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Unrooming the Oswego Hotel in Victoria #UnRoomingCA

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This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Have you heard of the new trend “unrooming” in reviewing hotel rooms? Unrooming is a new concept started by Hotels.com for travellers to share hotel reviews in a manner similar to unboxing products. This fun format of customers reviewing hotels by shooting a short video guiding viewers through their hotel room gives far more insight than a written review.

Unrooming the Oswego Hotel - Victoria BC

To help spread this new idea of unrooming videos, Hotels.com Canada provided us with a couple night stay in The Oswego Hotel in Victoria, BC.

(Hotels.com is for both Canadians and Americans. When Canadians visit hotels.com, they are redirected to the Canadian version at ca.hotels.com.)

Take a look at our unrooming video below…

Unrooming Video

I’m a big believer in traveling close to home and becoming tourists in your own province or state. Especially when you’re traveling with kids, it’s great to save money by not buying airline tickets.

Chances are high there are lots of fun activities near where you live and you could spend a night or two in a hotel nearby and have an awesome mini “staycation”.

We live close to one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It’s a short ferry ride from our home in South Surrey, which is a suburb of Vancouver.

So I packed up my girls for a short trip over to Vancouver Island to stay in the Oswego Hotel and enjoying a couple of days in Victoria.

The Oswego Hotel in Victoria

We were absolutely thrilled with this lovely hotel.

The suite was huge with a full kitchen, living area, large bedroom, two closets and a large bathroom with a shower and a tub. I loved that there was tons of light coming in from windows all along one side of the room.

When traveling with kids, a suite like this is the best way to go. The bedroom door closes allowing some family members to stay up late and watch TV while the others go to sleep.

And having a kitchen to have breakfast and late night snacks saves time and money.

The Oswego Hotel in Victoria

The Oswego Hotel in Victoria

The Oswego Hotel in Victoria

The Oswego Hotel in Victoria

Oswego Hotel

The Oswego Hotel in Victoria

Submit Your Own Unrooming Video

You can submit your own unrooming video for a chance to win through hotels.com…

hotels dot com unrooming

Be sure to use ebates.com to save even more on your hotel room!

Giveaway

Are you Canadian? Would you to win a $150 Hotels.com Gift Card to take a mini “staycation” in a hotel near where you live? Leave us a comment letting us know in what city you’d likely take your “staycation”. Then complete your entry below.

Since this giveaway prize is being provided by the Canadian part of the Hotels.com, it’s only open to Canada. So sorry to our American friends.

 

Pin it for Later

Unrooming the Oswego Hotel in Victoria

 

Written by Susan Carraretto, co-founder of 5 Minutes for Mom
Talk with me: @5minutesformom and Facebook.com/5minutesformom
Pin with me at pinterest.com/5minutesformom

Reader Interactions


205 Comments

  5. I have always wanted to stay in on of those over the top hotels in Baltimore Md overlooking the harbor,
    But as far as one close to me, I guess the Hilton on 2nd St in Harrisburg next to the bus station will have to do. Thank you kindly for the opportunity and have a wonderful weekend!!

  24. I am from Calgary and would love to spend a “staycation” in the Rockies in and around Banff and Jasper.

  29. I’d love a staycation in downtown Toronto. I live in the nearby suburbs, so being right in the city would be a nice treat. Thanks for the chance:)

  37. Our kids would LOVE another trip to the city (Dartmouth /Halifax)for a staycation! Thanks so very much for the opportunity! Our little girl saved up her birthday money to take us in April. We’d love to be able to take our son for his birthday in December.

    Good luck everyone!

  46. I would do a stay cation in St. Louis, Mo. There are lots of things to do there and it would be awesome to stay the night.

  49. I would love to stay over night in Santa Barbara, CA. Everything and everyone are beautiful and so nice…
    The perfect weekend getaway, walking up and down state st. walking up and down the beach, go to a small beautiful zoo, watching the sunset etc….

  51. Ottawa or Toronto …would be fabulous as we have not been able to go anyway this year due to my husbands illness

  58. I’d like to stay in Ottawa or Toronto. We’ve had a lot going on over the past 6 months so this would be a really great gift for my husband and I.

    Besos, Sarah
    Journeys of The Zoo

  60. I’d love to do a Staycation in New York, around the holidays! My former home is one of the best places to visit at Christmas, and I haven’t brought the kids back for the holidays in years.

