Urban Retreat Hostel (Big White, B.C.) Reviews

Great atmosphere & staff (especially the cleaners). That being said, the hostel was very clean!! Recommend staying here for your trip to Big White :)

I ve been to a number of hostels around the world and Urban Retreat has to be the cleanest one I have ever stayed in. Bathrooms, dorms, as well as the kitchen are cleaned to the highest standard a number of times a day by friendly, chatty, and super helpful staff. Staff are super responsive if you have any questions about the mountain, and try their best to accomodate changes to your trip plans.

The hostel has a chilled and laidback vibe, and it s easy to meet people who want to go riding, or head out for drinks. I was there over Christmas and management organised an awesome Christmas Dinner for everyone which was fantastic. Little details like this make it a great home away from home.

If you re heading to Big White then Urban Retreat Hostel is a great place to meet new people and enjoy the best the mountain has to offer. I would definitely recommend.

Love the hostel! Service was great and affordable. Would stay there again for sure !

Nice clean place, comfortable beds and considering it's the only hostel on the mountain it's the best value you can get

Staff was great and a very chill environment. However the parking is an issue. My friend didn't move his car right after check out and his car got towed so the way to Kelowna. 400 dollars later and some hitchhiking to get to Kelowna on time before the tow company closed. Absolutely insane!

Great place with great staff and atmosphere. Huge tv room and kitchen for all your needs and everything was clean as can be. Would recommend!

A great place to stay, has the perfect hostel atmosphere alongside attentive staff. Hostel is always clean and really puts the cap on the atmosphere of staying on the mountain to ski!

Urban Retreat = Excellent Value. The staff, especially the front desk management, were friendly, informative and welcoming. The hostel was super clean. The kitchen was spacious and had everything you needed. The decor and art work was funky and professionally done, creating a fun atmosphere. Can't wait to go back!

If you haven t stayed in a hostel before then this won t be to your liking, since during the ski season a lot of the people there are living in for months - otherwise, good kitchen and bathroom (not a lot of privacy but always clean), good storage facilities for gear, frequent cleaning of rooms and hallways so they re not grimy with snow and dirt, and a good price for it being the only hostel-style accom on the mountain.

Note: had to pay for wifi, $2 a day or $10 a week if I remember correctly

Fine hostel. Good kitchen. A bit annoying that reception is closed from 12 to 4.

Fantastic place to stay, ski in and out and 5 minutes walk to Big White Village and Gondola. Friendly, helpful staff and everything was kept immaculately clean. Plenty of room and heating to feel comfortable. I will definitely stay here again and recommend it to others.

Excellent living conditions that are kept exceptionally clean. Such a friendly and inviting atmosphere within the hostel. The location for ski in/ ski out is also another great perk of staying there.

Great couple of days stay as well as riding. Comfy beds and great service especially the manager and cleaner. A young Australian who was exceptionally friendly not to mention tall dark and handsome!

Very well run establishment this place is on point! Super clean and friendly management and staff! 1 of the best hostels I've ever been too.

I spend my winters at various ski resorts so I stay in lots of hostels & cheap hotels. I stayed at urban retreat at big white for about 2 months and the experience was honestly exceptional. It s notablly better than any other ski resort hostel I ve stayed at.

It s very clean, the staff and residents are very kind. There s a large option of board games and movies to choose from and it s a super fun place to hangout and meet new people. Quiet time is well inforced so you always get a good nights sleep and the hostel is basically right in the village center while also being ski in/ski out. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

The manager from australia. She was rude. The rooms are crammed like sardines.

Spent 5 nights here, amazing atmosphere, great people! Everyone was super welcoming and super friendly, the people that work here are amazing and very clearly want you to make the best of your time at Big White! Awesome vibe, I'll definitely be coming back.

Everything one could ask for from a hostel. Cheap, clean, friendly staff and guests, spacious common areas, ski-in ski-out, and about a 5 minute walk to the village centre. Only complaint I have is the pillows that are provided about as thin as paper. Would definitely stay here again but I'm bringing my own pillow next time!

One of the best hostels I've ever stayed at. Such a good crew! Staff are amazing and Bree the manager is the best. The whole place is spotlessly clean.. staff are always keeping the public areas tidy and clean. The atmosphere is super friendly and the location is perfect. Would highly recommend for short or long stays! 5 stars all the way!

Almost no parking but rooms are clean and big enough.

