Victoria tourism issues and discussion

[Dylan Leblanc]

Originally Posted by yodsaker

The Blethering Place is no more so one less faux-Brit establishment to embarrass everyone and perpetuate the myth.

WTF! So every other country and ethnicity in the world can have a restaurant in Victoria but as soon as there's a British one it's an embarrassment???

Xenophobe.

[yodsaker]

Originally Posted by Dylan Leblanc

WTF! So every other country and ethnicity in the world can have a restaurant in Victoria but as soon as there's a British one it's an embarrassment???

Xenophobe.

You missed it, it went by your left ear, so I'll try again.
It wasn't Brit, only a lame faux-Brit joint. If you ever went there you would have understood why it was embarrassing.
A real Brit restaurant (in Britain) serves biryanis and kormas these days.

[Dylan Leblanc]

I've been there. I've been to another British place in Qualicum called Cockney Pride. It's the same kind of place. What is wrong with a British restaurant?

[Nparker]

Originally Posted by Dylan Leblanc

What is wrong with a British restaurant?

Better one British-themed restaurant than a whole city built around a faux-British theme.

[sebberry]

Originally Posted by Dylan Leblanc

What is wrong with a British restaurant?

Beause you'd have to call it "Bangers" and I think around here that would cause a lot of confusion.

[AllseeingEye]

Not to mention you'd have to serve....*shudder*....jellied eels. Eeeeewwww. I kid you not. My uncle took us to a pub in North London when we were there years ago and among the clientele, especially the older demographic, those things were as popular as french fries here. No wonder the British lost their empire, heh....

[Ms. B. Havin]

Originally Posted by VicHockeyFan

Excellent post. 100% agree. I know a ton of Vancouverites that also think Vic is great, but don't see a reason to come.

Well, show them this: the official music video for Bikini - ACheerlaeder by The India Trading Company [warning: possibly NSFW]) and maybe they'll change their minds... GNS uniforms put to good use...

Again, it's too funny identifying all the locales. "Oh, look, that's xxx in The Uplands," or "That's the view from xxx"...

[aastra]

Executive House:

Our room overlooked Douglas Street and did not suffer from any excessive noise...

***

Executive House:

...quite a lot of traffic noise when sleeping - we bought ear plugs!

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR..._Columbia.html

[aastra]

One of the most popular tourist attractions in the world, Victoria is nicknamed "The City of Gardens". Flowers bloom year round.

A cosmopolitan city with a "small town atmosphere," there are few buildings over seven stories tall in Victoria.

http://www.suvana.com/Victoria-airport-shuttle.html

[aastra]

We only stayed in Victoria for 1 night before renting a car and heading off to Tofino. While planning this trip we had a friend who told us that Victoria is nice, but that 1 night is probably sufficient because there's not really enough to see and/or do.

In retrospect I think this is not correct - there is a whole city and downtown to explore. The main reason for traveling to Tofino was to go whale watching which we expected to be better so far north. However the whale watching company in Tofino told us that we had a better chance of see the Orcas from Victoria because there were several resident pods in the area.

We enjoyed the drive to Tofino and seeing some of the Pacific Rim National Forest, but really I think our time could just as well have been spent in Victoria.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic..._Columbia.html


"In retrospect I think this is not correct - there is a whole city and downtown to explore..."

[Barra]

A whale watching tour now costs $105/person. I don't think I could afford to be a tourist in my home town.

[aastra]

It's a one-time thing, so I think I could swallow that price if I was so inclined. Whale watching generally runs $80-$90 in places like Tofino, Hawaii, Mexico, etc.

But since I'm not so inclined, I've never actually done it and don't anticipate doing it in the near future.

[AllseeingEye]

Reminds me a little of a travel narrative on one of the UK's largest travel sites about 3 years ago that said, in essence, to by-pass Victoria altogether as there was "really little or no point" spending time seeing anything here with the lone exception of Butchart Gardens.

It went on to say Victoria was "of little consequence" and its greatest claim to fame apparently was a 100 year old hotel "which should tell you all you need to know about the place". It then wryly suggested that if you were the type who got excited by "old hotels", you were far better off staying in Greater London where you could see much older, and bigger and more famous hotels.......

