Vancouver hotel stay

[SilkySal]

Blue Horizon gets a lot of love on the boards. The location is pretty good - very good for the North Shore attractions and Stanley Park (there are bus stops outside the hotel for the HOHOs and the Grouse/Capilano shuttles).

 

I would not say it's close to walking distance, certainly not with luggage, to Pacific Central Station (where Amtrak leaves from) - but I'd be shocked if a cab was over $10 at c. 5:30am Sunday morning.

 

Walkable to Canada Place is dependent on how mobile you are and how easily you can handle your luggage - all the streets have good wide sidewalks, it's a net downhill slope to the pier, distance approx. 1.3km/0.8 miles so by most folks standards it's very walkable. If you're feeling lazy though a cab will be $7-8.

 

As to Laundry, I can't think of any self-service laundrettes nearby - Robson is a high-rent area so all the residential buildings have their own laundry room if not en-suite washer/dryers. There are a few dry cleaners not too far away; those usually offer some sort of wash'n'fold service as well as actual dry cleaning. Nearest is probably Fast Iron a couple of blocks away. I'm sure the hotel also offers a laundry service.

 

Edit - Brainfart! I forgot a local-to-me laundry that offers free pickup & delivery to downtown hotels. Launder Clean Center on Main. I can't confirm how flexible their pickup/delivery times are, but you could give them a call to compare with the hotel rates...

 

Thanks for the great info Martin! Depending on how tired we feel, sounds like we may walk to the hotel but will definitely ask the hotel desk to call a cab for the ride to Amtrak!! We won't have a lot of luggage, each having 1 personal item plus a rolling carry-on, and possibly 1 shared garment bag. Now I just hope we can crawl out of bed early on Sunday to catch the train to Seattle!:eek: Our son from San Fran plans to meet us in Seattle, so that's our motivation! Thanks again for your help!;)

[europe14]

Hi, We will also be spending one night in Vancouver before our cruise in September. So, will the Skytrain take you directly from the airport to the downtown hotels? If so, would you be able to get off within a block or so of most of the hotels? My husband has trouble walking long distances. Thanks for any information. It seems like that would be an inexpensive and easy way to get from the airport to a downtown hotel if I am reading this correctly. Thanks.

[Aegis1984]

Hi, We will also be spending one night in Vancouver before our cruise in September. So, will the Skytrain take you directly from the airport to the downtown hotels? If so, would you be able to get off within a block or so of most of the hotels? My husband has trouble walking long distances. Thanks for any information. It seems like that would be an inexpensive and easy way to get from the airport to a downtown hotel if I am reading this correctly. Thanks.

 

You betcha, it will! Of course, it depends on which hotel you stay at. The Canada line goes from the Airport to the waterfront. Along the way, it will stop at the River Rock Casino and Hotel, which is a great venue if you so desire. At the terminus station, there are a couple ways about getting to the cruise terminal and hotels.

 

One of which is to follow the flow of people through the hallway to the escalator/elevator. Follow the signs to the Sea Bus/Expo Line/Millennium line(?) through the large open hall. You will be turning left. You'll see a set of stairs down to the platform for the Expo and Millennium line. Go down, cross the platform and take the set of stairs at the other end. You'll hang a right, go up some stairs and you will emerge right at the cruise terminal, Canada Place and the appropriate hotels.

[martincath]

As mentioned above, there are plenty of downtown hotels close to Skytrain stations - but very few within just a block or two.

 

If your hubby has trouble with more than a couple of blocks walking, especially with suitcases to handle, take a cab from outside a Skytrain station - every downtown hotel is within a single-digit cab fare of a station, which would still save $ compared to taking a cab all the way from the airport.

[FirstCruiseBeth]

Hope you don't mind me jumping into this thread here.

 

Thanks Aegis for your really clear directions. We hope to use the Skytrain from the airport to Waterfront to get to the Pan Pacific the night before our cruise in June but you mention quite a few stairs. We'll have a large suitcase each. Are there elevators too?