Just spent my holidays here for 5 days. Best bang for your buck on the hill. Very nice staff who run the joint. Guests were all friendly too as most of them are there long term they helped me out with alot of questions I had about the hill. They keep the noise dialed in at night. You dont hear anything after quiet time I was pleasantly surprised!

Only thing this place has going for it is the price. The conditions are miserable - there is no place to put belongings, unlike the website says, you might not get a locker (in a 10 person room there were 8 lockers), and it is really cold in the rooms and bathrooms. Everyone there was sick.

The bathrooms have no privacy (no changing area, everything is one big open room) and nowhere to put your things (not even a simple bench). Male staff members often come in to clean the female bathroom, they do knock, but if you're in the shower or changing you'll probably not notice fast enough. Below photo of the showers.

The best mix between party and Chill. Always someone who wants to ride or go for a beer. The manager Bree is so accommodating she really cares about your stay. All the staff are lovely and invite you to all the fun . Feels like a true family vibe. Would deffs come back. Love y'all.

Incredible staff, easy to get along with! Had an amazing time here for 4 months, made great friends including with the staff. The place has a relaxed and positive vibe about it. Prices were very reasonable, extremely clean and involving. WIFI is fast and reliable too.

Stayed here for 4 months from Dec 2019 - March 2020, the place was super clean, the vibe was awesome and the staff was super chill & helpful! One of the best hostel experiences I've had so far, can't wait to go back

Awesome hostel! Came with a big group of students and the staff was super friendly and easy to work with. Standard rooms and a massive kitchen.

I stayed in the hostel last season and it was unreal! Everything you would want from a hostel- heaps of friendly people , made so many new friends from all over the world . Ski in ski out made it super easy to get straight onto the runs and being super central to the village meant we didn t have an issue being able to go out and get home easily !
The management takes the time to make sure everyone stay is going well, the rooms are cleaned daily as well as the bathrooms/ kitchens etc. Would definitely recommend to anyone needing a place to stay for the season! :)

I stayed at the hostel for 2 months while on big white, and it really does have the best location on the mountain! Ski in-Ski out hostels are pretty well unheard of, so it was a dream being able to ski right off the run to the front door and not having to carry my skis up the hill. The hostel is constantly being cleaned and the bathrooms are always spotless, great kitchen facilities and plenty of seating in the TV room. Great wifi speed too. Just be prepared to really consolidate your essentials as there's not much storage space in the shared rooms, and BYO lock for the lockers. I will definitely stay here again!

We had a great 4 nights stay here in a private dorm. Very well resourced kitchen and the place is constantly being cleaned. Everyone super friendly and ski equipment room was really handy. Thanks crew.

The bunk beds have terrible ladders, (they hurt to climb and are loud.) The rooms are too small for the number of beds so there is not enough space for everyone's stuff. They nickel and dime you on everything, (internet is $2 per day, parking is $5 per day for an uncovered lot a long way from the doors.) The beds don't come with a top sheet, (just a blanket.) Everything is hard surfaces so sound carries down the one very long hall. For tall people like me, the headboards and footboards on the bed are tall enough I can't overhang like at some places. There is a sign in the bathroom "don't puke and run"... This happens often enough to need a sign?

I was quite surprised to find it closed as information provided says, 'always open'. I stayed in this building a number of years ago when it was Same Sun and that was a great, affordable hostel.

This place is the bomb digity. Very clean. Someone is always cleaning!!!!
The staff are probably the greatest humans on this earth. Super helpful and friendly. Great location on the mountain and their age policy is 18+ instead of most places which are 21+ so my cousin was able to join in the fun too!

Super clean and spacious hostel with everything you need for a good time with a reasonable price. Friendly staff and good guests. Lots of people seem to be here for a while, great atmosphere and wicked decor

I stayed here for months on end and I haven't a single complaint; Great, friendly staff. Fun, involving atmosphere. Incredibly reasonable pricing. The wifi is fast and reliable, the facilities are in a good state of operation, and everything is consistently cleaned (seriously, there will not be a time where you won't find a staff member cleaning something). The hostel does have strict rules, but this makes for easy living, and a quiet sleep - Urban Retreat has everything you need at a discount price - one of the best hostels I've ever stayed in.

Service terrible, staff completely indifferent and do not care at all about your well-being or sleep. Excuses given were weak at best. Do not give these people your $