Vancouver Hotels

Although the 2010 Winter Olympics spurred enough construction to change the face of Vancouver in just a handful of years, the city has managed to retain, and make the most of, some of its defining characteristics. For example, Vancouver is an extremely outdoorsy community, so hotel amenities can sometimes include free bicycles and free ski storage, and many hotel concierges can put you in contact with hiking and running groups who welcome visitors.

The city is also extremely pet friendly, especially when it comes to dogs, as evidenced by the number of dog-friendly services in hotels and around town—specialty dog delis (we're talking all-natural dog cookies, not hot dogs), doggie beaches (Ambleside in West Vancouver being the top one), special dog stay overs (www.petsinthecity.ca), and the packs of dogs you'll see parked outside a Starbucks while the professional walker grabs a java. Not only can you bring your pet with you to many of these properties, some even let you borrow their dog for a walk (check out the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, for instance).

The local penchant for living a healthy lifestyle has also given rise to some top-quality spas, the scope of which reflects the cultural mosaic of the city: services covering the spectrum of indigenous practices from, say, Hawaiian Lomi Lomi to therapies incorporating Traditional Chinese Medicine, European treatments, and everything in between. In the hotel industry, it's become a question of "have a spa or lose a guest," and Vancouver hotels have certainly risen to the challenge.

Hotels with a water view are coveted and book up well in advance, as do some of the heritage B&Bs you'll find in the more fashionable neighborhoods, like the West End.