 

Thanks

Beth

[martincath]

Hope you don't mind me jumping into this thread here.

 

Thanks Aegis for your really clear directions. We hope to use the Skytrain from the airport to Waterfront to get to the Pan Pacific the night before our cruise in June but you mention quite a few stairs. We'll have a large suitcase each. Are there elevators too?

 

Thanks

Beth

Escalators and elevators (but don't you mean lifts, fellow Scot?) - it's not a problem handling large suitcases on the Canada Line.

[europe14]

Thanks so much for all the information. Good tips. :)

[Mr_Astro]

Thanks for the great info Martin! Depending on how tired we feel, sounds like we may walk to the hotel but will definitely ask the hotel desk to call a cab for the ride to Amtrak!! We won't have a lot of luggage, each having 1 personal item plus a rolling carry-on, and possibly 1 shared garment bag. Now I just hope we can crawl out of bed early on Sunday to catch the train to Seattle!:eek: Our son from San Fran plans to meet us in Seattle, so that's our motivation! Thanks again for your help!;)

The walk to the Amtrak station (Pacific Central Station) from the Blue Horizon is a bit much, depending on how much you walk normally and I'd certainly not tackle it with luggage. The hotel is quite close to everything else, however.

Enjoy your stay. Have a great train ride, it's lots of fun (if you like trains).

[Urban trekker]

Two hotels that you can access from the Canada Line are the St Regis and the Four Seasons - they are both adjacent to Pacific Center mall and the Vancouver Centre station.

 

Another one is the Opus which is across the street from the Yaletown Station.

 

As other have posted - Downtown Vancouver is quite compact so you will not be far from a station or a short cab ride from one - perhaps tell us which hotels you are considering and us locals will chime in with our thoughts.

 

Hope this helps answer your question.

 

Cheers!

 

Dennis

[Aegis1984]

It's hard to draw a map when you only have Google Earth to work with but I'll give it my best shot to clarify a bit more.

 

You'll find that the Canada Line Skytrain is underground for the majority of the route. Shortly after Marine Drive station (after the River Rock Casino) it will go underground and you'll have a number of stops before reaching the waterfront.

 

 

Once you get to the waterfront, the big hall is in the building circled in purple. As you follow the directions, you'll wind up at street level where the red star is. Alternatively, you can bypass the route I gave, go out to the street and follow it to the same spot. Your call entirely. :)

 

The blue line that goes into Canada Place is the route you would take to get to the cruise terminal. Note that it is a vehicle ramp down, with a sidewalk on the left hand side. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe there are elevators inside Canada Place that would allow you to skip walking down the ramp, especially if members of your party are not as physically capable.

 

The orange line is in front of the Fairmont Waterfront, the green line is in front of the Vancouver visitor centre, and after that is the Fairmont Pacific Rim. Of note, just to the left of the building with the green, grassy roof in the image, you will find the Olympic Cauldron from the 2010 Olympics.

 

Also, here's the google earth link to the general area so you can use streetview and play around with it too. Just a note, there is a subterranean roadway so you may accidentally see what's below.

 

https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Vancouver,+BC/@49.286777,-123.1127513,755m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x548673f143a94fb3:0xbb9196ea9b81f38b

 

Also, in my experience, HAL ships tend to be on one of two berths on the North side of Canada place. Not sure which ship that is on Google Earth but it appears to be RCI.

Edited February 19, 2014 by Aegis1984

[SilkySal]

The walk to the Amtrak station (Pacific Central Station) from the Blue Horizon is a bit much, depending on how much you walk normally and I'd certainly not tackle it with luggage. The hotel is quite close to everything else, however.

Enjoy your stay. Have a great train ride, it's lots of fun (if you like trains).

