Vancouver advice

[gailann]

We will be staying at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver for two days and nights post cruise. Dirtgirl - do you think this is a great place ?? We are going out of Canada Place. If we want to just walk down to the water (not on cruise day), how far is that ?? We are going to take the Big Red Bus sightseeing and I believe we will get picked up right at the V. Art Gallery. It looks to me like that is right beside the Fairmont. What type of shops are on Robson. I believe that is close to our hotel . gg

YOu are in a great location, withing easy walking distance of both shopping and the waterfront. Robson street has some great shops and restaurants and there is also Pacific Centre for shopping too. Stanley Park is just a few blocks away as well. enjoy!

[dirtgirl]

Robson shops can be quite haute couture, but they have other shops as well, along with a coffee shop on every corner, lol! I spent my wedding night in the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver over 20 years ago, and I was just at a function at that hotel in April. It is very old, but very nice and glamourous!;)

 

It is only 3-4 blocks to the water north where the pier is, and maybe 7-8 blocks south to hit water (you are on a peninsula). If you are walkers, you can walk to the Aquatic Centre around the foot of Burrard St., and board the Aqua Taxi, that can take you to Granville Island, the Space Centre, etc.

 

http://www.granvilleislandferries.bc.ca/home.html

[southwardbound]

Dirtgirl and dam1050,

Just wondering if you have any comment about Hampton Inn and Suites on Robson? We were planning to stay there before our cruise. We love to walk and are interested in seeing Vancouver. Your thoughts?:)

[dirtgirl]

I have read good reviews about this hotel. It is right beside BC Place Stadium and GM Place. It is a busy, but not bad area. I know that they have a complimentary breakfast and shuttle, but the gym isn't great (if you are into gyms, and for me a good one is a prerequisite)!:rolleyes:

 

Really, no matter where you go in Vancouver, you will see homeless people. We have one of the mildest climates in all of Canada, so there tend to be more on the streets. It is unlikely that any will bother you.:cool:

 

You are at the eastern end of downtown Vancouver; you would definitely need a shuttle to get you places like Stanley Park. You will be by Yaletown, and there is a seawalk there which will take you around the south side of Vancouver. You could also walk to the Seabus Terminal at the northern end of Granville St., and take the Seabus over to North Vancouver. There is a public market there called Lonsdale Quay, and a bus loop. North Vancouver is where Grouse Mountain and the Capilano Suspension Bridge are, both of which I highly recommend.

[southwardbound]

Thanks for the info I have made a copy and will take your advice. Is there any fun things in walking distance from the Hampton?

[dirtgirl]

This is what I pulled off of the Hampton Inn and Suites website:

 

Within 5 minute walk

Yaletown and Granville Street

Sea Wall Walking Tour

GM Place

British Columbia Place Stadium

 

5 - 20 minute walk

Vancouver Art Gallery

Robson Street

Pacific Centre Mall

Ford Center for the Performing Arts

Queen Elizabeth Theatre

Granville Island

Gastown

Science World

[southwardbound]

I saw the list as well on the Hampton sight. We are only going to be in Vancouver for a day of sight seeing so we need to be selective in our choosing.... Sounds like Grouse Mountain and Capilano Suspension Bridge as well as Stanley Park might be the route to go. :)

[dirtgirl]

I saw the list as well on the Hampton sight. We are only going to be in Vancouver for a day of sight seeing so we need to be selective in our choosing.... Sounds like Grouse Mountain and Capilano Suspension Bridge as well as Stanley Park might be the route to go. :)

 

 

I would completely agree! I do know that certain tours combine Grouse Mountain with Capilano Suspension Bridge, as they are very close together.;)

[cruzy-sue]

We have reserved a room at the Westend Guest House - Does anyone have any information about this place and/or the area?

[dirtgirl]

I've never heard of it, but it is in a nice location in the West End.;)

[dam1050]

We have reserved a room at the Westend Guest House - Does anyone have any information about this place and/or the area?

 

Not familiar with that particular guest house, but it's in a good location on Haro St (one Block from Robson St) in the West End.

 

You may want to check these 2 sites for some area info :

 

http://www.seethewestend.com/

 

http://www.seestanleypark.com/

[little miss s]

gg3: We recently did the hop on, hop off bus tour with Big Red Bus. There are actually 2 competing companies who provide hop on, hop off service. I didn't realize this until later. Check the routes before you buy, you might like the other route better. They gave us a schedule of stops and times, but as far as I could tell they didn't run on time. The best part of this tour was going across the bridges, which gives you a good view looking back at downtown.

 

The bus ride was good for an overview of the city, but Vancouver is a great place to walk. It's such a clean city, and has beautiful landscaping. Everywhere you look there were flowers, fountains, and plenty of public parks and gardens.

[cruzy-sue]

You did the Big Red Bus, what is the name of the other one?

[CAPRI]

*gg3,* I think you will be pleased with the Fairmont. We just spent one night there, this last Friday after we disembarked. We were over at Balentine pier, so it was a little drive over, but if you know you are docking at Canada Place it is just outside. A short walk if you didnt have all the luggage to worry about lol.

