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Where to stay · Nelson

Cloudside Hotel

Nelson's top rated stay: eight quiet rooms, one secluded sun deck, and deliberately no pub downstairs.

what it is

restored heritage boutique inn

the damage

from ~$125/night

rated

★ 4.6 (342)

from Vancouver

~7.5 hours

Cloudside is what happens when somebody decides a hotel should have eight rooms, no bar, no restaurant, no pool and no noise, then executes the idea so thoroughly it becomes the top rated stay in town on TripAdvisor. Every room is individually designed, with names like Willow, Aspen and Tamarack, and three of the eight have two separate bedrooms, in case the weekend goes badly.

It sits at 410 Victoria Street, exactly one block uphill from Baker Street, which in Nelson terms means you are thirty seconds from every coffee roaster, gallery and restaurant in town yet out of earshot of all of them. Terraces on the Victoria Street side are built for people watching; a secluded rear sun deck with loungers exists for people avoiding.

There is free off street parking behind the building, a genuine luxury in downtown Nelson, plus fridges, air conditioning and proper private bathrooms throughout. Rates start around $125 to $140 a night, with September the crunch month and December the bargain. With only eight rooms in existence, booking ahead is not neurotic, it is arithmetic.

The setting

410 Victoria Street, one quiet block uphill from Baker Street in downtown Nelson; cafes, restaurants and galleries within about 100 metres, with Kootenay Lake a short walk downhill.

Getting there

The standard Nelson slog: Highway 1 to Hope, then Highway 3 east, about 660 km and 8 to 8.5 hours over seven mountain passes, winter tires mandatory east of Hope in season. No ferries. The payoff on arrival is free off street parking behind the hotel, so the car rests as hard as you do.

good to know

With eight rooms total, summer and September weekends go early; December runs about 15 percent cheaper. Check in from 3 pm. No restaurant or bar on site, by design, and dozens within a block.

Why it works

  1. 1Only eight rooms, each individually designed
  2. 2Free off street parking behind the building
  3. 3Secluded rear sun deck with loungers
  4. 4Three suites have two separate bedrooms
  5. 5Top rated Nelson hotel on TripAdvisor
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Details as of 2026-07-05. Rates, seasons and policies drift, so confirm when you book.