Can anyone offer some advice for our first time in Vancouver please

[happycruzer]

Good evening ,

my husband and I are flying from the UK to board an Alaskan cruise .

there are a couple of things that I’m still not sure about and wonder if anyone can help please:-

1. We will arrive in YVR @ approx 7pm and will taxi from airport to Sutton Place hotel . Can anyone suggest a mid range place to eat that will be near the hotel .

we can and do eat almost any type of food , so as long as it’s decent quality and within 5-10 mins walk we’ll be happy although after a 10 hour flight we will be exhausted so don’t want fine dining /walking for ages to get there .

2. Our cruise is a reposition one sailing from Vancouver but goes to Seattle to disembark , we will then take an Amtrak Cascade train from Seattle back to Vancouver and spend 4 nights there .

so can anyone offer advice on taxis from the train station ( train gets in around 11pm so we won’t use sky train ) are taxis readily available ? I’d so where/how  do we get one  and roughly how much will it cost to hotel ?  ( were going back to the Sutton place again ) .

My apologies for a long post , but I do appreciate any  help/advice that you can offer 

happycruzer 

[Milhouse]

To keep it close, easy to find, simple, and generic, I'd probably recommend one of the nicer chain restaurants nearby.  Joey's is right across the street. Earl's test kitchen location is two blocks away.  Both have slightly discounted food and drinks if you can wait until 9pm for happy hour.  Italian Kitchen is also across the street but it's likely pushing over your mid-range threshold.

 

Sutton Place is pretty central to a number of heavy areas for more dining options (along Robson, Davie, Granville (prob not a lot of options within your spec), etc) within a 15min walk if you do decide you have the energy to explore a bit.

 

If you have a free snack slot, check out the Japadog food cart that is typically located in front of Sutton Place.  It's kind of a well known Vancouver food attraction serving sup'ed up hot dogs with Japanese toppings.  Kind of touristy and slightly pricey for a hotdog but also kind of a unique/fun snack.  

 

I'm sure others will have better empirical info but I've driven by the train station at night and I recall seeing taxi's there and I'm assuming they'd be there in numbers for the scheduled arrival of the Amtrack train.  What day are you returning?  Friday and Saturday nights are pretty difficult nights to get a taxi, though Uber/Lyft should be operational by the end of this year.  You can also try using Kater which is kind of the app based ride hailing service in cahoots with the local taxi industry. 

 

 

[martincath]

On the train front, you shouldn't have a no problem with cabs - even if the train is delayed, local cabbies check when it arrives and start to join a lineup. In fact if the train runs really late - after SkyTrain stops running - even more cabs show up than normal as they know that folks who would normally hop on SkyTrain can't so there's more business available.

 

Only issue is that you may end up having to wait a few minutes for a cab if you're in one of the later carriages to clear. There's a big line of them when the train arrives, but after that line is all taken when they get back depends on where the first batch of pax are heading. Any downtown hotel means you can expect the cabbie to be back again in 20mins unless they get a fare en route. Since you're in a pretty big hotel, you could always try speeding things along and also saving a few bucks by asking the other foilks in line if any of them are heading to Sutton Place and want to share a cab... and if you're coming Business Class you'll get off first and likely into the first tranche of cabs without delay.

 

Head straight out of the main station doors and look to your left - you'll see the cab line and the queue of folks waiting for it. Cost should be ~$12 that late, no traffic to worry about.

 

While it's a little more 'fine dining' than requested, Boulevard inside your hotel has some great deals on Happy Hour (by the time you get through immigration and to the hotel, it might not be long until the late night Happy Hour kicks in); it also offers solid value for the quality of the regular menu (and since it's a hotel resto, not all the menu is fancy-schmancy - there's some very normal and not too pricy choices as well as their extensive and swankier seafood etc). Depending how much GBP tanks between now and potentially-post-Brexit-or-not-who-the-heck-knows-these-days next year, you may find local food prices better or worse value in general than back home - but assuming things remain about the same exchange-rate-wise, Canadian fine dining even in Vancouver will continue to be a steal compared to the UK based on my trip back home this summer.

 

Edited November 26, 2019 by martincath

[Ferry_Watcher]

2 hours ago, martincath said:

On the train front, you shouldn't have a no problem with cabs - even if the train is delayed, local cabbies check when it arrives and start to join a lineup. In fact if the train runs really late - after SkyTrain stops running - even more cabs show up than normal as they know that folks who would normally hop on SkyTrain can't so there's more business available.

 

Only issue is that you may end up having to wait a few minutes for a cab if you're in one of the later carriages to clear. There's a big line of them when the train arrives, but after that line is all taken when they get back depends on where the first batch of pax are heading. Any downtown hotel means you can expect the cabbie to be back again in 20mins unless they get a fare en route. Since you're in a pretty big hotel, you could always try speeding things along and also saving a few bucks by asking the other foilks in line if any of them are heading to Sutton Place and want to share a cab... and if you're coming Business Class you'll get off first and likely into the first tranche of cabs without delay.

 

Head straight out of the main station doors and look to your left - you'll see the cab line and the queue of folks waiting for it. Cost should be ~$12 that late, no traffic to worry about.

 

While it's a little more 'fine dining' than requested, Boulevard inside your hotel has some great deals on Happy Hour (by the time you get through immigration and to the hotel, it might not be long until the late night Happy Hour kicks in); it also offers solid value for the quality of the regular menu (and since it's a hotel resto, not all the menu is fancy-schmancy - there's some very normal and not too pricy choices as well as their extensive and swankier seafood etc). Depending how much GBP tanks between now and potentially-post-Brexit-or-not-who-the-heck-knows-these-days next year, you may find local food prices better or worse value in general than back home - but assuming things remain about the same exchange-rate-wise, Canadian fine dining even in Vancouver will continue to be a steal compared to the UK based on my trip back home this summer.

 

Marticath, thanks so much for responding to happycruzer's question.  We are on the same May 2020 cruise with happycruzer and I had suggested they post on this forum in hopes of hearing from you re their Vancouver questions.  (You are my 'go-to-guy' for all things Vancouver!)  Thanks!

[martincath]

14 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

Marticath, thanks so much for responding to happycruzer's question.  ... You are my 'go-to-guy' for all things Vancouver!...

That's very kind of you to say, but Milhouse did the heavy lifting answering this... and much more promptly!

[Ferry_Watcher]

2 hours ago, martincath said:

That's very kind of you to say, but Milhouse did the heavy lifting answering this... and much more promptly!

Thanks to Milhouse, too!  CC's are the best.