Need some urgent advice on location/quality of hotels in Vancouver (Hampton Inn and Suites on Robson Street vs. Residence Inn on Hornby) and Victoria (Chateau Victoria vs Laurel Point Inn) for family of four. Thank you.

Both the Hampton and Residence are about equal quality though the Hampton is more noted for Suites and is much newer, (about 1999 v 1985). However the location of the Residence is much more convenient to Granville Island, and the beaches while they are about equal distance, (about 6 blocks), from the heart of downtown. The Hampton is adjacent to the BC Place Stadium which would be nice if you were attending a football game or a trade show. It's also closer to trendy Yaletown and Gastown.<BR><BR>It's much easier to reccomend between the Laurel Point and the Chateau Victoria. Other than a having a very scenic location at the entrance to the Inner Harbour the Laurel Point is defiantely not as well located as the Chateau Victoria. The Chateau's one bedroom suites are spacious and very nice while the Laurel Point's rooms are standard hotel rooms. The location of the Chateau just behind the Empress Hotel means you are within a few blocks of all the major tourist attractions of the area. My only qualifier with the Chateau is that some of their units are not air conditioned and on warm days they can be very stuffy. We were there once in April and even then found the rooms stuffy and hot in the evening and with the windows open we were bothered by the streeet noise and woken by the garbage trucks. So unless you're going there in the next few weeks, (which have been relatively cool), I'd insist on a room with air and preferably one on a higher floor with views which are quite nice.

thanks GaryA for the advice, especially about the Chateau - although we were quoted a slightly higher price than the Laurel Inn, it sounded like the rom we're getting at the Chateau would be more comfortable than the Laurel Point Inn. We're leaving soon so lack of a/c won't be a problem. As for HI or RI in Vancouver, it's still a tough decision. Our concern was more of area (safety/convenience).

Griffie, neither the HI or RI are in areas where safety would be any great concern. Still common sence precautions should be taken at night especially.

Thanks GaryA for the assurance of safety and advice on using common sense. Do you know anything about the Harbour Towers and Suites in Victoria? How does that compare to the Chateau Victoria?

Different strokes I guess - I can't imagine a better location than Laurel Point. With a harbour view room you can watch the airplane and boat activity, and there is a lovely walkway by the water, which can be especially nice in the evening. The Chateau looks nice though. It and Harbour Towers have fine locations, but for me not quite as great as Laurel Point.