“A newer spot, Ocean Island… enjoys a splendid location in central Victoria. Full of life and art… both the young and the young at heart will feel right at home.” -Lonely Planet Canada 1999

How we rent rooms

1. We offer private rooms at apartment-building prices during the months of September - June.
2. Our online reservation system does not apply to discounted monthly rooms. Arrangements must be made with our staff in person, over the phone or by email. How to contact us.
3. We require tenants to sign our guest agreement, and pay a damage deposit.
4. We have a list of available rooms for each month, organized by the 12th day of the month.
5. Our monthly rental system is flexible - we rent on a month-to-month basis, so if you need to take off in a hurry or you've found a better place for more long-term living, you're not tied to a several-month lease and you don't even have to give us one month's notice as is customary for rentals in Victoria. Or, if your plans change and you need to be in town for awhile longer, you can keep renting month after month.
6. Most of our rooms are available from the first of the month, but we sometimes have rooms for either the first half or the second half of the month. Even if we don't have anything available for half a month, you could choose to rent any of the rooms available for only half the month, for only 75% of the total price.
7. The rental period extends to the last day of the month, before 11am. This means that you and your possessions have to vacate by this time.
8. It is possible to rent a room in two-week periods, either the first half or second half of the month, with the rental price being 75% of the monthly price.
9. These rooms can't be subletted--they're only for you, whoever else you're living for and any guests that you may have. See the guest agreement for details.

The renting process

If you're interested in renting a room at Ocean Island, you'll go through the following process before settling in:

1. Check out our rooms and find a room that meets your needs and strikes your fancy. You can tour via our web site, by dropping by, or giving us a ring. We would rather give you a personal guided tour so you can be sure that you find the ideal room but, if you cannot be here, we will do our best to assist you in finding you a room that best suits your needs.
2. Fill out an application form if you can visit the hostel. Otherwise contact us and we'll ask you for a few details.
3. Sign a guest agreement, similar to a standard tenancy agreement, although Ocean Island is not bound by the tenancy act. Be sure to read the contract prior to signing and initialing. If you can come to the hostel, a staff member will review the agreement with you. If you can't, you should read over the agreement very carefully, ask us about any questions that you may have and then print off a form and fax it to us.
4. Pay a damage deposit to secure your room for the month.Your room is not reserved until you've done this.
5. Upon moving in, you and a staff member will do an inventory of the room together, and confirm any furniture requests you may have.
6. Rent is due on the first day of each month. You can move in on the 1st anytime after 11am.
7. You can rent a room for as little as one month, and if after staying with us for awhile you want to rent the room for next month too, you'll need to let us know the 10th of the month. The room that you're renting will normally be available for the next month, but we can't 100% guarantee this, so you may have to change rooms.
8. If you decide to rent for another month, we require you to sign another rental agreement for that month to secure your room. If you decide it is time to fly, fly away, you are responsible for cleaning your room prior to you moving out. You are also expected to make an appointment with the office for your departure and inventory, before you can pick up your damage deposit.
9. Damage deposits are returned to the individual who paid the deposit, unless other arrangements are made with the office before you pick up your cheque. It takes 72 hrs for damage deposits to be processed. If you are unable to pick up the deposit, see the office and we can organize another means of returning your damage deposit.
10. To maintain a clean and safe environment, Ocean Island Backpackers Inn carries out an annual preventative pest control program. So, we'll need to spray your room with a non-hazardous insecticide. We give you 24hrs notification prior to spraying, but if the spray program conflicts with your schedule, we will do our best to accommodate you.

If you're interested, come on a tour!

Even though we’ve tried to compile the most detailed and accurate list possible of all the fantastic features of OI, and will continue to update the site with new and current information, you should really get a tour - drop whatever you're doing, come down and take a look!

Visit us at 791 Pandora Ave (at the corner of Pandora and Blanshard downtown). You can get a guided tour and all the nitty gritty details, ideally between 11am-6pm any day (though we are open 24 hours)

If you want to make sure that we are free to give you a tour at a certain time, give us a call to book one at 385-1788, or at our North America toll-free number: 1-888-888-4180

Here's some instructions on finding us.

Until you stop by, check out our photo galleries for tons of great pictures!