Where to stay · Nelson
Dancing Bear Inn
A heritage hostel on Baker Street with private rooms, an antique fireplace, and prices from another decade.
what it is
hostel with private rooms (budget / solo)
the damage
dorms from ~$29/night, private rooms from ~$66
rated
★ 4.5
from Vancouver
~7.5 hours
The Dancing Bear is a hostel, yes, but a hostel the way Nelson does things: hardwood floors, bay windows, exposed beams and an antique fireplace in the lounge. Most of the rooms are private, with just a couple of dorms down in the basement, so a couple gets a door that locks and still pays less than most people spend on dinner.
Travellers who have slept in bunks on five continents keep calling this one of the cleanest hostels they have ever stayed in, an endorsement that money cannot buy but bleach evidently can. There is a shared kitchen, admittedly on the snug side, and a sunny patio with a barbecue for the ambitious. Quiet hours start at ten, and they are enforced.
At 171 Baker Street you are on Nelson's main drag itself, a few blocks from grocery stores, galleries and every outdoor gear shop the town can support, which is many. Dorm beds start around $29 and private rooms around $66, figures that leave a suspicious amount of budget left over for the restaurant tour. Check in runs four to eight; phone ahead if you will be late.
The setting
171 Baker Street, right on Nelson's main street in the heritage downtown, a few blocks from grocery stores, coffee shops, galleries, restaurants and the town's outdoor gear shops.
Getting there
Highway 1 to Hope, then Highway 3 east: roughly 660 km and 8 to 8.5 hours, and mind the Paulson summit for black ice outside summer. Free parking on site. Also the best car free bet in town: Mountain Man Mike's bus from Vancouver's Pacific Central runs twice weekly, about 10.5 hours, arriving a short walk from the hostel.
good to know
Why it works
- Mostly private rooms, not just dorms
- Antique fireplace in the heritage lounge
- Repeatedly rated among the cleanest hostels anywhere
- Right on Baker Street itself
- Free parking and free WiFi