Affordable hotels in Vancouver (cruising on a budget)

[JeannyJ]

We're sailing out of Van, on the Volendam, in July. We live in Saskatchewan, but will be flying to Van from Calgary the day before we sail (or I want us to) and we need a place to stay. I would love to be able to stay at the Pan Pacific or one of the Fairmonts but we just can't afford it. Is there such a thing as a hotel downtown, or near the airport, that's affordable and has a shuttle service to the cruise terminal?   If we can't find one we'll be flying in at 7 am the day we leave and taking a cab to the terminal hours before we have to be there.

[NWA395]

Downtown hotels will not likely have a shuttle but a taxi is about $10.00 from hotel to cruise terminal.  

[Heidi13]

10 hours ago, JeannyJ said:

We're sailing out of Van, on the Volendam, in July. We live in Saskatchewan, but will be flying to Van from Calgary the day before we sail (or I want us to) and we need a place to stay. I would love to be able to stay at the Pan Pacific or one of the Fairmonts but we just can't afford it. Is there such a thing as a hotel downtown, or near the airport, that's affordable and has a shuttle service to the cruise terminal?   If we can't find one we'll be flying in at 7 am the day we leave and taking a cab to the terminal hours before we have to be there.

 

Not aware of any budget hotels downtown that have shuttle service to Canada Place and nothing out in Richmond will provide that service.

 

Without knowing what you consider affordable, your best bet downtown is checking out the YWCA on Beatty Street. It is about a 1 mile walk to Canada Place, or you could walk about 1-block to the Skytrain, or book an Uber/taxi.

 

Lots of cheaper options out in Richmond, some of which have shuttle service to/from the airport, where you can Skytrain into downtown, or get a fixed rate taxi.

[Alberta Quilter]

I've just been looking at YVR hotels for early June and am shocked at the pricing.  Then I looked at Banff for a couple of days later (we're going on the Rocky Mountaineer) and the prices are even higher in Banff!

 

I have tentatively booked the Blue Horizon (based on recommendations here) which came in at $359 for the cheapest room for three people.  Not sure if that falls within your budget.  But as Heidi13 suggested, the YMCA is also mentioned many times here on CC.

[martincath]

YWCA (an actual hotel - there is also a YMCA but that's a whole 'nother ballgame) is by far the best combo of location, quality and price - since Covid it's actually climbed up the overall rankings of Tripadvisor, Expedia etc. significantly (the new tower is very shiny; the original one is also being renovated now so will also be shiny by the start of cruise season) to within the top 10 of all hotels regardless of price! It was consistently top 20 since forever.

 

Every other hotel downtown that is comparable in price, or even sometimes cheaper, is a Ye Olde Building conversion, no elevator, mostly paper-thin walls, etc. etc. If it's available, book it right now (it always sells out the regular rooms on precruise nights).

 

Some airport hotels might be similar in price, but they're rarely cheaper - and anything convenient for SkyTrain is almost certainly the same price or higher than the Y, with only the older, more Motel style properties by the highways likely to beat the price by more than a handful of dollars - but if you're actually willing to book a 'shared bath down the hall' room at the Y you'll save even more (and if you're two couples, the perfect setup is the 'Jack & Jill' paired rooms which share a single bathroom between them - no randos, just your travel buddies to fight for shower time with)

[JeannyJ]

9 hours ago, Alberta Quilter said:

I've just been looking at YVR hotels for early June and am shocked at the pricing.  Then I looked at Banff for a couple of days later (we're going on the Rocky Mountaineer) and the prices are even higher in Banff!

 

I have tentatively booked the Blue Horizon (based on recommendations here) which came in at $359 for the cheapest room for three people.  Not sure if that falls within your budget.  But as Heidi13 suggested, the YMCA is also mentioned many times here on CC.

Yeah the prices made me a little concerned when I was looking yesterday. I did see the YWCA hotel listed on trivalgo so I'll have to take a closer look. We were really hoping to not spend a whole lot of money before the cruise so for sure looking for a room below $300 (under $200 if we can) so we can afford to still get a cab to the port if we have to and make a run to Walmart or a convenience store for stuff we don't want to take on the plane.

[cruiseryyc]

Sorry but $300 or under for a hotel room in Vancouver during cruise season is almost impossible to find.  The YWCA is your best bet, but don't wait too long to book a room somewhere.

[nijh]

I’ve gone for the English Bay Hotel at $180 per night.  Looks a nice area, hotel reviews say ‘dated but clean’.  Looks a good deal, guess I’ll find out in August!

[Urban trekker]

MartinCath - just in case you are not aware the YMCA is no longer in the hotel business - hasn't been since they closed the old building in 2006 and the new one has no lodging.

Dennis

[martincath]

14 minutes ago, Urban trekker said:

MartinCath - just in case you are not aware the YMCA is no longer in the hotel business - hasn't been since they closed the old building in 2006 and the new one has no lodging.

Dennis

Thanks for the confirmation Dennis - I was 90% sure that was the situation, but thought better safe than sorry to warn folks to ensure they searched for only the YWCA just in case they got a very big surprise on arrival!!!

[JeannyJ]

12 hours ago, cruiseryyc said:

Sorry but $300 or under for a hotel room in Vancouver during cruise season is almost impossible to find.  The YWCA is your best bet, but don't wait too long to book a room somewhere.

I think we'll see what our TA can dig up when we make our final payment next month. I'd also like to book our flights with her too but we'll see the trip our kids will be taking at the same time is causing some headaches at the moment.

[Alberta Quilter]

I checked out the YWCA hotel for our June RM trip and it was only slightly less (about $50) than the Blue Horizon.  I now have both booked, only because the YWCA hotel is much closer to a RM pick up point than the Blue Horizon.  Will likely cancel the Blue Horizon.