Vancouver Vacation?

Old Feb 8th, 2002, 01:27 PM
  #1  
Bob
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Vancouver Vacation?

I am surprising my wife with a trip to Vancouver in April 2002. I have checked all of the guide books and I need help with a hotel choice. I have narrowed it down to:
The Granville Island Hotel, Pan Pacific, Wedgewood, Sylvia, Sutton Place, Buchan or Rosellan Suites. I know the list is lengthy but I have never been to Vancouver and I want it to be special. We like to be near shopping, dining and beautiful scenery. We live near San Francisco and spend a lot of time there. Is Vancouver easily acessible by foot or do we need to rent a car? Any help would be great in choosing a nice hotel.
Thank you in advance for any help!
 
Old Feb 8th, 2002, 01:44 PM
  #2  
Jen
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The Sylvia is a nice older hotel, recommended, down by the beach. It's in a good area with places to eat and shop nearby and close to city bus service. You may find the granville island hotel makes getting to some areas on foot difficult, and at night bus service is limited. The Pan Pacific is in a great location, as is the Wedgewood and Sutton Place, all are downtown. You'll find the Pan Pacific a slow area at night, but the LRT runs right next door to it so getting to other areas of town is easy (you don't want a city view there, you want harbour view, gorgeous scenery).

Downtown Van is easy for me on foot, I walk across the downtown core on my way to work every day. You'll need a car to get out of the city, at that point transit becomes a big problem.
 
Old Feb 8th, 2002, 03:45 PM
  #3  
rita
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Bob, if you want a view of the harbour stay at the Pan Pacific. It is a large hotel and many posters rave about it. I stayed there a few years ago and didn't really like the fact that you could access the elevators without passing the front desk (just a bit of a pet peave of mine that I think makes hotels seem more like train stations). Cruise ships leave from the dock at the hotel so if you are there on turn around day you may have quite a few people "wandering" around and checking out the hotel.

The Wedgewood is closer to Robson Street and the shopping and nightlife of downtown Vancouver. It is a smaller boutique style hotel. You will not get a view of the harbour or much of a city view from the rooms. But I have friends who love to stay there.

The Sutton Hotel is my choice when in downtown Vancouver. It is right on the corner of Burrard and Robson so you are right in the middle of all the shopping and restaurants. It is a larger hotel but seems small because the lobby is so compact. The rooms are very nice with differing views. If you want a partial view of the ocean then ask for it when you book. Good room service and excellent concierge. If I were going for a romantic trip to Vancouver I would stay at the Sutton.

In my opinion the Sylvia Hotel is run down. I stayed there last year and wondered what all the fuse was about. Great location but the room and lobby could definately use an upgrade. It is not in the same comfort and ammenity league as the Pan Pacific, Wedgewood and the Sutton. No concierge, spa, room service etc. However, it is located right on the harbour in a very enviable spot. There are nice restaurants around it and some shopping. To put its location into perspective it is about a 45 minute stroll to the location of the Wedgewood and Sutton.

I do not know the other two hotels you mentioned.

Vancouver is easily accessable by foot and taxi (for those out-of-the-way restaurants) so unless you want to see anything outside of the downtown core (like Grouse Mountain or Whistler) I really don't think you need a car.
 
Old Feb 8th, 2002, 08:00 PM
  #4  
A.M.
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Hello Bob,
A small correction, the Pan Pacific is on the harbour, the Sylvia is on English Bay. The Wedgewood is a small intimate hotel, little view; the Pan Pacific and the Sutton are large with various views. If you can afford any of these hotels, I would choose them over the other 3. Vancouver is a walk about city, once there you won't need a car in town. Enjoy.
A.M.
 
Old Feb 8th, 2002, 09:17 PM
  #5  
gary
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Talk about an esoteric selection! I think the above posts have pretty well noted the differences - especially between the Sylvia - which is strictly rustic atmosphere - and the Sutton, which is pure A-1 class. Vancouver is a marvelous city - in many ways like San Francisco 20 years ago and like S.F. if you are centrally located, (e.g. Union Square), you can cover most major attractions on foot - weather permitting. The very best hotel for central location and quality is the Sutton Place. Virtually no place in the Downtown Peninsula is more than a leisurly half hour walk from there. There are a number of major attractions - especially on the North Shore - that would require a car or tour bus but otherwise you should be able to use your legs. This of course assumes fine weather which is always a risky gamble in vancouver. But if it is grey and wet there is always the great dining and shopping which runs 50-80% of US equivilants.
 
Old Feb 8th, 2002, 09:20 PM
  #6  
gary
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By the way when I said 50-80% of US equivilants I was talking about cost not quality. Was it really neccessary to mention that?
 
Old Feb 9th, 2002, 12:31 PM
  #7  
Sue
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Hi Bob: What a nice surprise...I visit Vancouver about six times a year (luckily I can take the train there). It's my favorite west coast city, moreso than cranky San Francisco. I've stayed at all the hotels you listed: Granville Island was just remodeled and is OK, nothing special. Nice to be over there, but I wouldn't make it my headquarters. Pan Pacific has great views but too big and corporate. Wedgewood is small and independently owned and very cozy...great bar/restaurant (Bacchus) for cocktails/high tea. I like it there; as do my women friends. Sylvia and Buchan both rundown, that would not be a good surprise. Rosellen feels like a long-term stay place, I didn't care for it. Sutton Place is very fun, spacious rooms and is THE place where all the movie people stay (currently there are 10 movies in production in Vancouver). Great lobby watching, I saw Tom Arnold and some teen star last time I was there. My favorites are the Westin Grand, Metropolitan and Pacific Palisades. The best deals can be found online at www.tourismvancouver.com. Restaurants are wonderful...too many to list! Have fun; I'm headed up there for a night in a few weeks, on my way up to Whistler. Bon Voyage!
 

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