Need Vancouver Hotel Recommendation

Hi All,

We'll be cruising to Alaska on the Coral Princess from Vancouver this July, and we're looking for a hotel for a 1 night stay before the cruise. There will be 8 of us total, 3 of them are my mom and in-laws in their 70's.

I've found a fairly decent rate at the Sandman Suites on Davie, does anybody have any input on this property? Or any other hotels to recommend that would be less than $200/night. Or are there any hotels near the airport that are decent/reasonable?

Thanks for your help!

Suzy

Most of the hotels near the airport would be okay but it is about $35.00 for a cab from the airport to the pier - more if you are sailing from Ballantyne Pier - the Sandman on Davie was refurnished a few years ago when the Sandman chain took it over - you are in the heart of Davie Village - lots of ma and pa shops and some great eateries including Stepho's - a Greek food restaurant that has lineups every night.

If you have a downtown hotel for around $200.00 a night you have done fairly well price wise.

This link will provide you with some input on the west end of Vancouver:

http://www.englishbay.com/

Hope this helps and don't hesitate to ask lots of questions - in live in the downtown core so have a fairly good idea of what is going on.

Cheers

Dennis

We stayed at LeSoleil Hotel last year, it is a very nice boutique hotel just a couple of blocks from Canada Place, the rates were just a bit over $200 a night. We were upgraded to a one bedroom suite at no charge. http://www.hotellesoleil.com

Hi All,

 

We'll be cruising to Alaska on the Coral Princess from Vancouver this July, and we're looking for a hotel for a 1 night stay before the cruise. There will be 8 of us total, 3 of them are my mom and in-laws in their 70's.

 

I've found a fairly decent rate at the Sandman Suites on Davie, does anybody have any input on this property? Or any other hotels to recommend that would be less than $200/night. Or are there any hotels near the airport that are decent/reasonable?

 

Thanks for your help!

 

Suzy

I stayed here with my son a few years ago and it was not nice at all! Rooms were clean but very dates, beds and pillows had seen much better days but the walls were the worst, very very thin ie NOISY.

I stay at Pacific Palisades on Robson for less then $200. a night and LOVE it there.

I am staying at the Pacific Palisades in August for $135 per night. Bid on Priceline for 4 STAR hotel, downtown Vancouver. That is whole lot better than $200 per night. I would bid 4 star if you are willing to pay up to $200, you should surely come up with something alot less than that.

Thanks for the replies so far, they've been very helpful. I'll check into those other properties soon. Also, I've seen a good rate at the Comfort Inn Downtown any thoughts on that one?

I'm a little afraid of Priceline, I've heard they only have to guarantee a room with 1 bed and since we're not all couples we really need 2 beds. Any advice on that part?

Thanks again for all your help!

Suzy

The Comfort Inn is an older property that has been updated but nowhere near the comforts of the other properties mentioned + it is located in the heart of the entertainment district which has about 20 bars etc in about 6 blocks - it would be a last resort if nothing else is available. That said it does have a nice Irish themed pub and a decent food service -

Re the Sandman - the hotel has been updated so I doubt that the concerns that were expressed still exist.

LeSoleil and Pacific Palisades are both good properties and a little closer to the center of action.

Use this link to get an idea of where these hotels are in relation to Canada Place:

http://www.hotelsbythepier.com/index2.php?pier=vancouver-canada-place

Cheers

Dennis

We have just found our Millenium to Alaska will be sailing from Ballantine Pier. Are there any hotels in this area ? Is this an older area of town ?

It is in the industrial part of the port and there are no hotels near the pier - about 2 miles from Canada Place - so it will be a taxi from your hotel - one advantage of sailing out of Ballantyne is the fact that there is only one ship berthed there at any given time so the lineups often associated with Canada Place are non - existent.

Hope this helps

Cheers

Dennis

Any thoughts on the Holiday Inn express on East Hastings? With 2 kids I want to stay in a relativly safe area.Besides the continental breakfast, it says they have a shuttle to the peir.

Thanks in advance.

Personally, I would avoid the Holiday Inn Express. I have no experience with the hotel itself, but it's located well out of the Downtown area, with not too much around. East Hastings street is not a very "nice" street, particularly around the Hastings/Main Street area, which you would pass through if you decided to take a stroll Downtown. True, they have a shuttle bus so if you are literally just looking for somewhere to sleep then it would be fine, but if you are intending to do some sightseeing then I would get something in the Downtown area.

