Fairmont Pacific Rim Vancouver - Buying Wine Nearby

We're staying one night at the Fairmont Pacific Rim before our Celebrity cruise to Alaska. I'd like to be able to buy wine in Vancouver instead of flying cross country with it in my luggage. Anything walkable from the hotel? Also we've never been to Vancouver. Suggestions for two middle-aged women (one using a mobility scooter).

For price and selection.... The Alberni @ Bute Signature store is my preferred choice. Hit the nearby Robson street restaurants for dinner and grab a bottle on the way back to the hotel.

That Signature store is reasonably close at ~a half mile, but the one in the Harbour Centre is even closer (and unless you are very picky about wine, the regular stores have ample choice up to about the $30 a bottle range).

This also means you walk right past the pier so you can check out where you're going to embark, have Gastown to explore (our most historic part of town, with the Steam Clock and Gassy Jack statue - probably the two most photographed things in the city by cruisers) which is much more interesting than Robson for sightseeing.

With limited mobility I'd suggest a city tour - if the scooter is a small folding travel model, HOHO could work (while there are vehicles with wheelchair lifts, they're relatively few & far between which makes the hopping on and off part very inefficient for you - but if you can both get on and off up a few steps unassisted HOHO is an option). Otherwise a regular coach tour runs about $80pp and lasts about 4 hours.

Unfortunately much of what makes Vancouver Vancouver is the extensive outdoor options - and unless you have a spare battery the distances involved in e.g. the Seawall or Stanley Park's trails would be just too much for someone who needs a scooter without some other transportation.

If you can shed some more light on the kind of things you both enjoy doing, we can offer more targeted advice about what to do locally.

We're staying one night at the Fairmont Pacific Rim before our Celebrity cruise to Alaska. I'd like to be able to buy wine in Vancouver instead of flying cross country with it in my luggage. Anything walkable from the hotel? Also we've never been to Vancouver. Suggestions for two middle-aged women (one using a mobility scooter).

If she can do a couple of stairs the Hop on Hop Off Vancouver Trolley Tour is a great great time and way to see all the Vancouver sights.... It's way funner that those big double decker buses...

http://www.vancouvertrolley.com/tours

That Signature store is reasonably close at ~a half mile, but the one in the Harbour Centre is even closer (and unless you are very picky about wine, the regular stores have ample choice up to about the $30 a bottle range).

The Alberni@Bute location is good to bundle with Robson restaurants for dinner with an extra 5 minute walk.

While the Harbour center location is closer.... it's hours are limited (evenings and Sundays). The Harbour center is good to bundle with a Gastown trip.

 

The Alberni@Bute location is good to bundle with Robson restaurants for dinner with an extra 5 minute walk.

Yup, Harbour Centre is 'only' open until 9pm nightly and 6pm Sundays - like basically every regular liquor store in the city!

Given limitations of mobility scooter I'd say that it's a less-than-optimal suggestion to head to Robson specially for dinner when there are plenty of resto options in parts of the city that actually have things to see and do. Minimising risk of battery running out by eating somewhere where sightseeing can be combined with dinner, or eating closer to the hotel, seems more sensible.

Thanks everyone. I'll definitely look into the HOHO - the scooter collapses and my sister can definitely climb bus stairs. Once we're at the hotel, I'll also check with the concierge - I'm sure we'll find something to buy a couple of bottles of wine within a reasonable walking distance.