Vancouver hotel question

[CTKath]

Staying in Vancouver for 2 nights post cruise. The Fairmont Waterfront or the Wedgewood Hotel & Spa?

 

Thanks.

[Urban trekker]

That's a tough one to call as both hotels are near the top of the list in star ratings.

 

It might depend more on what you have planned for your time in Vancouver - the Waterfront is located across the street from the cruise terminal and is the key loading point for the shuttles to Capilano Bridge and Grouse Mountain.

 

The Wedgewood is located in the heart of the downtown core - closer to Robson and Alberni Streets and there high end shops etc.

 

I am sure the other locals will be along with there suggestions but if you give us an idea on what you want to do and also the dates you are going to be in Vancouver it would help us advise you.

 

Edit: I see from your signature you will be here late May.

 

Hope this helps in getting you started.

 

Cheers!

 

Dennis

Edited December 9, 2016 by Urban trekker

[martincath]

Not much to add to Dennis' reply except is to note that, in case you're unfamiliar with Vancouver, the actual difference in location is small - less than a kilometre or 10-12mins walk. We have a very compact downtown core.

 

If you planned to walk a lot you'd be closer to English Bay, Yaletown, Granville Island at the Wedgewood; Gastown and obviously the pier are closer to the Waterfront; Chinatown, Stanley Park pretty much a wash.

 

I'd give the edge on restos to the Wedgewood - both in-house and what your options are within 5-10mins walk. Greater range in price and quality options compared to Waterfront - although with 2 days/~6 meals you would not run out of dining options close to the latter either.

[xlxo]

Looking at booking.com in USD for two nights for rate comparison on May 28 to 30, 2017....

 

• $557 Wedgewood
  
• $936 Fairmont Waterfront
   
   
  
• $346 Blue Horizon
  
• $439 Sutton Place
  
• $482 Westin Bayshore
  
• $528 Wall Centre
  
• $539 Pan Pacific
  

 

Thoughts....

• I like Waterfront for subways
  
• I like Wedgewood for price savings on a multi day stay
  
• I like that Pan Pacific price if I wanted to stay above the cruise terminal
  
• I like the Blue Horizon price for budget travellers
  

[Keith1010]

Of the two I would recommend the Fairmont.

 

I would also look at the Pan Pacific on their concierge floor.

 

I thought there service was one of the finest levels of almost any hotel we stayed at.

 

That even included the manager of the bellhops who came to our room the morning we were checking out to collect our luggage as we were having the hotel send it over to the ship. Of course, the Fairmont will do that for you too.

 

We stayed there this past August.

 

Keith

[rkkunk]

Does anyone have info on the L'Hermitage? It looks to be very nice for a good price.

What would be the best way to get to the hotel? We were thinking the train from the airport and then just walking to the hotel. There are 3 of us. Our son is 15. We will be traveling on a Monday arriving to the airport before noon. Will we look funny lugging our luggage to the hotel?

Sorry, don't mean to hijack the thread!

 

 

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Edited January 31, 2017 by rkkunk

[martincath]

Does anyone have info on the L'Hermitage? It looks to be very nice for a good price.

What would be the best way to get to the hotel? We were thinking the train from the airport and then just walking to the hotel. There are 3 of us. Our son is 15. We will be traveling on a Monday arriving to the airport before noon. Will we look funny lugging our luggage to the hotel?

Sorry, don't mean to hijack the thread!

It's justifiably right at the top of local rankings consistently - living downtown I don't stay in hotels, but many of my wife's colleagues and clients who visit stay in L'Hermitage. Fabulous roof pool, and the finest breakfast in the city downstairs in Medina. Definitely an easy walk from City Centre Station on the Canada Line, although you may want to consider a cab due to the inbound AddFare on SkyTrain.

 

Three of you (all adults as your son is over 13 and not a LOCAL student with a transit student ID card) will pay $27 total, whereas a cab is $31 (+tip). Unless you're going to pootle around on transit enough that a DayPass is worthwhile, the minimal extra spend on a cab is worthwhile IMO - since they went fixed rate you don't need to worry about traffic delays or cabbies getting 'lost' or giving you a 'free sightseeing drive' to jack up the meter!

 

Wheeling luggage along the sidewalk in downtown is a common enough occurrence that it won't make you any more funny-looking than you already do;-)

 

Oh - one L'Herm-specific tip. On cruise morning if you're walking to the pier, plan to go along Robson to Howe rather than going up Richards. The Medina breakfast queue will block most of the sidewalk even if the current building work is finished by the time you're in town, and it's a real bugger to get around the hordes of ravenous foodies even if you aren't wheeling a suitcase.

[rkkunk]

Martincath, thank you so much for the information!

We already have the L'Hermitage booked. It was at the top of the ratings on TripAdvisor and looked very nice in the photos and all of the reviews had only good things to say. I just wasn't sure how far it would be to walk from the train station to the hotel, hotel to Canada Place.