Thanks for all your input everybody, we've decided to stay out by the airport at the Days Inn since our flight is getting in around 6pm. We'll just get up early and head out to the port as soon as they're open. Anybody have any recommendations for a restaurant for dinner? The hotel has a shuttle to the River Rock Casino so we thought we might head over there to look around and find something to eat.

Thanks again!

Suzy

Would you choose the Pacific Palisades over the Westin Bayshore? I understand the Bayshore has a great location on the water and near Stanley Park. We'll be in town 2 nights before our cruise in September (car-less) and would like something relaxing but close to public transport.

We stayed at the Blue Horizon on Robson Street. We paid $150 per night for a Queen/Queen Superior room with an entertainment card. The room was huge. The hop on/hop off trolley stop is literally at the doorstep of the hotel.

Is the Blue Horizon close to the Pacific Palisades. I like the idea of the hop on hop off shuttle being close by. We are staying at the Pacific Palisades in August which I won on Priceline for $135 per night. :)

The Times Square Suites. Great little hotel. Fabulous location. www.timessquaresuites.com

Urban Trekker, any info on the Plaza 500 and surrounding area? Would appreciate your input.

Also, how about sightseeing. Are there tour companies to give us an overview of the city. We are coming in the day before our cruise, landing at noon, so should have time in the afternoon and evening. Oh, our DHs both have difficulty walking.

Thanks for any help you can give.

Judy - the area around the Plaza 500 is okay - City Hall is across the street BUT the big problem is that they are building a rapid transit line down the middle of the street and everything is messed up - traffic has a hard time getting through - peds have to walk out of their way to cross a street so I can't recommend a stay there at this time - it is very close to the Broadway shopping corridor.

If you can find something similarly priced downtown take it - as for the seeing the sights both of the following have hop on hop off buses + there is a free shuttle in Stanley Park in the summer time.

http://www.bigbus.ca

http://www.vancouvertrolley.com

http://vancouver.ca/parks/parks/stanley/shuttle.htm

Hope this helps

Cheers

Dennis

Dennis,

Thanks for the info. Unfortunately I got the hotel through Priceline and cannot cancel. We aren't going until Sept so perhaps the construction will have moved further down the street.

Thanks again.

Is the Blue Horizon close to the Pacific Palisades. I like the idea of the hop on hop off shuttle being close by. We are staying at the Pacific Palisades in August which I won on Priceline for $135 per night. :)

I don't know where the Pacific Palisades is, but if you go to www.vancouvertrolley.com there is a place that shows where all their stops are, which was how we found out the Blue Horizon was one of the stops.

First - the Pacific Palisades Hotel is next door to the Blue Horizon - really part of the same complex - excellent location.

As for the Plaza 500 - just give yourself a little extra time if you are planning to go anywhere - that part of the project won't be finished until this time next year as they are building a station there as well. Lot's of restaurants in the area including a White Spot across the street - Here's a link to the construction project for what is officially known as the Canada Line on our rapid transit system.

http://canadaline.ca/

Hope this helps

Cheers

Dennis

If you have a downtown hotel for around $200.00 a night you have done fairly well price wise.

 

This link will provide you with some input on the west end of Vancouver:

 

http://www.englishbay.com/

 

Hope this helps and don't hesitate to ask lots of questions - in live in the downtown core so have a fairly good idea of what is going on.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

Thanks for the link, Dennis - I checked it out and found this: http://www.bestwesternsandshotelvancouver.com/

Can you see any reason we might hesitate to stay there? Seeing that it's on the water, it might make the PCD (post-cruise depression) a bit easier to deal with!

I'd also be interesting in knowing how far it is from the airport. Thanks in advance!

it is an excellent location - busy street scene - lots of ma and pa type of shops along both Davie and Denman - right on the seawalk that leads into Stanley Park - as for the airport it is a distances away but only about a mile longer than if you stayed in the downtown hotels. I believe that the airport bus will stop at your hotel.

Cheers

Dennis

Thanks, Dennis -

We are looking into flights now and realize that to take full advantage of our frequent flyer miles, we would need to fly out of Seattle, not Vancouver. So, do you have suggestions for getting to Seattle other than renting a car or flying? What do you know about train or bus/coach travel between the two cities?

Thanks so much - I appreciate your help!