Review: DoubleTree By Hilton Hotel & Suites Victoria

Ever wanted to go to Victoria in the summer? I know I do. Alas, the cost can often be pretty prohibitive, and when I got an invite to a friend’s stag, I knew that this would be the single biggest line item over drinks and good times.

So, what’s somebody sitting on half a dozen different hotel chain statuses to do? I checked out everything in town. The Best Western ran at about $350 a night in the middle of the week, and Marriotts were much worse, with prices around $500-600 and hotel redemptions north of 55,000 Bonvoy points a night… no 35k Marriott free night certs with a top-up for me!

My final hope lay in Hilton, and it was delivered via the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel & Suites Victoria. Let’s take a look at what happened.

Booking & Check-in

The DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel & Suites Victoria fit my criteria because it was central to the downtown, so I could easily walk around and stumble back from any restaurants we had decided to have a few extra cocktails in. 

It also had a list price of about $550 per night… on a Monday and Tuesday. Wild stuff, but just goes to show the seasonal pricing, and I’ve been informed that this was the effect of banning Airbnb and other short-term rentals in the locale. 

For 60,000 Hilton Honors points a night, many of which I’m sitting on due to generous Amex US no-lifetime language offers, that price became somewhat more palatable. I booked without hesitation. 

If you are interested in earning more Hilton Honors points, look into the American Express Hilton Honors US credit cards. These cards offer very valuable welcome offers, such as the American Express Hilton Honors Surpass Card (US), which currently offers a welcome bonus of up to 155,000 Hilton Honors points.

American Express Hilton Honors Surpass Card (US)

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American Express Hilton Honors Surpass Card (US)

The American Express Hilton Honors Surpass Card offers benefits that include instant Hilton Honors Gold elite status and up to a quarterly $50 statement credit at Hilton properties.

OFFER
155,000 Hilton Honors points

MINSPEND
$3,000

EST. VALUE
$930+

ANNUAL FEE
$150

FOREX FEES
No

EXPIRY
Jan 14, 2026

When it came time to check in, I didn’t even need to go to the front desk; I was able to do so and get my room key via the Hilton Honors app. This was enormously convenient as I was a little late getting into town. I was also upgraded to room 1603, on the second-from-the-top floor, a 1 King 1 Bedroom Suite – City View – Sofabed. 

The exterior of the Hilton was decently attractive, and it had a fair amount of space for taxis to make their way in, so you can easily move your luggage in and out.

Directly inside the doors was the check-in area, including a concierge.

The lobby also offered a small seating area with a table.

Since I had already checked in online and had received my digital room key via the Hilton Honors app, it was up the elevators and directly to my room.

Location

The DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel & Suites Victoria is located in the heart of downtown. Any bar, restaurant, pub, or locale you could imagine was within easy walking distance, including my favorite Italian restaurant in town, the famous Il Terrazzo.

You also won’t really be able to get a view of the gorgeous waterfront from here.

When it comes to location, this is an easy 10/10 because you can walk anywhere and not have to brave taxi or Uber pricing. Do be sensitive to the fact that you’re in the heart of town, whence cruise ships unload their passengers, so there’s a lot of ridiculous tourist pricing in many of the areas, I think I paid $5 for a bottle of Canada Dry three blocks from the hotel when it was $3.30 at the 7/11 right next door.

Parking

Valet parking is available on-site for $30. I didn’t have a car, but considering how relatively remote Victoria is and how many locales need a car to reach, this is one of the better towns to rent a vehicle in. There’s also little public transport to speak of.

One other thing to note is that no shuttle to or from Victoria Airport is available. This is a bit annoying, as the airport is quite remote versus the town, and so you’re looking at about $50-60 in Uber or taxi either way, no matter which you choose.

Room – 1 King 1 Bedroom Suite – City View – Sofabed

As I mentioned, I was fortunate enough to be upgraded to a suite with a city view as a result of my Hilton Honors Gold status. Each city view suite includes its own balcony, which is a nice addition.

Stepping in, I was greeted with a 3-way hallway leading to the main bedroom ahead, a bathroom on the right, and the seating area with a sofa bed on the left. This suite was quite large, which I appreciated as it makes rooms like this a viable option for family bookings as well.

The main bedroom offered a king bed and plenty of closet space, with a television directly in front of the bed. The upholstery and linens were clean with nothing out of order.

It’s a small detail, but one I’d like to hone in on: I was happy that the Doubletree placed lots of power outlets next to the beds for mobile devices. The outlets themselves were probably a few years ol,d as they only featured USB-A charging ports for cables.

