Hotel Zed

Hotel Zed opened the doors at its Victoria, B.C. location in May 2014 and just two years later, it’s preparing to launch a similarly eclectic location in Kelowna, summer of 2016. The brain child of CEO and President Mandy Farmer—named one of Business in Vancouver’s Top 40 Under 40, a YWCA Woman of Distinction and one of Profit’s W100 ranking of Canada’s Top Female Entrepreneurs—the hotel chain aims to do hospitality differently.
 
The (soon-to-be) chain is sister company to Accent Inns, who operate five hotels across B.C. But the philosophy behind Hotel Zed is a shaking up the industry. The brand wanted to create a hotel with edge and funk. They tout themselves as a fun, playful, approachable and kickass hotel, and follow through with décor and amenities.
 
Named after the letter zed—the Canadian and British equivalent of U.S. letter zee—Hotel Zed is proud of its Canadian-ness and revels in its rebellious nature.
 
Rooms are lively with bold colour palettes, refurbished tanker steel desks, rotary phones, lava lamps, funky carpets and tiles, and mid-century modern furniture. The décor isn’t limited to rooms, however, with shared spaces like the lobby, entertainment room and work room designed to encourage social interactions. A state-of-the-art sound system plays music from the record player, while typewriters can be used to write postcards to send to loved ones.
 
Want to get active? Hotel Zed has ping pong tables and rental bikes (helmets included) available for guests. To unwind at the end of a busy day on the town, bathrooms are stocked with comic books, there’s Wii in the entertainment area and the Victoria property backs onto a private garden. 
 
And if you didn’t drive or rent a car while visiting Victoria or Kelowna, no problem. Hotel Zed provides a shuttle service—in refurbished 1967 VW buses, of course.
 
The shuttles not only bring guests into town, but connect them to special events and promotions through Tourism Victoria and Tourism Kelowna. Full event listings are available on the Hotel Zed website.
 
The 52-room Kelowna location is a refurbishment of the existing Abbott Villa on the Lake, across the street from City Park. “We’re going to do in Kelowna what we did in Victoria,” says Farmer. “We’re going to up-cycle the hotel, keeping the best parts of its architecture and create a retro, modern, and back to retro accommodation experience.”
 
Farmer hopes Hotel Zed acts as a catalyst to help further revitalize the Abbott Street area in Kelowna. Just off the lakeshore, the hotel is perfectly primed to take Kelowna by storm. A storm of colour, fun and memorable experiences.