Cambie Hostel

I have mixed feelings about this place. Yes, its one of the cheapest places to stay in Vancouver, but you get what you pay for. At $ 31 Canadian per night, you get a very uncomfortable bed in a dimly lit, depressing room. I would recommend bringing sheets with you if you can. The common area is not a very social one, either. Most of the people at the hostel are living there on their working visas. Most already have their little cliques and whatnot, something my roommates and I observed.
The staff are not bad. If I ever return to Vancouver, I might look into other Hostel options. One thing I will give Cambie credit for is their location. They are right in the center of Gastown which is a very nice area and super close to the SkyTrain (the one you take in from the YVR airport). Try and avoid the top bunks! They are super close to the ceiling so it makes for an awkward situation haha.

This hostel has a charming level of grime on it. A well loved common area, shared kitchen, decent showers, pay laundromat on site… my only complaint, the rooms would get ungodly hot compared to the rest of the hostel and the bathroom door wouldn’t stay closed so basically you were getting naked in front of anyone who walked by.
I had a mixed room and I really enjoyed it. The common area ans shared kitchen are a really helpful, amazing feature. Bathrooms need some work but the staff is very friendly and make you feel very welcome.

For a first time staying at a hostel, it was very welcoming and inviting. The facilities were great and well kept. (There’s free wifi!) The rooms were also very clean and the staff were friendly. We also had a room mate who was so sweet. The only little thing we had a slight problem was that the showers were a little too small but other than that it was great. We will definitely stay here again the next time we come to VanCity!

Wow! I had an amazing time here.
I think every experience is super circumstantial, for example, who you meet at the time. This is what made my time here, the people were amazing. Right when I got there, the guy at the front desk, ryan, welcomed me in warmly… then the people in my room were awesome. The community room has it’s own charm. The kitchen is not the cleanest but whatever, it is what you make of it. The bed was SO comfortable.
The view is absolutely awesome, located in a very cool part of town.
This place has character and spunk.
When I’m back in Vancouver, I will stay here!

this place is awesome… the beds are comfy and the rooms are clean most of the dorms are decent in size… the staff have always been friendly and make you feel welcome… the party usually begins at the bar down stairs when the sun goes down. they also serve delicious food… the thick wooden tables gives the bar a delightful vintage feel about it as well… it’s in a great location and close to the water and vibrant night life of gastown. i’ve stayed here a number of times and will continue to stay in the future…

Great, cost-​effective place to stay!
The Cambie is located in a great part of Gastown (named after a dude that farted a lot, seriously… Canadians…) And it even has a restaurant and pub built right in, what more can you ask for?
Tip: rent bicycles while you’re in Vancouver, ride everywhere, it rules.
My only con with the Cambie is that the staff seems burned out and under appreciated by the management. I observed a manager nitpick every minute (and mostly irrelevant) detail while this poor employee tried to help customers… super lame. She was great though, he, not so much.
Anyway, stay there, it’s fun and cheap. Vacation!!!

Oh, man. It was so incredibly hot in our room we barely could sleep. With the window wide open it was well over 85 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the night, while it was closer to 60 outside. I asked the guy working the front if they had anything, a fan, or anything, he just shrugged and went on doing whatever he was doing behind the desk. The second night we left the window open all day to hopefully make sure it would be cooler, and it was, barely. Two nights of bad sleep. The window leads to a lightwell with no breeze whatsoever.
The location is perfect for walking around. The two girls working the front desk when we got there were amazingly nice, helpful, and got us situated quickly. The bakery next door where you get your included breakfast is actually really good. Barely chatted with others in the hostel, but it looked like a great place to meet people, especially with the bar downstairs. Shower, bathrooms, etc were above average for hostels, but nothing great.
I’d stay here again if I brought a fan with me or it wasn’t a warm weekend. I know it isn’t the guy at the front desk’s fault it was a hot weekend, but most hostels have some type of temperature control, like a ceiling fan or something, maybe just offer us a cold drink. It was the type of sweltering night where you basically get no good sleep, and wake up in a puddle of sweat, just to scooch over to a less sweaty spot. The sheets were all stained. There weren’t real beds, just rectangles of foam. The room was a decent size and the «beds» were also decently sized.
Incredible location, good bar downstairs, good bakery. 340 bar, almost next door, was also fun and full of nice weirdos.

I don’t think I could ever stop praising this hostel! The reason I enjoyed it so much is because every minute was an unexpected adventure! From no air conditioning to frat-​like room conditions to strange hipsters bumbling in the hallways, I loved every minute.
Definitely go expecting the worst. I wouldn’t recommend it for families or older couples. It certainly caters to the young, hip traveler crowd. The free breakfast is great but the bar downstairs is even better! We had planned on exploring the city but ended up spending each night in the Cambie bar, chatting with other travelers. The people are what made this place great!

