Has anyone stayed at this hotel? I'm going to Vancouver in August when Festival Vancouver is on and wanted to be near the concert places (ie, Orpheum). I'm traveling alone and have read online that the area where this hotel is located (Drake and Granville) is not very safe (Rough Guide says that the area around the Granville Bridge is "seedy"). Any feedback would be appreciated,<BR>Thanks,<BR>Karen

granville and drake is not the best place to hang out for a lone female at night. The Drake hotel is just down the road, and is your basic "live in" seedy hotel with strip club. That area of granville street has things like pawn shops and XXX stores. you may want to try another hotel downtown, which is in more of the shopping/trendy area such as the delta pinnicle, the fairmont hotel vancouver, crowne plaze, four seasons etc. These are still within walking distance to orpheum.

As a lone 21 year old female who frequents a club exactly one block over - on Seymour and Drake (literally a 30 second walk away from Granville & Drake) - I can say that it's perfectly *safe* - but it's not really the block Tourism Vancouver would promote "ideal Vancouver living". <BR><BR>It's just seedy, that's all. If you can stomach 2 small blocks of porn shops and pawn shops, you'll be okay. There are also many nightclubs, music shops, cafes, restaurants and major hotels down in that same area. The area's quite small too... you can walk out of the seedy parts in less than 5 minutes.

Karen, that area IS seedy and I would not wander around there alone at night. Why don't you check out the Sandman Inn which is a very short walk to theatres and shopping. There are also hotels along Broadway (Holiday Inn) that are just across the bridge from town - a short taxi ride if cost is a factor. Good luck!

I also am in that area at night by myself and have never had trouble. THere's a bar close by called the Morrissey, and I have several memories and stumbling, alone, down granville st at 1am with no worries. But I'm only 30, if I were 60 I can see where it could be a security issue. Is it a nice area? No. Is it dangerous? No.

I don't like staying in that area...I suggest other parts of town. For the very best deal, log onto TOurism Vancouver's website (www.tourismvancouver.com). They offer great deals not available through the hotels. I don't know your budget, but there are many options in all price ranges. Have fun!