Quality Hotel in Richmond

[ranchingal]

Has anyone stayed at the QualityHotel in Richmond ?

Thoughts?

[martincath]

Haven't stayed, but I'll tell you the same about the local area I tell others - you can do better. Despite the positive factors (close to a big mall, a nice park, and walkable [1km/0.6miles] to SkyTrain which gets you downtown cheaply for your cruise) it has more negative factors (close to the biggest hospital in the city, and on a major road, therefore 24/7 traffic noise including regular ambulance sirens; not walkable to any popular tourist site so you need to spend time and money to do any sightseeing - and if you are not able/willing to take transit you will quickly spend more in cab fare than any savings gained from staying out at the airport; relatively low ratings compared to other hotels in the area). It's close to plenty of dining options, but anything downtown is close to more and if you don't want to eat Chinese food your options drop enormously.

 

Overall if price is the major concern, stay in the YWCA Hotel downtown. Great reviews, brand new tower so more rooms now to help meet demand, far more efficient sightseeing and also much easier to get to the pier. If, despite the stellar reviews over many years, you cannot bring yourself to 'stay at the Y' then consider 'blind bids' on a downtown hotel - anything 3* and up will be better than what you're looking at - or pick a hotel that is closer to SkyTrain if you want to stick with Richmond hotels. Ideally something around Bridgeport station, as that doubles your train frequency due to the two branches merging there - or maybe the Ramada at Aberdeen station, which is just 2 minutes walk to SkyTrain, newer, better-reviewed, and also right in a big mall with plenty close-by food options.

 

If it's for a post-cruise stay and you just want to be close to YVR for an early flight, bear in mind that it can actually be faster to take a cab from downtown at 4-5am than to take a hotel shuttle from a Richmond hotel! No traffic means reliably ~30mins in a cab versus a delay of up to twice the drive time for shuttles (no hotel has more than one, so if it's already en route to YVR you need to wait for it to drop off/pick up and then get back again - that's at least 30mins if you just miss a shuttle from this particular hotel). Since CBP don't open until 4:30am, for even the earliest US-bound flight it's pointless showing up any earlier - so unless you stay at the Fairmont (kaching!) there's not really any chance of getting extra sleep by staying at the airport...