We have been here in November 2011.
Of course it is one of the cheapest hostels in Vancouver and it has a very famous pub which is liked by travelers as well as by vancouverites.
A lot people are satisfied with this hostel but we definitely weren’t.
It is an old building which in fact I really like.
But it was so dirty (especially the toilets and showers) and there were a lot broken spaces.
The kitchen was very small (we were not able to get some space in the fridge).
We stayed in a 6 bed dorm and the next morning my girlfriend had some itchy red spots on her leg and after watching the bed closer we found some bed bugs.
We never will stay here again!

Went here end of august 2011 on a road trip from S.F. and to sum this up: the cambie is like going to hooters, you don’t go there for the wings, here you aren’t going here for the accommodations, rather the easy access to the nightlife downstairs.
Pros:
*30 dollars a night well for a 2 bunk-​bed private room
*happening bar downstairs with characters from all over with pool table, video games, pub food and a lot of drinks (If you can smuggle ETOH from the states please do, drinks in the stores cost even more than in the bars, and drinks are not sold in the supermarkets only special liquor stores, but I do like the fact that ETOH is sold in plastic 2 and 3 liter bottles over there)
*cheap and good hot breakfast with meal ticket next door (the cashier guy is a bit of a Nazi so make sure to have your meal card filled out and know exactly what you want.)
*They will make meat substitutions for delicious mushrooms on the hot breakfast plate for vegetarians!
*wifi (be sure to get the code)
*helpful staff
*luggage storage
*community room (albeit small, probably a converted sleep room) with kitchen and 2 computers (good luck getting on) and a couch and tv, really crowded.
*easily access to the local weed clubs/​bars (the technically don’t sell) not without the magic password lol!
*secure– at night you have to show your pass to get inside, though there is no curfew, there is somebody at the desk 24/​7, and you need a key card to access the floors.
Cons:
*It got hot and stuffy in the room and there was such poor circulation
no desk in the room only bunk beds and a closet and a full length mirror.
*only 1 soviet style bathroom for the girls per floor, with the first floor being out of service during my stay, and the doors are wide open during the shower and bathrooms.
*3^rd world showers, reminded me of my time roughing it in the wilderness (cold and poor water pressure) oh and bring sandals because they piss and vomit in the stalls… I was so tempted to tip the cleaning crew. Most of the showers were out of order. Hindsight is always 20/​20, in retrospect I would have taken more precautions other than bringing some bottled water, here are some freebies; —Word to the wise boil some water in the kitchen and take a Puerto-​Rican shower (no offense to Puerto-​Ricans) but honestly unless you can stand ice water long enough to get really clean its the way to go, or do as I do for patients in the hospitals and heat up a pack of baby wipes and sponge bath it.
*Not the best area to be wandering around in alone, reminded me of the tenderloin in San Francisco, a lot of homeless, crazies and junkies.

This is a good place to stay in Vancouver. Good location by a lot of public transportation. Free muffin & coffee for breakfast! There is also a bar that is part of the hostel, which is cool. A good place to meet fellow travelers & locals alike.
Only complaints: wifi didn’t work (free wifi nearby @ coffee places though) & be advised that there isn’t any free parking in the area… realllly expensive to park

The place was OK, but for the price I have definitely had better quarters elsewhere. We went on Canada day so the place was extremely busy and the bar downstairs was packed. I slept fine despite the noise downstairs but my friend had a horribly restless night. Was nice that they gave us a free coupon for free breakfast at the bakery next door. 2.5÷5

Went on a road-​trip with my best friend this summer and by far this was my favorite hostel.
We hostel is right above a pub and has a bakery/​café next door which you get free coffee and a muffin at every morning if you want. You can also order a hot breakfast for less than $ 3.
The common area is small, but it kind of forced everyone to talk to each other and meet. Great place to be social because you can always go downstairs to the pub and have a pint. I met so many great people here.
We got a private room in this hostel and it really worked out for us. Beds were clean. Bathrooms were ok. Showers we TINY! If you’re claustrophobic you will not like it. But if you’re not picky, eh… it’s doable.
There are tons of bus lines by this hostel so you can literally get anywhere without a car. Other bars nearby to walk to as well.
I would go back here in a heartbeat.

I talked to a friend who lives in vancouver and apparently when she heard «cambie hostel» she looked at me and said… «isn’t that place scary???»
Well here’s my experience!!! Hostel with a bar attachment!!! so … AWESOME especially since it was during the olympics. They also give you a complitmentary muffin and coffee. lol!!! So how to describe this place
Key to get in the building
card key to get in the stair well
Card Key to get in to the hall way
Key into room.
(soo over all good secuity)
–individual lockers
— community bathroom (weak water pressure in the showers and. the water temperature is hard to control and if somebody flushes the toilet… be ready to notice a drastic change in temperature)
— If you live in the hostel you buy pass the bar line (Althought I dont understand why vancouver has people wait outside for simple drinks at a bar) but it’s a big plus!!! :)
Over all??? AWESOME experience and people :) Friendly guest and I enjoyed staying there b/​c it was convient to go to the different events for the olympics. :)