 

Thanks and will have the hotel call us a taxi to take us to Amtrak! And, yes, I really enjoy train rides!!!!:cool: We've talked about taking a month (after DH retires, if he ever does) to see the northwest exclusively by train but, for now, we're hooked on cruising 1-2 weeks at a time!:D We, along with a group of friends, rode motorcycles up into Canada a couple of years ago (but, sad to say, not very far) from Indiana through Michigan and the air up there is so fresh and I loved the pine tree smell while riding on the bike!!;) Would love to explore more of Canada some day! Thanks again!

[Putterdude]

I have been racking my brain re hotels close to Canada Line stations and other than the ones noted in other posts there is of course the Pan Pacific, the Fairmont Waterfront, the Auberege (the former Tower at the Terminal City Club) and the Delta Suites...the Delta being the closer. I am not certain of the wisdom of taking the Canada Line and then taking a cab; by the time a couple has paid the $9 fare and then another $10 for a cab fare they are at $28 about a $7 saving over a cab and they will have the privilege of waiting for a cab at a Canada Line station as there are no cab lines at the stations. IMO a person with mobility issues would be further ahead to focus on the price of a conveniently located hotel and take a cab. As for handling luggage within the stations, I agree that is not a problem.

[FirstCruiseBeth]

Thanks for your reply Martincath (of course you're right about the lifts!) :)

[Mr_Astro]

I have been racking my brain re hotels close to Canada Line stations and other than the ones noted in other posts there is of course the Pan Pacific, the Fairmont Waterfront, the Auberege (the former Tower at the Terminal City Club) and the Delta Suites...the Delta being the closer. I am not certain of the wisdom of taking the Canada Line and then taking a cab; by the time a couple has paid the $9 fare and then another $10 for a cab fare they are at $28 about a $7 saving over a cab and they will have the privilege of waiting for a cab at a Canada Line station as there are no cab lines at the stations. IMO a person with mobility issues would be further ahead to focus on the price of a conveniently located hotel and take a cab. As for handling luggage within the stations, I agree that is not a problem.

 

If you get off the C.L. @ Yaletown Station, just uphill a half block, or so, is the OPUS hotel a very nice boutique hotel. it has location going for it in spades. The hotel is two stops from the Cruise Terminal right in the middle of Yaletown, a newer part of downtown, along the north side of False Creek. Super good yummie restaurants nearby (including the Twisted Fork on Granville St.).

 

Have a grand time in YVR. I hope I bump into you.

David

[marymorn513]

You betcha, it will! Of course, it depends on which hotel you stay at. The Canada line goes from the Airport to the waterfront. Along the way, it will stop at the River Rock Casino and Hotel, which is a great venue if you so desire. At the terminus station, there are a couple ways about getting to the cruise terminal and hotels.

 

One of which is to follow the flow of people through the hallway to the escalator/elevator. Follow the signs to the Sea Bus/Expo Line/Millennium line(?) through the large open hall. You will be turning left. You'll see a set of stairs down to the platform for the Expo and Millennium line. Go down, cross the platform and take the set of stairs at the other end. You'll hang a right, go up some stairs and you will emerge right at the cruise terminal, Canada Place and the appropriate hotels.

 

We will be arriving from our cruise on 07/07/14 and have booked a room at the Radisson Airport. Can we get there easily from the dock by Skytrain?

[martincath]

We will be arriving from our cruise on 07/07/14 and have booked a room at the Radisson Airport. Can we get there easily from the dock by Skytrain?

If you can handle your own bags to the Skytrain from the pier, you won't have any trouble on the other end - Aberdeen station is closer to the hotel than Waterfront is to the pier. Map of route here.

[Putterdude]

We will be arriving from our cruise on 07/07/14 and have booked a room at the Radisson Airport. Can we get there easily from the dock by Skytrain?

 

 

Yes, as long as you have reasonable mobility and can handle your own luggage it is pretty simple. You have a short half block walk to the Aberdeen Canada Line station (northbound) and you take the line to Waterfront Station which will put you about 3 blocks from the Canada Place cruise terminal.

