Vancouver Hotels

[baseballmom]

Hi all -- we will be sailing to Alaska on Serenade of the Seas next year and I would love suggestions on where to stay the night before. My plan is to fly up from Los Angeles in the morning to give us some time to tour the city, so a hotel that is central to town and yet close to the Ballentyne Pier would be ideal.

 

Thanks to everyone for their help!

 

Laurie

[cruzdreaming]

stayed in the delta suites last may got on price line 79.00 night very nice two room suite In the heart of downtown. forget about staying near ballentine pier really bad area downtown 15 min away.

[luvronijean]

We booked Sutton Place for our 8/28/04 Radiance cruise. The cost was about $89 and we booked the hotel and air from LAX through RCCL.

 

Veronica

[pyrrhus]

We stayed at the Westin Grand in Vancouver. Nice area, close to Robson street and Yaletown. Not too far away from the docks, Cab was maybe 8 Canadian. Also a hint (if possible) Book with the Hotel's local site. We received a price of $150cdn a night using the hotel's website. Using the US website received the same price US. So of course we booked using the Canadian exchange rate in our favor. This hint was given to me by a buddy who works for a Canadian Travel Agency (booked my Alaskan Cruise that way also).

 

 

Michael

[Sea Island Lady]

I don't understand. :confused: Could you please direct me to the website you used?

I looked at their site and I like the looks of this hotel . The rooms are quoted in CAD only. I thought CAD was higher than US. Don't we want to pay in US?

 

The rate I saw was CAD 259.00 which is $195 US.

[Happy ks]

As of today, $150 CAD would be around $114 USD, if the site shows $150 USD, that is what you will pay. I think I'd go with the CAD rate and save a few bucks. A great site to book hotels is http://www.hellobc.com we found the best rates (other than Priceline) through that site.

[Sea Island Lady]

I checked that site and we can get the same room that I saw on the Westin site ( $239 CAD) for $175 CAD. Westin $181 or HelloBC $135 US.

[onapea]

Stay anywhere but Pan Pacific, its a 5 star rip off with a view. For the money you will not go wrong with the Four Seasons.

 

Enjoy your trip!!

[katmash]

Last year we got Marriott Vancouver Pinnacle with Priceline for $50/night.

 

Upon arrival, offered Concierge (sp) room upgrade on 25th floor for $35 Canadian. We took it. Beautiful water front view. Great views of Cruise ships arriving and departing.

We really enjoyed the included full cold buffet every night 5 to 8pm (smoked salmon, cheeses, vegatables, fruits, soup, breads, bottled water and sodas). Alcoholic drinks were extra. Very good wines offered.

 

We also watched them filming I, Robot. Wish I was back there right now.

[Sonshiner]

I was able to get the Hyatt Regency Vancouver for next Thursday night for $65 on Pricleline.

[baseballmom]

:) Thank you all so very much! I really appreciate all of the great suggestions. My son and I are looking forward to enjoying the day in Vancouver before heading to Alaska. For once I wish that time would fly!!

 

Laurie

[momtobradley]

Thanks so much for asking this question, I'll be stayin 2 nights in Vancouver before the repositioning cruise from Alaska to Hawaii and wanted to know the same information. :)

[Foppa]

The Westin Bayshore, Fairmont Waterfront, Hotel Vancouver, Crowne Plaza, Four Seasons, and the Hyatt are all in the heart of downtown. They are also walking distance to the Canada Place pier.

 

The Pan Pacific, although quite pricey, is right at the pier.

 

If you are departing from the Ballantyne pier, take a cab there. Don't walk there as it is close to a bad part of town.

[debandbill]

Stayed at the Hyatt in downtown Vancouver (thankyou Priceline) for three days prior to our cruise....yes, a lot is within walking distance including Canada Place but, if its a little further, Vancouver has a wonderful public transit system including the sea bus which is a great way to do a little sightseeing on the water. There are great maps at the rail stations (just beneath the Hyatt) and at the hotels. We made use of a private bus tour one day and the rest of the time used the public transit vehicles.... wonderful!

[LefseLady]

We stayed recently at the Metropolitan Hotel (directly across the street from the Four Seasons). I've stayed in most hotels in downtown Vancouver, and this was my favorite by far. Outstanding service. Beautiful rooms. Great location. Check out their website -- we got a good rate, but booked way ahead. We noticed that their rates were considerably higher the closer to our date, so it pays to book in advance.

As far as getting a hotel close to Ballantyne...forget it. That pier is in the middle of the cargo docks, there's nothing for blocks and blocks but commercial/industrial stuff. You need to stay in the downtown area (west of Seymour, south of Hastings) and catch a cab to the dock.

[baseballmom]

Thank you, thank you! We will indeed stay downtown and take a cab to the ship. (Just shows how little I know about where we're going -- thank goodness for the experienced travelers on CC!)

[Sea Island Lady]

pyrrhus and Happy ks - We already have reservations at the Hampton Inn and Suites on Robson, but I really like the looks of the Grande Westin. Should I switch? If I use the website suggested, www.hellobc.com I can get a great price! Is the site like Priceline in which you can be given a crummy room?