If you have ever stayed at a Fairmont before ( I believe they've assumed ownership of all the former Canadian Pacific properties?) you can join their Presidents Club online. ( possibly even if you havent stayed with them before, not sure but worth a look)

That enabled us to bypass the long line of other cruise ship passengers and their check in desk and go straight to Presidents Club check in. It also got us an early check in ( 10.30 am instead of 3 pm) whereas it did seem that others from the regular line were advised to store luggage and get lunch before rooms would be ready. Not 100% sure about that tho.

We asked for and received a higher floor room, got a corner, and had amazing views of the city, the port with our ship, helipad etc. We were able to see our ship off again later that afternoon right from the room.

I would choose this hotel again, based on our experience there.

 

Lisa

[Thomkm]

Personally I wouldn't reccommend either of those due solely to their location. Granville St in that area is known as the "entertainment" district and you can expect thousands of drunken rowdy suburban yahoos pouring out of many bars at 3 am [think fights, cops, sirens - not a pretty sight, believe me]

 

For a far more enjoyable stay in our city try something in the West End -- say Davie St, Denman Street or Robson Street.

 

For Best Westerns, I'd suggest the Best Western "Sands by the Sea" rather than Chateau Granvillehttp://www.bestwesternsandshotelvancouver.com/on Davie at English Bay -- great location.

 

On Robson a nice stay might be the Blue Horizon http://www.bluehorizonhotel.com/

 

For a heritage hotel on English Bay try the Sylvia Hotel http://www.sylviahotel.com/

 

for a pricier stay right on the water you can't go wrong with Westin Bayshore -- another ideal location.

 

If you want to stay closer to downtown stick with hotels like the Hyatt on Burrard, Sutton on Burrard, Sheraton Wall Centre on Burrard, Four Seasons on Howe and Georgia etc....

:)

 

We stayed at the Blue Horizon last week for 2 nights prior to our cruise and really enjoyed the BH and the entire area. The BH has the Inlet Bistro attached and they have the best Eggs Benedict over Crab Cakes. And I must say the Canadian people are the very friendly and helpful.

[LeftcoastBC]

We stayed at the Blue Horizon last week for 2 nights The BH has the Inlet Bistro attached and they have the best Eggs Benedict over Crab Cakes.

 

Without a doubt...(fear of contradiction) This is Very true :D

[alphamama]

"The Best Western Downtown might be a better choice. "

 

NO. :eek: We just stayed at the Best Western Downtown for a pre cruise visit. The hotel is fairly new, nice and clean. However it is still located on Granville. (The corner of Drake and Granville.) This is a very seedy area. We walked around in the evening, toward Robson St., but went a little faster through the area around the hotel. We chose this hotel for it's reasonable price and free shuttle to Canada Place. I wouldn't do it again.

[Chenega]

Since our flight gets in around 6pm the day before cruise departure, we are staying out in Richmond for the evening. Have a precruise tour of Vancouver that takes us directly to the pier when the tour is over.

 

Our first visit to Vancouver, we stayed at the Westin Bayshore and really enjoyed it. As other posters have mentioned, good location and great view.

[jessinphilly]

How is the Rennaissance Harborside? Is it near any small store to buy stuff for the cruise (sodas, water)? How far is it from the on-off trolley or bus? Thanks for the information.

[dirtgirl]

Jessinphilly, I hope this helps. You can type whatever business you want on Google map, and it will tell you what is around your hotel. I bet you that there is a store in your hotel where you could buy some water.

 

 

http://maps.google.ca/maps?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&tab=wl&q=

 

It looks like the closest stops for you for the bus are Canada Place and by the Hyatt.

 

http://bigbus.ca/staticpages/index.php?page=route

[southwardbound]

Dirtgirl,

Thanks! I don't think I would have found this info on my own. It's really helpful.:)

[hydrodriver831]

We are planning on staying at the Granville Island Hotel before our cruise. Is this area of Vancouver OK? We have stayed at the Comfort Inn Downtown and you are right, there is a rowdy crowd at night. We will have our teenagers with us this trip and they wanted to explore the Market place. So when you say Granville is scary are talking the Island or Granville st downtown area? Thanks, Candi

[diz148]

Can anyone tell me about the Holiday inns in downtown Vancouver?

 

Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites

VANCOUVER-DWTN-TOWER & SUITES

1110 HOWE ST @ HELMCKEN

VANCOUVER, BC V6Z1R2 CANADA

Hotel Front Desk: 1-604-6842151 | Hotel Fax: 1-604-6844736

 

Holiday Inn

VANCOUVER-CENTRE (BROADWAY)

711 W. BROADWAY AT HEATHER

VANCOUVER, BC V5Z 3Y2 CANADA

Hotel Front Desk: 1-604-8790511 | Hotel Fax: 1-604-8727

 

Barb

[gonna go cruising]

Can anyone tell me what to expect from Pacific Palisades in Vancouver? It is what we got from Priceline but I am not sure what it is near. Good, Bad or neither?

 

Thanks!

[dirtgirl]

We are planning on staying at the Granville Island Hotel before our cruise. Is this area of Vancouver OK? We have stayed at the Comfort Inn Downtown and you are right, there is a rowdy crowd at night. We will have our teenagers with us this trip and they wanted to explore the Market place. So when you say Granville is scary are talking the Island or Granville st downtown area? Thanks, Candi

 

 

You will be fine! It is Granville St. downtown that is icky; Granville Island is OK. There is a little ferry that goes across the water to downtown, too, which is kind of fun.