Our Story

Your hosts, Australian/Canadians Bruce & Angie Barnard have stayed in grass huts in Papua New Guinea, swags in the outback of Australia, five-star hotels in Hong Kong, teahouses in Nepal, bed and breakfasts in England and hostels in the United States. Our favourite were always the places that had great hospitality and made us feel at home.

In 2003, we were on a round-the-world travel adventure from our home in Perth, Western Australia, when we discovered Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, Canada. We were inspired by the stunning views of ocean and mountains, walkable downtown community, incredible lifestyle and friendly people. After a brief two-hour visit, and three subsequent chance encounters with Nanaimo admirers, we returned to Nanaimo to explore our vision of renovating a heritage property, and creating a fresh, affordable, lifestyle oriented accommodation for like-minded travelers.

We postponed our flights to South America, and after only 11 weeks we transformed the 1875 heritage Commercial Hotel into the ‘Painted Turtle Guesthouse’ - a 20-room character accommodation that now welcomes regional groups, visiting friends and family, and travelers from around the world. Along with our great staff, we are proud to offer you – our guests, quality accommodation with community spirit and a desire to make your travel experiences memorable. For now, South America can wait.