotels.

The small quibbles like the visible laundry basket and a slightly old fashioned colour scheme should not people off, overall this hotel is great value for money and has some friendly front desk/bell staff.

Big disappointment

(#1) The picture one sees online is deceiving. It leads one to believe the hotel is rather grand and that the entrance is on a corner..it is neither; It is mid-block of a mediocre street with used bookstores, empty storefronts, and a drag-show caberet. (#2) The room was not ready at 3pm (check-in time) and we were sent away. The staff was mediocre, at best. (#3) The first room to which we were sent (#4) at 6pm! when rooms were finally ready, (#5)had a strong odor, a filthy bathroom floor and coffee still in the pot from a former guest. Yuck. I asked for another room, and (#6) after 1/2 hour the desk called that I could come downstairs and get a key to another room. I (correctly) assumed that we were to move ourselves! (#7) Right, no one came upstairs to deliver a key or move our luggage. I contacted the front desk manager, who kindly gave us breakfast in the overpriced pancake restaurant in the hotel to accomodate us for our delay and the necessary room change. (#8) The maid staff piles used towels and sheets in a bin in the hallways near the elevator, where it sits until the following day when it is taken to the laundry room and a new pile accumulates thoughout the morning. Not particularly pleasing to see..exposed used dirty laundry 24 hrs a day. (#9) There are many homeless people and beggers in the vicinity of the hotel. (#10) I made the error of booking this through Expedia and pre-paid, so I was stuck at this place. Don't make that mistake!

Great location fantastic breakfast

We stayed here in March 2004 found the location ideal for walking to shopping and site seeing attractions. Wonderful breakfast included in the price. Would stay again Also available comfortable suites

A good value

I stayed at the Carlton Plaza in February 2000. I found no faults with cleanliness or service. The location allows you to walk to many attractions - the harbour, museum, crystal gardens, parliament. The only problem we had was the noise from the patrons exiting the strip club (almost right next door) For a comfortable, reasonably priced hotel in Victoria, The Carlton Plaza has my vote

Friendly Staff

I had a wonderful stay in Victoria, BC this past week. We found the Carlton Plaza to be the highlight of our trip. The staff were extremely helpful and remembered things and asked how your dinner was at ... I have never stayed at a place where this happenned, and was very impressed.

Good location, exceptional staff

We stayed for 3 nights here in January. The location is good. It is about a 5 min walk to the inner harbour, 45 seconds from Market Square. Unfortunatly, it is located next to a few clubs and busy Broad street. We had a room with kitchen, and a great view of the city. The noise at night was intollerable, however. traffic noise, yelling, fighting, etc.

We informed the desk staff of this and they upgraded (for free) us to a room on the 7th floor, facing away from the street. there was no kitchen, but it did have an enclosed deck on the top of the building! The staff was extremly friendly and informative.

In summary, a clean, secure hotel. Good location. Spectacular staff.