Hotel in Vancouver

We are flying into Vancouver the night before the cruise and wondering the best place to stay. Thanks!

"Best" defined how? 5 star? Cheapest? Location? As I recall there is a hotel right in the cruise terminal. All it takes is a little looking around.

If you look around, there are some threads here on Vancouver hotels (even though Vancouver is not in Alaska) and there are MANY more threads on the West Coast Departures board, here:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=413

I have to agree with Bruce that 'best' is too subjective a term - without knowing what your prioritise, value, and don't care about it's very difficult to give a 'best' suggestion. Key elements about the local hotel scene though, so you have a better understanding to ask a more detailed question/research yourself:

• the pier is in the heart of the downtown core, not out in the wilds - ANY downtown hotel will be at most a $10-15 cab ride away and many are very walkable.
  
• downtown is in general more expensive than across the water (in North Vancouver - a different city) or out by the airport.
  
• virtually all the main tourist sites are in the downtown core, or have shuttles from the downtown core - so any cheaper area means you have to a) lose time and b) lose some of the saved $ by coming downtown to do touristy things.
  
• If you don't mind using public transit you can almost ignore b) above, but if you're the kind of folks who will only take cabs then staying anywhere but downtown is sheer madness - a taxi to or from airport hotels or north shore hotels will run you $30-40 each way, so a single return trip means you probably lost all your saved money and wasted an hour of your time
  
• there are some exceptions (YWCA Hotel, Victorian Hotel) but in general any downtown hotel that looks really cheap compared to others means steer clear - some of our literal flea-pit SROs (long-stay single room accommodation, one step up from homelessness) rent a few rooms online, and because they have the word 'hotel' in their name they can show up on Google searches. The Patricia even sells via Expedia. If it's not a chain hotel, always check reviews - and a pretty good rule of thumb is that any Vancouver street with East at the beginning means the hotel is in a dodgy nieghbourhood
  
• there are two other cities (West and North Vancouver) as well as neighbourhoods (West Van, East Van, the West End) with similar names - before booking any hotel plug the address into a map to check you have the correct one! We have multiple Pinnacle, Best Western, Holiday Inns & Ramadas for example.
  

any recommendations for parking a car near the port while on the cruise?

We like the Pan Pacific hotel.

It is right at the pier.

It is convenient and a very nice hotel.

Check out Trip Advisor for recommendations for hotels.

Keith

any recommendations for parking a car near the port while on the cruise?

My recommendation is simple - don't do it! Downtown hotels with 'park & cruise' rates seem to have all disappeared since Coast closed their older hotel late last year, which means the only remotely-secure parking option is at the pier itself. Public parking lots are all over downtown, some allow long-term stays but aren't much less than the pier generally, and car break-ins are one of Vancouver's most popular urban activities.

You will pay a little over half the rate of pier parking to use long-term parking at the airport, and if you come downtown to drop your stuff and all other pax than the driver, it's a whopping $8.10 or less for the driver to get back to the pier on SkyTrain.

Of course, if ~$25 a day for parking seems reasonable value to you by all means park at the pier, as the convenience factor is super-high (you are literally above the terminal, just take an elevator downstairs to start boarding).

. Key elements about the local hotel scene though, so you have a better understanding to ask a more detailed question/research yourself:

Wow, that's a lot of really helpful information! I'm saving your tips myself for the future as we'll be looking for a pre-cruise Vancouver hotel in 2019.

Thank you!

We fly into Vancouver at 10 am the day before our cruise. I booked us at the Days Inn Downtown, which according to google maps is about a 6 minute walk to the cruise terminal. For $262 American, I thought this was a great price, as some closer hotels (but how much closer can you get than a 6 minute walk?), were upwards of $500.

"Best" defined how? 5 star? Cheapest? Location? As I recall there is a hotel right in the cruise terminal. All it takes is a little looking around.

 

If you look around, there are some threads here on Vancouver hotels (even though Vancouver is not in Alaska) and there are MANY more threads on the West Coast Departures board, here:

 

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=413

Good point. I would like a reasonable, but decent, hotel. Also would like easy transport to hotel from airport and to port for Proncess cruise in May (not against walking from hotel). Thanks!

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I have to agree with Bruce that 'best' is too subjective a term - without knowing what your prioritise, value, and don't care about it's very difficult to give a 'best' suggestion. Key elements about the local hotel scene though, so you have a better understanding to ask a more detailed question/research yourself:

 

• the pier is in the heart of the downtown core, not out in the wilds - ANY downtown hotel will be at most a $10-15 cab ride away and many are very walkable.
  
• downtown is in general more expensive than across the water (in North Vancouver - a different city) or out by the airport.
  
• virtually all the main tourist sites are in the downtown core, or have shuttles from the downtown core - so any cheaper area means you have to a) lose time and b) lose some of the saved $ by coming downtown to do touristy things.
  
