This is our second visit to this B&B. We stayed here on our 30th anniversary and now we came back on our 40th anniversary. We had a bottle of wine and card waiting for us in our room What a nice touch!! Ilona is such a charming hostess and we enjoyed her just as much on our second time around. We stayed again in the Serengeti Suite which is a large bright lovely room. Ilona makes a delicious breakfast served in style in her gorgeous dining room. Ilona is also very up to date on travel in the area and this makes your stay very interesting & fun. The location of this B&B is perfect. We loved just taking the walk along the bay to the downtown area and stopping here and there to take in sights and have a bite to eat. Victoria is such a pretty city, especially at night with all the bright lights.

We had a wonderful, restful stay at Hemingways! Ilona is a very gracious and warm hostess and we want to thank her so much for her wonderful breakfasts and excellent ideas of where to visit on Vancouver Island! Her bed and breakfast is a good value, located in a quiet residential neighborhood only about 10 minutes drive to downtown Victoria. You can see the water and Olympic mountains as well. Thank you very much, Ilona! The Brady's

We visited Victoria in July with family and the plan was to visit the Butcharts gardens which took us longer than expected. I had not booked any rooms in Victoria and in desperation, started to call B&B's at 10 pm. All were full or reluctant to accept guests that late. But not Ilona. She accepted us with open arms. It was like we knew her for a long time. The place was very clean, very charming and very inviting. As is obvious from the name, the place is a shrine to Hemingway. The breakfast the next morning was cooked by Ilona herself and she joined us at the table. We just felt like we were visiting a relative in another city. Our one night visit was the start of a friendship which I hope will continue. We look forward to staying at this lovely place again. I even left my wash bag behind and Ilona was kind enough to mail it to me. Thanks Ilona for being such a wonderful host.

We read the reviews on Trip Advisor and decided to book Hemingways by the Sea for a 6 night stay. We had rented a car, so traveling to Victoria was not an issue. Hemigways is located in the Esquimalt area and a very short walk to the ocean. Walk one block west and 2 blocks south and you will arrive at a walking path that runs along the oceanside. If you walk one block east you will enter the naval base, so the road that runs in front of the B&B is extremely quiet.

We arrived prior to the check-in time and warmly greeted by Ilona with cake and tea. We stayed in the Kenya room - first room to the left at the top of the stairs. We could see the ocean from our window and Ilona had explained to us prior to booking that the B&B is not oceanside. However, we were close enough to enjoy the sea gulls and deer in the area.

This was my husband's second stay in a B&B and he thought the room was a fairly good size. The room also had a mini fridge, so that was nice to keep our drinks cool. Room also came with a table, 2 chairs, TV, cable and internet connection. Bathroom was straight across the hall from the bedroom and was for our exclusive use. Hubby would have preferred to have an in-suite bathroom, but it really wasn't an issue for our stay. I just reminded him that we weren't staying in a hotel - it is someone's home. The Kenya bathroom has a tub, shower, hair dryer and basic ammenities. Water pressure was excellent.

Ilona provided us with bottles of water on our first excustion and we re-filled them every morning. She also provided maps on how to get to our destinations in the quickest time possible. She recommended a few things to do and see and was a gracious and friendly hostess. The breakfasts were excellent. There were 3 nicely set tabled areas and on some of the mornings, all 3 were in full use with the guests. Breakfast is set for 9:00am, however Ilona was flexible when some of the guests came down a little early for breakfast. She also has a nice patio area to sit and take your coffee before breakfast. Over the course of our stay we ate toast, raisin toast, scrambled eggs, pancakes, crepes, french toast, rice pudding, hard boiled eggs, and an assortment of fresh fruit. When I explained that I didn't like pancakes, Ilona immediately said she would make me some eggs or something else that I may like. I declined and told her the toast was good enough, but she worried that I would still be hungry :-) Really a lovely woman.

We really enjoyed our stay and wouldn't hesitate to return to this B&B