Vancouver Info if needed

[shoppie]

to p&d1996: I believe that the festival you are referring to is the Vancouver Fringe Festival running from September 8 to 18. This is a theatre and live performance festival that will be occuring at several venues throughout the city, including Granville Island. The Fringe is a fairly popular festival and draws a good size crowd from around the country. That said, Vancouver has several thousand hotel rooms in total and I would doubt that the Fringe alone would occupy all of that space, especially on a Sunday night when you're staying. September is the start of conference season, and it's possible that there are some large conferences in town that are blocking out a portion of the hotel rooms. If you give me an idea of the type of hotel and rate range that you're willing to pay, I may be able to offer some suggestions to you.

[p&d1996]

Shoppie:

 

I've been bidding on Priceline for 4* hotels in the downtown area for a little while. Max bid of $100. Before all this, I checked the Vancouver "official website" and did a search for conventions and festivals and it showed nothing. Now I find out about the Fringe festival and was wondering about the hotel availability. The website I found about the festival says large crowds are expected. I'm wondering whether to start bidding more or wait until closer to arrival date. I'm looking forward to being in Vancouver, even for one day. I don't want to stay somewhere that would make it hard to get around (no car). But I do want to stay in a nice area where I could walk places. Any other areas offer this? Thanks for your help.

[lssg]

I was bidding on 4* hotels on priceline and I bid as high as $125 and still didn't get a room, I booked on Hotwire for a little more and got the Sheraton....now I know why it was so hard getting a hotel on priceline.

[p&d1996]

I remember talking to you about that on another thread. I did not know about the festival at that time either. I'm looking at the Hotwire options right now also. Any tips on that website?

 

I'll probably try the Princeline thing and bid up to the Hotwire prices for a couple of days. Too bad this is getting difficult. An Alaskan cruise is expensive enough!

 

But I do look forward to it:) !!!!!!!

[shoppie]

To p&d1996: hmmm..I'm at a loss..I really just can't see the type of crowd that goes to an alternative theatre festival gobbling up four and five star hotel rooms..but..who knows..maybe I'm completely wrong. Hotel room pricing and occupancy levels tend to be directly related, which means that the higher their occupancy, the higher they tend to charge for their remaining rooms (right up until the afternoon or evening the rooms are available..then they may drop their prices to avoid having them sit empty for a night)... Also, September is still considered 'high season' for hotels, so their base rates are increased. So..high occupancy and high season combined mean that a four star hotel would be fairly reluctant to accept 100 dollars for a room that bases at 350 plus dollars. The only other thing that I can see is that there are three ships in on Saturday (minimum 7000 ppl), three ships in on Sunday (another 7000 minimum) and one ship on Monday (2000 ppl)..and a lot of these folks will be staying a day or two either pre or post cruise. There are really no other areas that you'd want to stay for one day without a car other than downtown. Perhaps up your bid to 150 to 175 and see what happens...my guess is you'll probably get a room in that range, regardless of the reason it seems as though occupancy levels are high on the 10th and the chances of getting a 4 star for less than that is pretty remote.

[p&d1996]

Shoppie:

 

I understand what you are saying describing the crowd that goes to that type of festival. That's why I'm also somewhat at a loss. I looked at Vancouver's "official website" and it did not show any conventions at that time (or festivals). Probably shouldn't have trusted the website. I think I will try a little while longer on Priceline and keep looking at Hotwire.

[CaneCruiser]

My wife and I will be in the day before our cruise. Both are around the same price. Which would you choose and why?

[shoppie]

To canecruiser: My personal choice would be the Pan Pacific Hotel. While both the Sutton and the Pan are five diamond properties, the Pan has a much nicer location right on the waterfront of the city. The views are spectacular. The Sutton is a nice hotel, but its location is far less magnificent. The Sutton is closer to Robson Street by about 3 blocks, but in my opinion, the tradeoff in view is not worth it. Hope the info helps!