• If you don't mind using public transit you can almost ignore b) above, but if you're the kind of folks who will only take cabs then staying anywhere but downtown is sheer madness - a taxi to or from airport hotels or north shore hotels will run you $30-40 each way, so a single return trip means you probably lost all your saved money and wasted an hour of your time
  
• there are some exceptions (YWCA Hotel, Victorian Hotel) but in general any downtown hotel that looks really cheap compared to others means steer clear - some of our literal flea-pit SROs (long-stay single room accommodation, one step up from homelessness) rent a few rooms online, and because they have the word 'hotel' in their name they can show up on Google searches. The Patricia even sells via Expedia. If it's not a chain hotel, always check reviews - and a pretty good rule of thumb is that any Vancouver street with East at the beginning means the hotel is in a dodgy nieghbourhood
  
• there are two other cities (West and North Vancouver) as well as neighbourhoods (West Van, East Van, the West End) with similar names - before booking any hotel plug the address into a map to check you have the correct one! We have multiple Pinnacle, Best Western, Holiday Inns & Ramadas for example.
  

Thank you for all of the information! I was definitely too vague in requesting information on best hotels. I would like to have easy access from the airport to the hotel, possibly a shuttle. But would also like to have most simple way to get from hotel to Port, but I am not against walking a reasonable distance. It looks like I have a lot to consider. Thank you again!

Good point. I would like a reasonable, but decent, hotel. Also would like easy transport to hotel from airport and to port for Proncess cruise in May (not against walking from hotel). Thanks!

 

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We've stayed at the Hampton Inn (Robson Street) twice and found it reasonable (at least compared with the Pan Pacific and Fairmont, etc. :D). The location is walkable and convenient to restaurants. Breakfast is included as was a free shuttle (sign up when you check in) to Canada Place. We wouldn't hesitate to stay there again.

Thank you for all of the information! I was definitely too vague in requesting information on best hotels. I would like to have easy access from the airport to the hotel, possibly a shuttle. But would also like to have most simple way to get from hotel to Port, but I am not against walking a reasonable distance. It looks like I have a lot to consider. Thank you again!

Only hotels with shuttles from the airport are airport hotels. That places them ~10 miles from the pier. The only local independent shuttle company folded a while ago, but seems to have been replaced as some suburban hotels will sell you a package including a shuttle to the pier.

If it's literally the night before - i.e. too late to go sightseeing, you just want a bed for the night - then an airport hotel can be a very viable option. They all have free shuttles from YVR, so you only have to worry about getting downtown next day for the cruise. Cabs are metered from everywhere except the airport, so usually the cheapest/always the easiest to budget for is to assume you will take the hotel shuttle back to YVR next morning, then get in a cab. That's $35 fixed rate to the pier (+tip, so CAD$40 would be the norm). Some downtown hotels offer a 'free' shuttle that will drop you somewhere downtown, including the pier - but TANSTAAFL applies. Compare price with hotels of same standard not offering shuttle, and you'll see that the 'free' shuttle which has very limited availability usually costs you a lot more than your own cab at whatever time you want it!

Even if your flight is very late though, I'd still always recommend a downtown hotel - firstly the travel time may be even shorter than to an airport hotel (the shuttles rarely run more than every 30mins for those so you could have up to 30min wait time plus a 5-15min drive compared to hopping right into a cab and being downtown in 30mins as there's no traffic late at night). Secondly with a downtown hotel it makes it easier to actually do something next morning - leave your bags in the hotel, go sightseeing, come back for the bags and board the ship after 2pm which means low chance of long queues to embark, a nice full morning of Doing Something, and a decent lunch ashore pre-boarding.

The other downside of airport hotels is what to do with your bags - if you arrive at the pier too early (longshoremen officially don't start accepting bags for loading until between 10 & 10:30am) you'll have to pay to store your bags if you want to go somewhere. With many of our most popular sights free and ungated, you could start your touring as soon as the sun rises - but if you're bringing bags from the airport you realistically can't get going before 10am unless you pay extra, eating into the savings you made by staying out in the 'burbs, or waste an awful lot of your morning on an extra round trip to go back for your bags. If you're the kind of folks who just want to get on board ASAP this angle won't be relevant - but even a half-day of sightseeing is worthwhile IMO when you're in one the most livable and beautiful cities on the planet.

The only hotel I've personally stayed in locally is the YWCA - which is even cheaper than any airport hotel, clean, safe, and well-located for walking around the city. There is simply no better value for money option anywhere in the region for a simple no-frills room for the night. Given where we live there's simply no need for us to ever stay in a hotel in the city, so I can only point you to reviews from fellow travelers for the quality of bedding/soundproofing/maid service side of things rather than location. Tripadvisor is a much more productive venue than CC for that - but even better IMO is to double-check on Expedia or other sites that only allow reviews after a confirmed stay as these almost entirely remove the risk of fake reviews.

Only hotels with shuttles from the airport are airport hotels. That places them ~10 miles from the pier. The only local independent shuttle company folded a while ago, but seems to have been replaced as some suburban hotels will sell you a package including a shuttle to the pier.