[scottbee]

It's hard to draw a map when you only have Google Earth to work with but I'll give it my best shot to clarify a bit more.

 

You'll find that the Canada Line Skytrain is underground for the majority of the route. Shortly after Marine Drive station (after the River Rock Casino) it will go underground and you'll have a number of stops before reaching the waterfront.

 

 

Once you get to the waterfront, the big hall is in the building circled in purple. As you follow the directions, you'll wind up at street level where the red star is. Alternatively, you can bypass the route I gave, go out to the street and follow it to the same spot. Your call entirely. :)

 

The blue line that goes into Canada Place is the route you would take to get to the cruise terminal. Note that it is a vehicle ramp down, with a sidewalk on the left hand side. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe there are elevators inside Canada Place that would allow you to skip walking down the ramp, especially if members of your party are not as physically capable.

 

The orange line is in front of the Fairmont Waterfront, the green line is in front of the Vancouver visitor centre, and after that is the Fairmont Pacific Rim. Of note, just to the left of the building with the green, grassy roof in the image, you will find the Olympic Cauldron from the 2010 Olympics.

 

Also, here's the google earth link to the general area so you can use streetview and play around with it too. Just a note, there is a subterranean roadway so you may accidentally see what's below.

 

https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Vancouver,+BC/@49.286777,-123.1127513,755m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x548673f143a94fb3:0xbb9196ea9b81f38b

 

Also, in my experience, HAL ships tend to be on one of two berths on the North side of Canada place. Not sure which ship that is on Google Earth but it appears to be RCI.

 

This is incorrect.

You will only arrive at the Red Star (The Howe St exit of Waterfront) if you have taken either the Expo or Millenium Line Skytrain lines.

 

Otherwise you'll simply end up on Cordova outside the station (turn right out of the station; walk two blocks on Cordova; turn right Canada Place is one block in front of you)

 

However, not mentioned, and an easier walk (downhill instead of uphill) is exit the Canada Line right on the platform (don't walk down the tunnel/hallway into the station itself), there is a sign "Way Out - Granville Street" which puts you at the corner of Granville and W.Hastings. Turn Left onto W.Hastings walk one block, turn right onto Howe and Canada Place is right there.

[Aegis1984]

We will be arriving from our cruise on 07/07/14 and have booked a room at the Radisson Airport. Can we get there easily from the dock by Skytrain?

 

You bet you can! There are two trains that go on that route and they alternate. One is to Richmond-YVR, and the other Richmond-Brighouse. They travel along the exact same route until you get to the Bridgeport station. As the name suggests, one forks off to the airport, the other to a different location.

 

You asked if you can get to your hotel by Skytrain and the answer is most definitely yes. You can take either train all the way from the waterfront to Bridgeport station (River Rock Casino and hotel), but you will want to be on the Richmond-Brighouse train to get to the Radisson. You'd get off at the next stop, Aberdeen, and backtrack a little bit, crossing Cambie to get to the Radisson.

 

https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Radisson+Hotel+Vancouver+Airport/@49.1848093,-123.1354529,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x5486752648b24ff1:0x576c46128ab5e598

 

This is incorrect.

You will only arrive at the Red Star (The Howe St exit of Waterfront) if you have taken either the Expo or Millenium Line Skytrain lines.

 

Otherwise you'll simply end up on Cordova outside the station (turn right out of the station; walk two blocks on Cordova; turn right Canada Place is one block in front of you)

 

However, not mentioned, and an easier walk (downhill instead of uphill) is exit the Canada Line right on the platform (don't walk down the tunnel/hallway into the station itself), there is a sign "Way Out - Granville Street" which puts you at the corner of Granville and W.Hastings. Turn Left onto W.Hastings walk one block, turn right onto Howe and Canada Place is right there.

 

No disrespect intended but the previous directions I gave suggested crossing the Expo/Millennium line platform to get at the red star. If it was unclear, that was my error but it was not my intent to suggest you would emerge from the Canada line at that location.