Switching gears, I've done whale watching here and in Mexico, which is sufficient IMO. A nice experience for the kids if you have any, otherwise hitch a ride on a friend's boat and head over to Pender Island and you are pretty much guaranteed to find orcas.....

[gumgum]

^That review sounds like from someone who's never been here.

[aastra]

A lot of British reviewers seem to take issue with the idea of a city having a singularly famous hotel. I've noticed that many times. I don't quite understand it. There must be some stigma over there about it. They don't seem to realize that every city in Canada has its own singular prominent historic establishment.

[aastra]

Parkside:

...there is no air conditioning or fan. Therefore the suite was always very warm & stuffy even with all windows and balcony door open. We stayed in August, and the temperature outside was beautiful in the low 70s. But the suite was uncomfortably hot.

More Parkside:

Due to the design of the decorative glass tiles and concrete abutments above and below the windows, any all noise from street level bounces off the glass tiles and into the rooms. We were on the 6th floor and could hear the small stream of water in the fountain in the roundabout in front of the complex as if it was in our room.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR..._Columbia.html

****

Empress:

The part of the hotel we were staying in didn’t have air-conditioning, so we slept with our window open. In the morning we woke up to the sound of a small engine of the seaplane taking off from the harbor. It was definitely something you don’t experience in other Canadian cities.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR..._Columbia.html

****

Laurel Point:

Great location, easy to stroll from here into Victoria...

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR..._Columbia.html

****

Regent Hotel:

Our issue was we are used to air conditioning, and we didn't have any. I asked at the desk and they said most Victoria rooms don't have air conditioning.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR..._Columbia.html

****

My husband and I were looking for a nice getaway in our own city. We chose the Executive House because the website looked nice, we knew the area, and it sounded comfortable...

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR..._Columbia.html

****

Ocean Pointe:

We moved here from the magnolia because we couldn't stand looking down on the rooftols covered on seagull poop.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR..._Columbia.html

[Dylan Leblanc]

Many Americans believe that air conditioning is a right.

[aastra]

Especially when it's hot.

[G-Man]

Due to the design of the decorative glass tiles and concrete abutments above and below the windows, any all noise from street level bounces off the glass tiles and into the rooms. We were on the 6th floor and could hear the small stream of water in the fountain in the roundabout in front of the complex as if it was in our room

Roundabout??

[Nparker]

Originally Posted by G-Man

Roundabout??

There is a crescent-shaped-turnaround on the east side of the Parkside resort. I am assuming this is the "roundabout" to which our bionic-eared visitor alludes.

[Sparky]

Allow me to lighten up this thread a little by sharing an experience we had today.

You might want to while away a day by taking a ferry to one of our gorgeous gulf islands. Tourists do it all the time.

This shot was taken this afternoon from the Saturna Vineyard. They serve a delightful lunch at their facility.....and it's not expensive. Yes there was a glass or two of wine to be had.......sit back.....they had some Jack Johnson tunes on .....and we couldn't help but enjoy......

[Bingo]

Todays CFAX poll question.

Are you going away for the long weekend?

92% NO
8% YES

Has the recession hit your pocketbook and you are staying home, or are you attending some the local events such as the Fringe Festival, the Classic Boat Show, the Blues Bash, Saanich Fair and others?

[vandervalk]

We aren't going away this long weekend, not that we often do. For us, it's a mixture of a lot of things.

1. The hassle of trying to navigate around everyone else that does things for the long weekend, traffic, ferries and needing to book months in advance just to be able to find a camping spot.

2. It's only 3 days and I find I need a weeks holidays afterwards.

3. BBQ at home with some family time is the best way to relax.

[AllseeingEye]

I've been travelling a lot for work lately so we're staying put; we're taking kids to the Saanich Fair - hey who doesn't like horses 'n pigs 'n goats 'n stuff? - then having a family BBQ tomorrow.

Fortunately our careers our relatively recession-proof so that has no bearing on the decision not to travel - as someone else noted just not into the hassle of competing with the hordes that will especially during the intial Texas Scramble involved in getting out of this town. I've seen far too many airports and ferries in the last 2-3 months so I am quite content to chill.....

[Sparky]

^ .....and if you are not driving all over hell's half acre.....there might be the odd cold brewsky in if for you.....have a great weekend everyone.