If you’re looking for a modern feel, the centrally located Swans Suite Hotel (506 Pandora Ave., 250/361-3310 or 800/668-7926, www.swanshotel.com) is an excellent choice. Located above a restaurant/pub complex that was built in the 1880s as a grain storehouse, each of the 30 split-level suites has a loft, full kitchen, dining area, bedroom, and wireless Internet. The furnishings are casual yet elegantly rustic, with west coast artwork adorning the walls and fresh flowers in every room. The rates of $189 for a studio, $249 for a one-bedroom suite, and $329 for a two-bedroom suite are great value. In the off-season all rooms are discounted up to 50 percent.

Just four blocks from the Inner Harbour, the 1905 Beaconsfield Inn (998 Humboldt St., 250/384-4044 or 888/884-4044, www.beaconsfieldinn.com, $169–299 s or d) is exactly what you may imagine a Victorian bed-and-breakfast should be. Original mahogany floors, high ceilings, classical moldings, imported antiques, and fresh flowers from the garden create an upscale historic charm throughout. After checking in, you’ll be invited to join other guests for high tea in the library, then encouraged to return for a glass of sherry before heading out for dinner. As you may expect, breakfast—served in a formal dining room or more casual conservatory—is a grand affair, with multiple courses of hearty fare delivered to your table by your impeccably presented host.

Yes, it’s a chain hotel, but Days Inn on the Harbour (427 Belleville St., 250/386-3451 or 800/665-3024, www.daysinnvictoria.com, $175 s or d) has a prime waterfront location that will make you feel like you’re paying more than you really are.