[Royalpair]

Hi! We will be arriving this Fri (!!!) for a one night stay before our cruise. We are at the Sheraton Wall Centre. Our plane gets in at 1, I assume we'll be at the hotel by 4, so are there places to see, or is that a little late in the day to get started? Should we just scope out places for dinner and breakfast? Do you feel the concierge should be able to help us in our quest?

[Looking Forward]

Can you recommend a good place for breakfast near Sutton Place? Thank you.

[emmylou]

shoppie,

We are coming into Vancouver staying at the Renaissance harborside and would like to know if there is somewhere close by to get icewine and pepsi 7-up and canada dry diet ginger ale.Also how much noise will we have from construction on Sunday.Thanks for the info in advance you have been most helpful on this board

emmy

[fandango]

Shoppie,

 

Any thoughts on the best bed and breakfast from the following:

La Villa Antoine Bed & Breakfast

Kenya Court Ocean Front Guest House

Crystal's View Bed and Breakfast

Nelson House B & B

English Bay Inn Vancouver Bed and Breakfast

 

Thanks

[mwoodrowe]

thanks for the info...i have a question. we would like to have some amazing chinese food. what do you recommend as the top restaurant? the trolley sounds like a good idea considering there are 5 of us including 2 kids. we are coming in 2 days before our cruise to see the city. any must see for the kids (10 & 7)? thanks so much!

[Seagal123]

Hi!

 

We're driving up from Seattle to sail on the Serenade. Any recommendations for a hotel that we can stay in the night before we sail and that will allow us to park for the week while we are on the cruise (secure and reasonable parking fee).

 

Ellen in Seattle

[trixiee]

Has anyone tried the Liliget Restaurant? I believe it is on or near the corner of Denman and Davie?

 

Thanks!

[jrmende63]

Shoppie, thanks for offering your help. I have a few questions. First, is it necessary to have air conditioning mid June? We are considering staying at the Times Square Suites on Denman & Robson, the the bedroom has A/C, no A/C in Den or LR. Also, do you know anything about this hotel, is it in a good location for touring the city, we are not renting a car and will be in Vancouver 3 nights prior to sailing the Serenade on 6/18/06. We sail out of Ballantyne, so we do not need to be near Canada Place.

 

Other considerations for hotels are:

Best Western Sands - Denman & Davie

Renaissance Vancouver -W. Hastings

Blue Horizon-Robson & Burrard.

 

Any info on locations and condition of hotels would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Nancy

Hi there...I just wanted to say we stayed May 16-17, 2006 in Times Square Suites. We were on the 4th floor. We had a queen bed in one room and 2 twins in the other. It is not hot in Vancouver, you will most likely not need the A/C. There is no A/c in the other rooms but is one in the Queen bedroom. I liked the location and at the end of Robson, there is a nice but casual restaurant on the left, right before the water. We ate there and loved it! Had the best French Dip sandwhich ever! We ate at the little restaurant on the Corner of Robson for breakfast. It was good food and nice place. We only had US dollars and the places accepted them fine, but any change was in CAD. I still have some CAD change! I was kind of lost when we first went to the Times Square Suites...on how to get in...the door is locked from the outside. Just push the call button for the office. Hope you enjoy your cruise as much as we did! Julie

[tjatczak]

Best suggestion for an "authentic" Vancouver restaurant?

 

We will be coming in on September 15, and staying at the Pan Pacific...

We would like a variety of choices(food) and maybe a view???? Don't want 'expensive' as we already splurging for the Pan Pacific....is there someplace that meets all of thesae criteria????

 

Can someone help????

Ted

[vanclan]

Fandango....here are links to reviews of some of the bed and breakfasts you asked about...

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g154943-d185838-r3924460-Kenya_Court_Guest_House-Vancouver_British_Columbia.html

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g181717-d220166-r2294512-Crystal_s_View_Vancouver_Bed_and_Breakfast-North_Vancouver_British_Columbia.html

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g154943-d184895-r4587193-English_Bay_Inn-Vancouver_British_Columbia.html

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g154943-d186210-r3696403-Nelson_House_Bed_and_Breakfast-Vancouver_British_Columbia.html

 

Looking at those reviews....Crystal's View seems to have the best all round reviews. Hope this helps. http://www.tripadvisor.com is a wonderful site. Run a search on Vancouver and you'll bring up all sorts of interesting info. Posing your question on the Trip Advisor Vancouver forum might bring some local opinions about the B & B's you are looking at.