  61. I’d love for my kids and I to stay overnight in NYC. It’s only a 2 hour ride and they would have a blast! Thanks for the chance & good luck everyone!!

  65. I’d like to take a stay-cation in Toronto. There are so many delicious places to eat and interesting places to visit there.

  77. My first thought was Victoria too – we haven’t been since our 9 year old was a baby! I would also love Squamish or Whistler. And then another consideration – we are going back east to visit my husband’s family for Christmas, and I would love to drive to Quebec City or something like that for a one night stay. So it’d kind of be like a stay-cation within a vacation. So many ideas! đŸ™‚

  82. Prince George, love to take a staycation – dine out, wine and no adult children who all live at home with me bugging me to make them dinner!

  90. I would like to take a ‘staycation’ in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, which is not far from where we live!

  91. Niagara Falls or Woodstock have an either side of the 400 series roads as options so one of those two , most likely Niagara

  95. I live in Winnipeg and I’d actually like to have a staycation in Winnipeg at the Alt Hotel because it is super modern and very eco friendly. Would love to check it out!

  98. Osoyoos, for sure!!!! It’s so beautiful in the summer, and you can do wine touring. It’s not sure far from me, only about 5 hours, but the desert landscape is totally different from the lush greenery of the greater vancouver area đŸ™‚

  107. i would take a little staycation in Kelowna, BC! just far enough out of my hometown with lots to do and lots of lovely hotels đŸ˜€

  110. Good Golly Miss Molly, a staycation in Banff would be heaven. To die for . Luv the nature there. . Wow, prize $150 gc is fab. & splendid. 2 fingers snap. It is tight, fly & off the chain. Thank you for the awesomeness, the contest, and generosity. đŸ™‚ Pick me, pick me!

  113. I would go to Niagara Falls with my boyfriend! Last time we went, we only had a night there and he came down with a 24 hour stomach bug. Would love to try it again while we’re both healthy!

  117. I would choose Toronto so I could use it for when my daughter has surgery at sick kids hospital !

    Great giveaway…you don’t see hotels as giveaways very often and it’s such a nice treat and luxury

    The pictures of yours looked gorgeous

  120. I also live near Victoria – and I’ve always wanted to stay a night at the Empress! đŸ˜‰

  126. Even though I only live 40 minutes away, I’d love to stay downtown Toronto. It would be nice to go out for dinner and enjoy some wine without worrying who is going to drive home…..

  132. Toronto-which makes it so hard! Getting away in the city is always a hard to task, but so worth it if done right!

  142. I would go to Niagara Falls, Ontario which is not too far but would love to stay overnight in a hotel and great place for staycation!

  143. I’d like to do one in Toronto. I love staycations, they really help you see the city in a different perspective and appreciate the place you live even more!

  149. I live on the westcoast, just outside of Vancouver so there are lots of beautiful spots to visit but I’ve never been to Tofino so I think I’d like to do a ‘staycation’ there!

  151. I’d love to take a staycation right in my own city, Charlotte, NC. I don’t get uptown that often and a staycation uptown would be awesome!

  158. definitely Niagara Falls! My husband and I had our first date there, and just had our 10 year anniversary, would be nice to go down for a date night

  166. I would like to take a Staycation to Washington DC in the spring to see the Cherry Blossoms!

  167. I would love to take a staycation in Edmonton, its only an hr away but I haven’t been there in a few years

  185. I would love to have a staycation in Winnipeg! I wonder if we have places like the one you went to, wow that place you went to looks amazing!

  186. If I were to take my three little girls I would want to go to Niagara Falls, but if it were only my hubby and I we would definitely stay in Toronto!

  193. I would love to have a Stay Cation in Niagara Falls. It is so close that we never stay there but I would love to!

  196. We ALWAYS have staycations! I would love to stay at a local super 8 here. Take the kids and enjoy the pool! Thanks for the chance.

  200. Lovely. The unrooming idea is really great. I have to say that I’ve never thought about it. The feeling when you enter a brand new hotel room is awesome.

  201. I love “staycations” primarily because of all the adventures you can have with those you love in your own backyard! The best part of staying at a hotel (as you did) is the fact you don’t have to worry about spending time cleaning up, making breakfast, or any of the day-to-day tasks we normally do when we’re at home. I’m glad you enjoyed your trip. You looked like you had a blast!