The bedroom had lots of closet space and a spare set of blankets and pillows for the sofa bed.

Plus, there was also a small city view window in the bedroom.

Stepping into the main seating area, this was quite large and was a perfect space to potentially host some company. Two chairs paired with a small table were located directly beside the wet bar.

The coffee machine featured K-Cup pods, which I personally can’t abide, but are convenient for on-the-go travelers.

There were also two bottles of complimentary water; these were replaced with each turndown service. The mini-fridge was empty; this Doubletree does not feature any kind of mini-bar.

The main seating area also offered several chairs, including a lounge chair, a desk, and a sofa bed. Overall, it was a fantastic use of space, and it also had a sizable television.

There was also a beautiful city view window, as well as the small balcony I mentioned earlier, in lovely grey concrete.

The city view more than made up for the spartan lack of deck furnishing.

Inside, the bathroom was on the smaller side, given the rest of the suite, but perfectly suitable for the task.

There were a lot of extra towels placed in the vanity, and the toiletries and accoutrements were the house-branded type so typical of mid-range hotel options like the Doubletree brand.

The bathroom featured a shower and bathtub combo, and as you can see, the toiletries in the shower are full-sized bottles that are refilled by the hotel.

My one major grip with the bathroom was the shower, whose head was angled a bit awkwardly such that the first time I ran it, it started splashing water off the end of the bathtub and onto the floor. It was a bit hard to manhandle into a better position, but once I did, everything was OK.

Turndown service was great; one day, I stepped outside for only a few hours, and everything was clean the moment I came back.

Restaurants

The Doubletree by Hilton Victoria has a variety of dining options, though with my busy itinerary, I wasn’t able to sample most of them. The one I was most interested in, the Humboldt Bar cocktail lounge, was actually closed on Monday and Tuesday (both the nights I was in town), so I didn’t get a chance to partake. 

In addition, there’s Bartholomew’s English pub in the basement. I looked at the prices and $10+ for a pint, while typical of Victoria, was a bit rich for me. Within the hotel lobby itself were Stone Ground Pizza, where I didn’t eat because I didn’t want pizza, and a Starbucks. I had afternoon coffee at Starbucks. It tasted like Pike Place roast.

Wake Up Lounge & Cafe – Hilton Honors Gold Complimentary Breakfast

As a Hilton Honors Gold Elite member, I was eligible to receive the Hilton free breakfast benefit every day I was checked in. The hotel calls this the Wake-up Breakfast, and it has two options: a nominally $16 continental breakfast excluding eggs, bacon, and sausage, or the version that includes the proteins but costs $28. Both options are covered for free if you’re a Gold elite member.

The wake-up lounge is behind where the hotel’s Starbucks is located and is a proper sit-down experience, complete with table service. A nice bonus is that they serve full pots of coffee instead of by the cup.

Breakfast was a classic buffet set-up. You’ve seen it before and eaten it; it was fine.

The proteins were all standard fare, that “kinda-crispy, obviously cheap” bacon and the kinda limp, grey-ish sausages they serve at Denny’s. No shade at either, they’re decent, but for $12 above the cost of the continental, I’d say that’s pretty steep if paying cash.

One element that stood out was the pastries; I had a croissant one day and a muffin the other, and they were half-decent and richer than I expected.

One advantage is that I was able to supplement my childhood favorite of Froot Loops and bacon with fresh-cooked eggs. The full breakfast does include eggs made to order, so I got them poached soft. This was a nice addition, though not one I’d pay significantly more for.

As you can see from the bill, the $28 is comped, but gratuity for the table service isn’t. I left a few bucks for the server and peaced out.

Facilities

Fitness Center

When I was at the hotel, the fitness center was being repaired, so I didn’t get a chance to stick my head in.

The hotel, though, had the following piece of sick marketing that definitely wasn’t made in MSPaint, so I’m sure it’s pretty swell:

Conclusion

Overall, I was very satisfied with my stay at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel & Suites Victoria. I don’t think the hotel will be winning any ultra luxury awards anytime soon, but it was a good experience.

Now, I need to opine for a moment: prices of hotels in Victoria over the summer peak season are insane, and it’s not being made any better by the banning of Airbnb. I’d never pay the list price of about $550 that was originally being charged. In such a context, I found the 60,000 Hilton Honors points a night to be decent value.

I’d definitely recommend staying here.