 

If it's literally the night before - i.e. too late to go sightseeing, you just want a bed for the night - then an airport hotel can be a very viable option. They all have free shuttles from YVR, so you only have to worry about getting downtown next day for the cruise. Cabs are metered from everywhere except the airport, so usually the cheapest/always the easiest to budget for is to assume you will take the hotel shuttle back to YVR next morning, then get in a cab. That's $35 fixed rate to the pier (+tip, so CAD$40 would be the norm). Some downtown hotels offer a 'free' shuttle that will drop you somewhere downtown, including the pier - but TANSTAAFL applies. Compare price with hotels of same standard not offering shuttle, and you'll see that the 'free' shuttle which has very limited availability usually costs you a lot more than your own cab at whatever time you want it!

 

 

Even if your flight is very late though, I'd still always recommend a downtown hotel - firstly the travel time may be even shorter than to an airport hotel (the shuttles rarely run more than every 30mins for those so you could have up to 30min wait time plus a 5-15min drive compared to hopping right into a cab and being downtown in 30mins as there's no traffic late at night). Secondly with a downtown hotel it makes it easier to actually do something next morning - leave your bags in the hotel, go sightseeing, come back for the bags and board the ship after 2pm which means low chance of long queues to embark, a nice full morning of Doing Something, and a decent lunch ashore pre-boarding.

 

 

The other downside of airport hotels is what to do with your bags - if you arrive at the pier too early (longshoremen officially don't start accepting bags for loading until between 10 & 10:30am) you'll have to pay to store your bags if you want to go somewhere. With many of our most popular sights free and ungated, you could start your touring as soon as the sun rises - but if you're bringing bags from the airport you realistically can't get going before 10am unless you pay extra, eating into the savings you made by staying out in the 'burbs, or waste an awful lot of your morning on an extra round trip to go back for your bags. If you're the kind of folks who just want to get on board ASAP this angle won't be relevant - but even a half-day of sightseeing is worthwhile IMO when you're in one the most livable and beautiful cities on the planet.

 

 

The only hotel I've personally stayed in locally is the YWCA - which is even cheaper than any airport hotel, clean, safe, and well-located for walking around the city. There is simply no better value for money option anywhere in the region for a simple no-frills room for the night. Given where we live there's simply no need for us to ever stay in a hotel in the city, so I can only point you to reviews from fellow travelers for the quality of bedding/soundproofing/maid service side of things rather than location. Tripadvisor is a much more productive venue than CC for that - but even better IMO is to double-check on Expedia or other sites that only allow reviews after a confirmed stay as these almost entirely remove the risk of fake reviews.

Thinking about staying at Pinnacle Harborfront. Our flight gets in around 9 pm the night before. Do you think I should reconsider and find somewhere else to stay, possibly downtown? Thanks for your feedback!

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We've stayed at the Hampton Inn (Robson Street) twice and found it reasonable (at least compared with the Pan Pacific and Fairmont, etc. :D). The location is walkable and convenient to restaurants. Breakfast is included as was a free shuttle (sign up when you check in) to Canada Place. We wouldn't hesitate to stay there again.

Is it close to the cruise port?

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Thinking about staying at Pinnacle Harborfront. Our flight gets in around 9 pm the night before. Do you think I should reconsider and find somewhere else to stay, possibly downtown? Thanks for your feedback!

Is it close to the cruise port?

You'd help yourself a lot if you made use of Google maps (or Bing, Apple etc - they've all got the geography just fine for hotel location in major cities these days).

Pinnacle Harbourfront is downtown, and as the name suggests pretty close to the harbour (i.e. an easy walk to the pier); Hampton is almost exactly a mile away so also walkable if you can handle trundling your bags that far. Since you'd already have paid for the 'free' Hampton shuttle it would be worth checking if there are seats on it available at the time you want to go to the pier (they only have one minibus, first-come first-served as I understand it, so there may or may not be a useful 'pier run' for you - since you're checking in late other folks staying will have had hours to book the shuttle before you arrive...)

Is it close to the cruise port?

 

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We stayed at this Hampton last July. They provide a free shuttle to the port. It took less than 10 minutes to get to the port.

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Is it close to the cruise port?

 

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It is 1 mile from the Hampton Inn to Canada Place (the cruise port). Walking takes about 20 minutes. The hotel shuttle takes 7 minutes according to google maps. If you have time for sightseeing, you can catch the Hop On/Hop Off bus right around the corner.

We fly into Vancouver at 10 am the day before our cruise. I booked us at the Days Inn Downtown, which according to google maps is about a 6 minute walk to the cruise terminal.

Check online reviews for potential issues... https://www.expedia.com/Vancouver-Hotels-Days-Inn-Vancouver-Downtown.h22179.Hotel-Information

Blue Horizon is a much longer walk.... but the better sleep was worth it.

Hope you are not staying on a Friday or Saturday night. The adjacent bar can have loud music til 3am. That loud bass radiates through the hotel walls. Yah, the price was great.

 

Check online reviews for potential issues... https://www.expedia.com/Vancouver-Hotels-Days-Inn-Vancouver-Downtown.h22179.Hotel-Information

 

Blue Horizon is a much longer walk.... but the better sleep was worth it.

We’re staying on a Thursday night so hopefully not too bad. Though we’ve slept through worse than loud bar music so we’ll be fine for one night.

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