If we reserve in CAD, can we pay in US (and US rates) when we check in?

pyrrhus - What site did you use to book with?

[debandbill]

BASEBALLMOM:

 

If you will go to the Port of Call Board...click on Vancouver...lots of great info there as well as info on all the stops during an Alaskan cruise.

 

SEA ISLAND LADY:

 

Can't say that it hasn't happened, but if you do your homework and designate a three or four star hotel thru Priceline...the hotels are really nice and so are the rooms. The main thing with PL is that the accomodations are only guaranteed for double occupancy. Have you had a bad room thru Priceline before?????

[Sea Island Lady]

Yes, we have had a bad room through PL before. They are usually connecting rooms on a corner.

 

If it were just my DH and myself, I would go with PL. However, my parents need a room also and I don't want to disappoint them by getting us crummy rooms. My Mom also has asthma, and PL rooms are not guaranteed for NON smoking anymore. I only like to use PL if I know the hotels. For instance, I use it a lot to book rooms locally for a quick getaway.

[natesfirewife]

We stayed in the Ramada Plaza Hotel (I think that was the name) on Granville Street. I will say that I was very happy for picking the 2nd floor when the fire alarm went off at 5:30 in the morning and they had to evacute the hotel. I guess have a Fireman Dad and Husband you get used to picking rooms that are easy to get out of. I always laughed at them but never again. :)

 

Misty

[Orion1325]

We stayed at the St. Regis Hotel in Vancouver for our 1-night pre-cruise stay in July. It's a cute boutique kind of hotel in the downtown area. Nice rooms, good service. The only bad part was that parking was underground at a nearby shopping mall, so you had to walk a block or two once you parked. I booked it through Expedia for $119 a night (that was before I found out about Priceline).

 

After our cruise, we stayed at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Vancouver for three nights. I used Priceline and got a rate of $70 per night. I know that when you bid through Priceline, you're only guaranteed a room with one bed. However, I called the Hyatt directly about 3 weeks prior to our cruise and requested a non-smoking, wheelchair accessible room (my mom was with us) with two beds. The receptionist commented that I had made my reservation through Priceline, but went ahead and reserved the room as I had requested. When we checked in, all was as I had requested, and we had a great stay at a great price!

 

You'll love Alaska! Hopefully you'll have great weather as we did. (I'm re-living our cruise vicariously through those of you who are posting about your present cruises :))

[baseballmom]

DEBANDBILL: Thanks for the info re the Port of Call board -- I will check it out.

 

ORION: Yes, I'm looking at the St. Regis and the Hyatt Regency. Since it's only for one night I guess I shouldn't fret so much, but I want something nice (and convenient for sightseeing during the one afternoon/evening we'll be there). I've never booked anything through Priceline and I'm a bit wary, but it sounds like lots of people have successfully booked great rooms, so maybe I'll give it a try. Should I do that now or closer to when we will be up there (June 2005)?

 

SEA ISLAND LADY: When I was looking on the Vancouver tourism website there was one hotel, a boutique type place, that advertised itself as the only completely non-smoking hotel in the city. I can try to find the name of the place if that will help you.

 

Laurie

[PGcruiser]

Hyatt has the best location...it is a very classy hotel. Can walk anywhere in downtown or take the skytrain etc... Sutton is also good location...Vancouver Hotel is as well...they are all on Burrard Street. Very close to the best parts of Vancouver.

[debandbill]

BASEBALLMOM:

 

If you are a nervous nellie about getting rooms, I would suggest that you book a reservation that you can cancel when ever you feel its time but wait to bid on Priceline until 2-3 months out. If you start now reading the biddingfortravel site, you will get familiar with how bids are accepted, what hotels are giving up rooms, etc. You have a better chance of getting an accepted bid if you wait till closer to the time you need the rooms.

 

My first experience with Priceline was for a room in Miami. I bid a three star, downtown Miami, and got the Hyatt(really a very nice, nice hotel-and I am picky (interior decorator) ) on my first bid of $35. Sooo....when I started bidding for Vancouver and my first bids were not accepted, I got a little nervous and somewhat frustrated as I needed several rooms for different amounts of nights (family cruise.) Once you bid and use any free rebids (study...you'll understand), then there is a 72 hour wait till you can bid again. I have said all this to say, that the process took a little longer but I did get those rooms at a great rate and everyone wound up at the same hotel (although with different bids, this is not a given.)

 

If you are only bidding for one night, then I would defintely give PL a try...cause whats the worst thing that could happen...you get a less than great room and you have a cruise to look forward to. I still don't see if you restrict your bids to a three or four star hotel, how you can lose. Simply having an adjoining room on the corner would not cause me to be upset with the accomodations. Having a dirty, noisy (beyond reason), or poorly maintained room would be the deal breaker for me.

 

I am a pretty cautious person, but my experience with Priceline has been very good.

[critterchick]

Laurie, was that the Listel on Robson? We almost stayed there, but ended up at the Westin Grand, which we like alot. We're trying the Westin Bayshore in September. We did check out the lobby of the Listel, and it looked very nice. It advertises itself as an art gallery/hotel and the rooms look very interesting on their website.-Jean