[vanclan]

Just a note to my above post....each of the links is for a review of a different B & B....sorry the URL's don't show up completely to show the individual reviews!!!

[grannynanny]

I just posted my pre-cruise review of our 3 nights in Vancouver on the Royal Caribbean Roll calls for the Serenade.

Nancy

[Beth 2001]

We're spending two nights pre-cruise in Vancouver this August (me, DH, 2 sons and in-laws). I've checked cruisecal.com and three ships will be departing Vancouver the night before we cruise. I would love for us to have dinner at a restaurant with a view of the harbor, so we can watch them set sail. Shoppie, do you (or anyone else) have any recommendations?

[chattiepatty]

Hi shoppie i will be coming to vancouver on july 11th for an overnite stay to catch the cruise ship spirit for alaska on july 12... we are staying at a hotel named coast vancouver airport... is that an ok place for the nite...didnt want anything elaborate for one nite... thanks chattie patty

[cruisetek]

For those of you wanting a restaurant recommendation with great harbour views, I can highly recommend Aqua Riva :) I live in Vancouver, and it's one of my favourite places. It is located adjacent to Canada Place, with great harbour views - if there is a cruise ship on the right side of Canada Place, you'll have unmatched views of the ship.

 

http://www.aquariva.com/

 

For photos of the restaurant and view, click here:

 

http://www.aquariva.com/360/?view=main

 

You'll want to click the "360" circles at the top for views from the main dining area - the other areas are the bar, and don't offer the same harbour views.

 

The menu is quite varied, with a real emphasis on "west coast" flavours - lots of seafood, and typically lobster specials this time of year. They also have a wood-fired rotisserie and pizza oven. The portions are generous and the atmosphere great (and no, I don't work there!! :p )

 

As to the air conditioning question - it all depends on your tolerance for heat!! At the moment, temperatures in Vancouver are averaging in the mid-80's, low 90's....not terrible, but definitely uncomfortable for some people. Once we get into July, it's highly possible that we will see temps in the high 90's, low 100's. 'Course, being a coastal city, there's usually a breeze which helps to temper the heat a bit.....but still, it CAN get very hot here.

[ell52]

At the moment, temperatures in Vancouver are averaging in the mid-80's, low 90's....not terrible, but definitely uncomfortable for some people. Once we get into July, it's highly possible that we will see temps in the high 90's, low 100's. 'Course, being a coastal city, there's usually a breeze which helps to temper the heat a bit.....but still, it CAN get very hot here.

You're kidding, right?! :confused: :confused: Please don't scare our visitors.

 

The highs this week have been in the upper 20s Celsius -- translating to mid 80s Fahrenheit.

 

Vancouver seldom gets much hotter than the mid-80s Fahrenheit, even in July which is our hottest month.

 

Here's a handy site for Vancouver weather, daylight, and rainfall stats:

 

Vancouver Climate Page

[cruisetek]

:rolleyes: Ummm...No clue why you think I'm scaring anyone, when what you just said about present temps in the mid-80's is exactly what I said also? :confused:

 

Unless you're freaked out about the "high 90's, low 100's" bit...but if you think that never happens, you're living in a different city than me ;) I never said it WOULD be that hot, I said it COULD be that hot - and believe me, it can be, and has been that hot before (not for endless days at a time, true - but if I were in a non-airconditioned hotel room, even a day or two in that kind of heat would be too much. Your mileage may vary).

 

For the most part, our weather is absolutely quite mild, but we can get some very hot days - the last couple of summers have seen record-setting high temps in some parts of BC. Vancouver does get the breeze, which helps - but it's entirely possible that you will see temps in the 90's once we get a little further into July. The Fraser Valley will get hotter still, but odds are cruisers won't be leaving the city.