Prenight hotel in Vancouver

[haygoodjc]

I am coming into Vancouver two nights before my cruise in June.  We really want to see Vancouver and have enough time to do sightseeing!  Like others I am trying to find the best place within a reasonable budget to stay.  I am looking at the Accent Inn at Burnaby as an option.  Does anyone have any experience there or have a better recommendation?  There will be four of us sharing a room and we'd like to have the price from $200-300/night.  Transportation to the cruise port is also a consideration.  Do any hotels offer a shuttle or is a taxi the best way?  I will have an older aunt with us.  She's very mobile, but may not be able to haul her luggage very far.  Thanks!

[martincath]

You should be able to find multiple downtown hotels that will come in under the $300 per night mark, with much less wasted time traveling (the Burnaby Accent Inn is actually a smidge less inconvenient for coming downtown sightseeing than the one at the airport, at usually <30mins total incl walk to station but it's worse for embarkation as you cannot use that SkyTrain line with luggage).

 

First & foremost check the YWCA Hotel - you'll be able to book TWO rooms for that price so everyone gets their own bed (there are 'Jack & Jill' setups sharing one bathroom that are cheaper, but even the regular en suite doubles with totally-private bath should fit your budget). They are being very proactive in warning about construction noise - they're building another tower next-door to expand, that's how popular they are - but rules on when the work can occur mean that if you're just sleeping in the hotel you shouldn't be inconvenienced at all, it would just be folks 'home' during the day who will hear the machinery operating.

 

If you can't bring yourself to 'stay at the Y' - even though it is a VERY well-rated hotel experience, not remotely like a typical YMCA hostel - then check Expedia, Hotels.com and other consolidator sites for deals. There are a couple of 'condo hotels' which usually work well for groups as you get a real kitchen, fridge, even washing machine included and may find a 2-bedroom place that just scrapes under your budget depending on dates - Times Square Suites is close to the Stanley Park end of the downtown core, while Rosedale on Robson is in Yaletown, easily walkable into Chinatown/Gastown and even the pier if someone helps aunty with her bags!

 

No hotel offers a shuttle to the pier except as part of a 'stay & cruise' package for airport/suburban hotels, like Accent and a few others, which basically just buy you a seat on the independent shuttle that circles various airport hotels before coming down to the pier. There are a couple of moderate hotels - e.g. Hampton Inn - with their own shuttles around downtown, these can be booked to drop you off at the pier but they don't come collect you anywhere; some fancy hotels well beyond your budget have towncar service, and that's your lots. This is down to the fact that EVERYWHERE downtown is close to everywhere else! Cab fares to the pier are <$10 for most hotels, though budget $15 as traffic getting into Canada Place (especially on multiple-ship-days) can be brutal.

 

If time is less important than money, airport hotels within walking distance to SkyTrain are an option - even the most convenient of these you're looking at averaging 40+ minutes each way those as most involve a 7-12min walk then a ~25min train ride with frequency as low as every 20mins late in the evening if you're coming back after dinner. The advantage of these over Accent Burnaby is that they're on the Canada Line - a newer line with different trains, designed to hold large luggage under every seat. But with 4 of you, cabs are not much more expensive coming in from the airport area (~$40 should cover most trips from hotels outside rush hour) and for moving around downtown cabs will definitely be a better deal for you (bus tickets are just under $3pp, a buck less for Seniors, but a whole cab is mostly $10 or less around downtown).

 

The other possible option is across the water in North Vancouver - there's a hotel on top of Lonsdale Quay, where the Seabus goes back & forth from, and the Pinnacle at the Pier is a shiny quite new hotel only a few minutes walk away. Both tend to offer much keener pricing than equivalent downtown hotels due to the Seabus factor (NB: if you take a cab from airport or to pier, you will pay a LOT more as the only road access involves trips far out of your way to one of the two bridges, so ONLY book a hotel over here if you can manage to trundle your bags at least a few hundred yards without stopping. It's a long walk down the ramp to the Seabus from Waterfront Stations concourse where you buy tickets - and technically again you are not supposed to take luggage, but if you avoid commuter times there is a ton of space onboard these catamarans so I've yet to hear of anyone being booted off).

[katrina915]

On 2/10/2019 at 4:44 PM, martincath said:

 

First & foremost check the YWCA Hotel - you'll be able to book TWO rooms for that price so everyone gets their own bed (there are 'Jack & Jill' setups sharing one bathroom that are cheaper, but even the regular en suite doubles with totally-private bath should fit your budget). They are being very proactive in warning about construction noise - they're building another tower next-door to expand, that's how popular they are - but rules on when the work can occur mean that if you're just sleeping in the hotel you shouldn't be inconvenienced at all, it would just be folks 'home' during the day who will hear the machinery operating.

 

 

Do you know if they are tearing anything down to build the additional tower?  I am debating about staying here in mid September but I was worried about their "construction" warning.  I would be there on the weekend in which they said there would be no construction but I have asthma and I was worried about dust or other things in the air.  

[martincath]

20 minutes ago, katrina915 said:

Do you know if they are tearing anything down to build the additional tower?  I am debating about staying here in mid September but I was worried about their "construction" warning.  I would be there on the weekend in which they said there would be no construction but I have asthma and I was worried about dust or other things in the air.  

Any teardown of existing walls or buildings should have been long-completed by September. Even if real construction of the extension is still actually under way (rather than just interior fixtures, decor being worked on) you should be safe from dust inside your room or the hotel would be unuseable! But I'd reach out and speak to them directly to get a timeline, and ask for a room as far from any potential construction as possible to play safe.

 

NB: if your asthma is triggered by contruction dust, be aware that Vancouver's downtown is literally ALWAYS under construction, there are towers going up every single day. I'm a fellow asthmatic, though have been symptom-free for years (I needed to use an inhaler for the first time in at least a decade during our last batch of forest fires). I've never found any of the local construction sites to be problematic but I'd consider a good (N95 and adjustable to fit snugly) face mask if you are sensitive to fine particulates in small doses, it's very hard to be more than a few blocks from an active construction site here.

[katrina915]

On ‎02‎/‎15‎/‎2019 at 3:31 PM, martincath said:

Any teardown of existing walls or buildings should have been long-completed by September. Even if real construction of the extension is still actually under way (rather than just interior fixtures, decor being worked on) you should be safe from dust inside your room or the hotel would be unuseable! But I'd reach out and speak to them directly to get a timeline, and ask for a room as far from any potential construction as possible to play safe.

 

NB: if your asthma is triggered by contruction dust, be aware that Vancouver's downtown is literally ALWAYS under construction, there are towers going up every single day. I'm a fellow asthmatic, though have been symptom-free for years (I needed to use an inhaler for the first time in at least a decade during our last batch of forest fires). I've never found any of the local construction sites to be problematic but I'd consider a good (N95 and adjustable to fit snugly) face mask if you are sensitive to fine particulates in small doses, it's very hard to be more than a few blocks from an active construction site here.

I will contact the hotel and thanks so much for the other info.  This is very helpful!