Palace Hotel in Nanaimo

Decent little place. Would give it a 3.5. Kinda small. Decent patio. Bartender was nice elf to run out and return my ID after I forgot it (they hold it for playing pool).

Best bar on Vancouver Island

The new bartender Ruby is amazing and super fast with customers. Definitely recommend

Its a little dark and shady but a part of the history of the city

Always a good time, friendly staff, clean bathrooms...

I would call this the standard of Nanaimos drive bars, no too fancy, inexpensive, but still draws a few people.

No frills; lively pub with good vibes

Relaxed and not pretentious

On april 29th at 1:00 am at The Palace (275 Skinner stdenied my friend brodie hackwood entry due to some one named Zac Hackwood (no relation whatsoeverhaving a ban, Bernie (the managersaid that he didnt care, and that he made up his mind as my friend Steven Elliot and I tried to explain to him that he was thinking of some one else, after already being aloud entry and purchasing liquor, since our friend (that supposedly had a lifetime ban that he received a month agomoved to nanaimo two weeks prior to the incident from Victoria and that his only brother was 16 and lives in kelowna. As we were trying to explain this to him, the bouncers (GAGEand one other physically shoved myself away and grabbed my friend Steven Elliot by the throat as they shoved him away while yelling were done into our faces, they had to have shoved us as hard as they could too because my friend is around 320 lbs, I myself am 280 lbs and they almost knocked me over the chain railing outside. So after myself and my friend were physically assaulted by these bouncers and the unprofessional manager known as Bernie Gobeil, we were told by local Law Enforcement that we were unable to do anything about it because they have the right to refuse service to anyone they want, and because my friend was not discriminated against for "race" or "religious" reasons, but instead for his last name. Even after the insident the manager (Bernie Gobeiland the bouncers he hired were laughing and talking about how they could take us, almost as though they were looking for a fight knowing the law would be in their favour. All of this after years of us being respectful and loyal customers.

We recently did a Beer and Burger Fundraiser at the Palace and it was great!!! The Staff went far beyond and above anything we where expecting. They helped raised a lot of the funds. It was a fun night and I highly recommend the Palace. I would hands down do another event here.

Awesome old bar. Still has the smell of eras gone by. Yes its run down, but thats the charm. Inexpensive drinks. Patrons were freindly to me. Just sit back and take in the atmosphere. Still has an old tin ceiling. Great patio put back, you bring your own steak and you BBQ it yourself. I gotta come down and see some music.

Limes are sometimes rotten :-(

Christmas Eve can be crazy

If you can avoid this place I would highly recommend it. The reasoning for this is the service is very poor and not only will they tend to insult you they also will throw you out without warning and to top it all off they can be very racist. So if you can please avoid it.

Cause management is rude and place is dirty

Great dive bar feel

Awful staff and extreamly rude manager, they clearly display no signs stating that you are not allowed to take pictures or record yourself with your camera and the manager physically threw me out the door while his staff talked very rudely about me. would never recommend this place to anymore and watch out for the manager Bernie who is very rude and aggressive

My experience at the Palace was the most incredible time I have ever had at any bar! Service, music and theres no party like a palace party! Dont miss out on this great opportunity at the palace and have a blast bring a friend or more ! :)

Great prices, friendly staff, all around good times. Best patio in Nanaimo!

Terrible staff, drinks, music and guest.

They dont pay staff what they have earned, pay late, try to convince staff that two or three dollars in cash during shifts will make up for the amount owing you. Avoid you like the plague when you try to get them to explain whats going on. " The people upstairs, payroll, are busy, cant be disturbed," on and on and on. A real sleazy outfit.

Not really sure how to write a review for The Palace in a traditional review structure since the atmosphere is seedy, the decor dirt and the service non existent but the Palace has that hole in the wall small city vibe that just cant be found in most places. If youre travelling through Nanaimo and want to try an authentic new experience its a lot of fun, just be sure to shower after.