Beware of L'Hermitage in Vancouver
 

We travel to Vancouver twice a year and we like to have more room and amenities than what hotel rooms can offer. So, we usually rent a private apartment from people who advertise on vacation rental web sites. On our last visit, we rented a one-bedroom suite at L’Hermitage, a new building that combines a boutique hotel, private residences and many shops. It is well located in the heart of downtown and offers a four level underground secured parking garage. The first two levels are for the hotel patrons and shoppers while the lower levels are reserved for the residents. The building is managed by Stratawest Management Ltd., a company that boasts providing the highest level of service to a select portfolio of quality developments.

Upon our arrival on the Thursday afternoon, there was an “Important notice” posted near the elevators warning the residents about the recent car break-ins in the underground parkade and that, on a temporary basis, security had been appointed to patrol parking levels P1 to P4 on a 24 hour basis. This important notice was nowhere to be found the next day; management had requested its removal. On Saturday afternoon, we discovered that our car had been vandalized and that the driver’s car window was shattered. More than eighteen hours after this infraction, no one from security or the concierge services had bothered communicating with us. Based on the police report, three cars had been broken into during the previous evening and it was further established that the doors to the garage stairwells were kept unlocked allowing free access to anyone.

Downtown Vancouver is reputed for its homeless citizens and underground garage break-ins. How could a manager be so negligent as to leaving the doors of the building wide open to any criminal opportunity?

The concierge personnel, the only building representatives on site, were sorry but did not help to clean the mess or organize repairs. Later communication with Stratawest Management proved futile in obtaining resolution for our losses. Their best advice: Contact your insurance provider. So much for our deductible!

For this, we rate L’Hermitage in downtown Vancouver a big fat 0 out of 5.

&quot;<i>Downtown Vancouver is reputed for its homeless citizens and underground garage break-ins. How could a manager be so negligent as to leaving the doors of the building wide open to any criminal opportunity?</i>&quot;

Easy-they take the bus or walk to work.

They are paid little more tham minimum wage and act like it-shoddy management is also a <u>curse</u> in this city and not just in hospitality.

&quot;<i> Their advice....Contact your insurance provider. So much for our deductible!</i>&quot;

The wages of crime are not sin but apathy-all city residents and visitors suffer.

&quot;<i>For this, we rate L’Hermitage in downtown Vancouver a big fat 0 out of 5.</i>&quot;

Mike-go to www.tripadvisor.com and rate the hotel/post you story there.

They are <u>very</u> well set up with the search engines and anyone typing in L'Hermitage will see your post and learn about how shoddily they treat people, it won't help your situation but will help others considering the place.

I have never heard any solution to car theft and damage in Vancouver and Montreal. You probably need to go to cold storage and ask to drive in your car and park it, or maybe an extra large bank safe deposit box. I have been in hotels there with double gates - which seemed to work fairly well, but I am sure, they still get in. Vancouver is jammmed packed with lowlife and I always get the impression that Vancouverites regard them as decorative &amp; providing local colour.

This well-written report begs a couple of questions:

1. Was there anything visible in your car that would cause a thief to break in, or was this just mindless vandalism?

2. Is your car an up market, newer model where thieves might assume there are valuables inside?

I ask these questions because I wonder whether I, as a driver of a 1998 Chevy Cavalier, starting to show some rust, would be vulnerable in this parking garage?

&quot;<i>Was there anything visible in your car that would cause a thief to break in, or was this just mindless vandalism?</i>&quot;

The problem is so bad that an acquaintance of mine-who works Front Desk/Security overnight in a local hotel-has had his own vehicle windows smashed in the underground parking lot where he patrols.

One night the driver's side was smashed to see if he had left any change in the console-2 nights later the <u>passenger</u> side window was smashed-the driver's side had yet to be fixed and was just a gaping hole but the thief never noticed.

Management is of course aware and only pay lip service to increasing security for vehicles-their standard response is <u>exactly</u> the one Mike was give-'<i> So Sorry-take it up with your insurance company</i>'.b-(

I just have to ask...

Mike are you really from Canmore or are you just an avid Air Farce fan?

:)

We had a similar adventure a few years ago in Vancouver. A friend and I had spent some time travelling on Vancouver Island and stayed overnight in Vancouver before catching the plane home to Toronto. We parked our rental car in the hotel parking lot (the Landmark, on Robson Street) and my friend suggested we just leave our suitcases in the car since we'd be leaving for the airport early in the morning. I insisted that we haul everything upstairs to our room; I had heard scare stories about hotel parking lots. There was a security guard on duty but I still didn't feel comfortable leaving anything whatsoever in the car.

What a good hunch that turned out to be! When we got downstairs the next morning the driver's window had been shattered and the trunk opened. Of course there was nothing for them to steal so they moved on to somebody else's car. We had to get going fairly quickly, since we had a plane to catch, and I had insurance that went along with my Amex gold card that covered everything. What was interesting to me was the security guard. He had seen the entire thing. He said he didn't intervene because he was &quot;scared - those were big guys.&quot; He didn't call the police because &quot;I got so rattled that I didn't know what to do.&quot; So basically he sat there watching and did nothing. We persuaded him to call the police, after we had talked with Amex and the car rental agency, and we took a taxi to the airport. Not a stellar performance on the part of the hotel security staff.

Thank you for that warning. We did not use the fairmont's garage because $30 USD was too expensive.

We parked on the street at night and then again all day and thankfully had no problems. Maybe that is the answer...having the car out in the open on a busy street?

Vancouver has turned into a haven for street-level criminals unfortunately. What is unfortunate is that the victim gets blames - one doesn't need to leave anything inside their car to get it broken into. There seems to be no solution in sight either sadly. Vancouver is the break-in capital of all of North America. I feel horrible for tourists who come here, I'm embarrassed that we have let our city get to this point and still we do nothing.

That's too funny - a security guard who is too afraid to call 911. Geez..

One suggestion would be to always rent a car using a credit card that covers insurance. We had a case where a rock smashed through the windshield of our rental car but even the deductible was covered by Visa. The problem with auto theft in B.C. is that there is no punishment for the crime. just a slap on the wrist. They should at least have to cover the owners/renters expense if they are caught.