We stayed here as a stop off on our way to North Island from Victoria and had a great time, free games and pool table along with great mountain biking trails behind the hostel - well worth the stop.

My wife and I stayed here for 4 nights to ride mountain bikes - this place was amazingly clean, we had a private room that was better than a lot of chain hotels and the place just had great character. Pool table, full kitchen and located on the main street of a sleepy town with great outdoor access. * Highly recommened, and bring you mountain bikes too!

I stayed at the Riding Fool Hostel whilst I was snowboarding at Mount Washington Alpine Resort. It was recommended to me by a friend who had stayed there previously. The hostel is located in a quaint little town called Cumberland, which is about 10 minute drive from Courtenay on Vancouver Island. There is a bunch of info about the actual hostel on the web site if you want more information about the actual amenities etc so I won't duplicate that info here.

The hostel is run by Jeremy and is above Dodge City Cycles which is a bicycle shop located in the main street. The first thing that really struck me is the host Jeremy, he's a fantastic person who takes an interest in the guests and really seems to care about them and goes out of his way to ensure that they have an enjoyable stay. He's also very knowledgeable and is able to provide lots of tips about the area and suggest things you can do. He's a mad keen mountain biker as well for all you MTB'ers out there :-)

The other thing that you'll notice about the hostel is that it is very well maintained and clean and there are enough bathrooms available for the number of guests that can stay in the hostel.

The wireless internet access is free and is very reliable and fast and there is a common computer that you can use if you don't have a laptop. There are also cruiser bicycles available which you can take for a ride, although I didn't do that given that it was winter! The common kitchen is well equipped and there is a good system for everyone to keep their food clearly identified. The common room has a pool table and Jeremy ran a Pizza and Video night whilst I was there which went down extremely well with everyone :-)

I was staying there during the winter and so a good number of the people staying at the hostel were long term guests who were working up at Mount Washington Alpine Resort for the season. I found the long term residents to be great and really friendly. Unlike some of the hostels I have stayed at, there was very little of the late night antics or noise that you typically associate with hostels.

In terms of the actual town of Cumberland, it's a quiet place but the local Waverley Hotel is pretty good and has a half price burger night on Tuesdays which is great value for money and the hotel also gets some live bands in. The Indian restaurant nearby is also very good. There are places in the town to buy basic groceries, but if you want a good selection you'll need to go shopping in Courtenay.

It was a great place to stay and everyone was very welcoming. I would highly recommend that you check it out!!!