Ocean Park B&B

We left as early as we could. The place was dirty and poorly maintained, and I didn’t feel safe there or comfortable taking a shower. The shower was dirty too, and the closet was crammed with random things. There wasn’t even any art on the walls. We hadn’t received the room we booked. We expected a bed and a couch, but got a room with just a bed. They treated the private bathroom as an upgrade, though that bathroom had another door leading to a different bedroom. There aren’t any pictures of the room we ended up in on their website. I wouldn’t recommend this place.

It’s fairly cheap and the only place in the area. The rooms are clean, and there’s a kitchen, three bathrooms, and two showers. But it’s a very noisy, cheaply built mansion. I could hear people shouting in Chinese from another floor as if it were coming through a speaker in my room. I had two different rooms during my three-night stay because the owner said mine wasn’t ready. When I asked if he could move my backpack to the other room while I was out, he told me to do it myself. Guests are expected to clean the kitchen, and there’s no breakfast even though it’s called a bed and breakfast. He also didn’t remember why I was staying and wished me a good trip back to Toronto. I’m from Vancouver and was there for work. This feels more like a hostel or living with roommates than a B&B. I’m half Asian and know how to tiptoe around and stay quiet in an Asian household, but I can imagine this being a bad experience for people from other cultures. Expect to see and hear kids, teenagers, a grandmother, and others. You’re very much staying in a family home, not a hotel.

The location is great, and the owner generally tries to help and go beyond what’s expected. Rooms are usually clean and have towels stocked. The place could be more private and better at keeping sound in, since you can easily hear other guests. If it’s cold and you need extra heat, you’ll need an extension cord for the heaters. Those are my complaints.

There’s no breakfast, despite the B&B name. We booked a room with a private bathroom, but because the listing title said “2 person room,” I made just one booking. When we arrived, he charged us 20 Canadian dollars to move us to a different room, and that one had a shared bathroom. We didn’t get what we paid for, and I don’t understand why we couldn’t stay in the original room. He also refused a partial refund and interrupted us to ask us to move our car because there isn’t enough off-street parking. It was a scam and not as advertised. Don’t book here. Book a hotel or use the Airbnb website for a more private and pleasant stay.