We will probably do a taxi from the airport since the rates are fixed now. When did they fix the rates? We went on a cruise in 2013 and stayed by the airport. The hotel used a taxi service that was supposed to have a fixed rate. The taxi driver proceeded to go a really long way to Canada Place and the fare was much more than the rate that we were told. We reminded the driver of the agreed upon rate, paid him that, and went on our way. I do not want to repeat that experience!

 

 

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[martincath]

Answers in red

I just wasn't sure how far it would be to walk from the train station to the hotel, hotel to Canada Place.

 

As this Google Map shows, not very far at all! Do try to exit the station through the mall onto Robson (or if you can't figure out the signage and end up on Georgia Street, hang a right down Granville or Seymour rather than Richards. The hotel entrance is nearer Robson than Google thinks, and the current roadworks/frequent Medina queues do make walking Richards a hassle on that block.

 

We will probably do a taxi from the airport since the rates are fixed now. When did they fix the rates?

November 2014.

 

We went on a cruise in 2013 and stayed by the airport. The hotel used a taxi service that was supposed to have a fixed rate. The taxi driver proceeded to go a really long way to Canada Place and the fare was much more than the rate that we were told. We reminded the driver of the agreed upon rate, paid him that, and went on our way. I do not want to repeat that experience!

No hotels have access to official fixed rates - they only apply from the airport itself, and even then only for cabs leaving YVR, not returning. It's actually possible that it was the hotel desk minion talking crap about fixed fares rather than a dodgy cabbie! Many airport hotels run closer to $50 on the meter even without excessive traffic - there are serious bottlenecks due to the limited bridge options.

Any deal that a hotel makes with individual cabbies or cab companies is a completely different matter, not something I have ever heard of (but then I don't stay in hotels locally since I live here so it's possible such things are in place).

 

Metered rates are not even ALLOWED from the airport any more since the fixed rate went in - even if you ask. This is to protect the drivers, who get a HUGE increase vs the old metered fare for the areas near the airport - which is supposed to compensate them for all the waiting around in the airport cab staging area after a short ride.

 

Fixed rates to downtown zones are actually very fair compared to metered fares we've paid in the past - the first version had some ridiculous price jumps (4 different rates for each corner of one East Van intersection, so depending exactly where you got out of the cab it could vary by $15!) and even the border streets have been officially clarified so that the lowest zone price always applies regardless of which side of the street - no more Delta/Marriott customers being charged $4 extra!

[rkkunk]

Martincath, again thank you! This is why I love CC, people who are willing to share their wealth of information!

 

 

 

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[CCJack]

It's justifiably right at the top of local rankings consistently - living downtown I don't stay in hotels, but many of my wife's colleagues and clients who visit stay in L'Hermitage. Fabulous roof pool, and the finest breakfast in the city downstairs in Medina. Definitely an easy walk from City Centre Station on the Canada Line, although you may want to consider a cab due to the inbound AddFare on SkyTrain.

 

Three of you (all adults as your son is over 13 and not a LOCAL student with a transit student ID card) will pay $27 total, whereas a cab is $31 (+tip). Unless you're going to pootle around on transit enough that a DayPass is worthwhile, the minimal extra spend on a cab is worthwhile IMO - since they went fixed rate you don't need to worry about traffic delays or cabbies getting 'lost' or giving you a 'free sightseeing drive' to jack up the meter!

 

Wheeling luggage along the sidewalk in downtown is a common enough occurrence that it won't make you any more funny-looking than you already do;-)

 

Oh - one L'Herm-specific tip. On cruise morning if you're walking to the pier, plan to go along Robson to Howe rather than going up Richards. The Medina breakfast queue will block most of the sidewalk even if the current building work is finished by the time you're in town, and it's a real bugger to get around the hordes of ravenous foodies even if you aren't wheeling a suitcase.

 

Yes, we wheeled our luggage from the Pinnacle Hotel to the pier and it was no problem at all. Very easy to navigate around with luggage. On the morning of a cruise, there may be more people with luggage than without on the sidewalks!! Only tricky part was knowing where to go once you are in the pier building. You need to go down a floor from street level. Use elevator in hotel or sidewalk ramp next to the roadway. We scoped it out the day before without luggage since we are not locals and were unfamiliar with the building.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

Looking at booking.com in USD for two nights for rate comparison on May 28 to 30, 2017....

 

• $557 Wedgewood
  
• $936 Fairmont Waterfront
  
• $346 Blue Horizon
  
• $439 Sutton Place
  
• $482 Westin Bayshore
  
• $528 Wall Centre
  
• $539 Pan Pacific
  

 

Thoughts....

• I like Waterfront for subways
  
• I like Wedgewood for price savings on a multi day stay
  
• I like that Pan Pacific price if I wanted to stay above the cruise terminal
  
• I like the Blue Horizon price for budget travellers
  

 

My three favorites are the Fairmont Waterfront, Pan Pacific and Sutton Place, each for different reasons.

 

Off the beaten path, but my parents love the Sylvia.

 

https://sylviahotel.com/

[jenZ]

@scottca075 curious about why you like the Sutton ( get the others!)

 

 

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