We just recently got back from a trip to Vancouver. Because of recommendations here and tripadvisor we chose the Sylvia. We were very very happy with the choice and I just wanted to add my recommendation to the mix for anyone who happens to do a search here looking for more information.

We were a family of three spending 3 days in Vancouver before an Alaskan cruise.

I think one of the best things about this hotel is the location - I really don't think it can be beat. Before the trip I was a little worried about the proximity to downtown and Robson street. This was not a problem at all. The hotel is right on the beach (English Bay), right next to Stanley Park (free shuttle in the summer) and a short walk to a water taxi to Granville Island. There are also many great restaurants in walking distance (Denman Street is a good place to start).

The service at the hotel was always excellent. It seemed like most of the front desk staff were young college age kids (probably interns), but they were always extremely helpful, polite and professional. They gave great restaurant recommendations every time. There is a laptop with free internet access in the lobby, but it was almost always in use and excruciatingly slow - not a huge problem for us since we were there to unplug.

I've heard that the rooms really vary in this hotel. We had a 2 bedroom suite - which was basically your average hotel room with a queen bed and then an odd little room with a twin bed. This is an old building so definitely expect quirks. When we sat on the toilet our knees literally touched the vanity. We found this more amusing than bothersome. The room was comfortable and clean and a good value for the money.

The restaurant in the hotel was nice and quiet with pretty average food, but you really aren't limited to the restaurant since there are so many other choices in the neighborhood. I did think the cocktails in the restaurant were nice and reasonably priced.

Overall, we really enjoyed our stay and would highly recommend the Sylvia for anyone visiting Vancouver.

Thanks for chiming in... I think next visit to Vancouver, it may be the Sylvia for me!

I have not stayed there, but the location is great!

Another vote for the Sylvia. We've stayed there a number of times on our all-too-rare overnights in Vancouver. The location is perfect and the hotel is affordable and very, very pleasant.

Staying at the Sylvia is like living in Vancouver as a local would. I personally think it's a nicer location than staying right on Robson Street, but that's just me.

And the reality is that the distances downtown aren't too large, you could easily walk to the shopping part of Robson Street in 20 minutes from the Sylvia.

I didn't want to say it orignially because I didn't want to offend anyone, but I was pretty much unimpressed with Robson Street as a shopping area and I would not have been happy staying in the area. We are a family of 3 and we were looking for a more quiet vacation though. We did walk to Robson (in about 20 minutes as Carmanah says) and felt like we kind of wasted our time. The shopping was not very original or exciting for us. But we very well might have missed something.

laustic - you didn't miss anything. Robson Street is just a mall and it's overhyped. It's really nothing special - just a popular shopping strip downtown.

There are certainly more interesting shopping destinations (Main Street immediately comes to mind), but unfortunately shopping is not really Vancouver's forte.