Edited February 21, 2014 by Aegis1984

[scottbee]

You bet you can! There are two trains that go on that route and they alternate. One is to Richmond-YVR, and the other Richmond-Brighouse. They travel along the exact same route until you get to the Bridgeport station. As the name suggests, one forks off to the airport, the other to a different location.

 

You asked if you can get to your hotel by Skytrain and the answer is most definitely yes. You can take either train all the way from the waterfront to Bridgeport station (River Rock Casino and hotel), but you will want to be on the Richmond-Brighouse train to get to the Radisson. You'd get off at the next stop, Aberdeen, and backtrack a little bit, crossing Cambie to get to the Radisson.

 

https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Radisson+Hotel+Vancouver+Airport/@49.1848093,-123.1354529,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x5486752648b24ff1:0x576c46128ab5e598

 

 

 

No disrespect intended but the previous directions I gave suggested crossing the Expo/Millennium line platform to get at the red star. If it was unclear, that was my error but it was not my intent to suggest you would emerge from the Canada line at that location.

 

As I mentioned, the best way from Canada Line (from the Airport) to the Canada Place is to get off using the granville street exit, and walk along W.Hastings, and Howe to Canada Place. No need to enter Waterfront Station at all.

 

Your suggestion (of doubling back along the expo/millenium platforms) would involve 4 sets of escalators, or 2 sets of elevators plus 2 escalators, vs one elevator ride to street level, followed by a shorter walk.

[phnett]

what is the best train route then to get from Aiport to the Fairmont Waterfront?

[martincath]

what is the best train route then to get from Aiport to the Fairmont Waterfront?

There's really only one train route - the Canada Line all the way to its terminus at Waterfront. While you could get off at an earlier station, or even transfer to a different Skytrain line, it would just eat up time with no benefit.

 

Easiest way to get to the Waterfront from the station is to follow SBs note above (exit onto Granville, then walk a very short & level route along to the hotel) - the map Aegis posted shows the hotel well, and if the weather is horrible you could use his notes to minimise your time outdoors to come out at the red star, where you just need to cross the road and you're at the Waterfront (at the expense of more walking around inside).

[cruiser willy]

What a great thread! Thank you all for your many helpful posts!

I'm hoping that someone might confirm what I think I learned in here.

 

We're flying into Vancouver on 9/22 pre-cruise....landing at 5:10pm....and planning to spend one night prior to our 9/22 Hawaii sailing on the Solstice.

 

From what I'm reading, it seems like the most convenient (although perhaps not the most economical) plan would be to book a room at the Pan Pacific Hotel and take the SkyTrain (Canadian/Blue Line) directly from the airport to the cruise port where it seems like the Pan Pacific is located (same building?) and we'll hopefully be close to some evening attractions (dining, shopping, strolling) and obviously very easy onto the ship the next day........right?

 

I appreciate any confirmation!

Cheers!

[DaveOKC]

What a great thread! Thank you all for your many helpful posts!

I'm hoping that someone might confirm what I think I learned in here.

 

We're flying into Vancouver on 9/22 pre-cruise....landing at 5:10pm....and planning to spend one night prior to our 9/22 Hawaii sailing on the Solstice.

 

From what I'm reading, it seems like the most convenient (although perhaps not the most economical) plan would be to book a room at the Pan Pacific Hotel and take the SkyTrain (Canadian/Blue Line) directly from the airport to the cruise port where it seems like the Pan Pacific is located (same building?) and we'll hopefully be close to some evening attractions (dining, shopping, strolling) and obviously very easy onto the ship the next day........right?

 

You are correct - the hotel is right on the same pier as the ship and your room could be looking directly onto it. In the morning the bellman can take your bags right from your room and put them onboard for you! The next time you will see them will be in your cabin.

 

There are a number of dining and a few tourist options right within walking distance of your hotel.

[cruiser willy]

Many thanks, Dave.