gwenne

Several of you suggested buying this discount book from www.entertainment.com at a cost about $15. I checked the website and the Vancouver book is $36 US and the Victoria book is $32US. We will be in Vancouver for 4 or 5 days in August. Is either book worth the price? Thanks

waltd

Hi Gwenne: Hmm, it is a bit more than I recall paying last year. BUT, yes, it is worth it, depending on what you use it for. We used it to get a 2-bedroom suite at a 4-star hotel (grandparents came along) and saved $250.00 for 3 nights! We also used it for restaurants and activities (Grouse Mtn; Capiolani Bridge; Sun Yat-Sen Gardens, etc.), which saved us another $100. or so. Heck, even if you don't use it for hotels you still come out ahead on the price of entry fees for thw above-mentioned activities and using the restaurant coupons. of which you will have a goodly selection.
One suggestion> I bought ours from their website in July 2002 for our early August trip, and the price had been reduced to $10.00 with a $5.00 shipping charge. However, waiting until buying it later in the eyar might prove to be "penny wise and pound foolish" since the only reason they had a few books left at that time was because some organization had returned their remaining copies back to them. I do recall that the availability of these Vancouver books were not listed on the website when I checked, but my wife called them directly anyway and found out their existence!
So, in my opinion, even if you pay twice what we did, you'll still save money, and by getting it now you will avoid the potential problem of their selling out. Have fun!

waltd

gwenne: It's me again. Last year's version had both Vancouver and Vancouver Island in one book. It appears by your message that they have been split up for both places, which doubles the cost. But my opinion remains the same. If you use the books for hotels, and you tailor your plans around using the books as much as possible, you'll save hundreds of $$. I think we saved about $50.00 alone for one whale watching excursion, which covers the book and puts you into the black just on that alone! SO, if you are going to Victoria (which is gorgeous and we had a great time), paying separately for the books will still be well worth it.

Charlene

I bought the book last year for the first time and it is well worth it even if you just use it for the hotel discounts. You can just buy the cheaper one (Vancouver island) and use the card anywhere that takes it as long as you don't need coupons from a certain book. I used my card (from the Vancouver Island Book) in Edmonton, Vancouver, Quesnel.........

April

I don't know that I would buy both either. We had one book and got a half off discount on a hotel in Oregon (which wasn't listed in the book, by the way, so I always ask). That alone made the purchase of the book worthwhile.

waltd

What April and Charlene say is certainly true. The card is good at any hotel which accepts the Entertainment discount. And the Vancouver book will show hotels in other areas which do. But, again, my premise is accurate. If you are going to use the coupons for restaurants and activities, it is still a good bargain to buy both boooks since you will come out way ahead.

kapmap

I checked on the entertainment site and you did not go far enough. If you look at the book it flashes that you can purchase it for the $10 plus shipping. I did not get it but the hotel I am staying at was listed and I am checking with them to see if I can use it -- if I can, I will get it.

BAK

The Toronto version of this book, which I have, features a lot of two for one deals, and buy one, get one free, etc.

If you are by yourself, getting one free admission to an attraction when you pay for the first one doesn't matter.

For someone travelling by themselves, a lot fo the specials don't work. Who needs two dozen bagels for the price of one dozen? Two sandwiches for the price of one?

Whether hotels are a good deal is another matter. There's no telling how busy Vancouver hotels will be in a couple of months. and whether there will be other ways to get good deals.

But for $15, what's the risk in buying it?

The best part of the Toronto book is the Eddie Bauer's warehouse discount. 25 pwercent off the already discounted prices, and there are two of these coupons. That pays for the book for us.

Carmanah

Definitely. I live here, and my family's been buying those Entertainment books for years.

While most people have mentioned the savings with hotels, there are a *lot* of 2-for-1 restaurant coupons, including quite a bit of fine dining.

Also, if you plan to go to any of the attractions in which there's a fee (ie: Vancouver Aquarium, the Capilano Suspension Bridge, Museum of Anthropology, The Lookout!, etc) - they too usually have 2-for-1 coupons.

I'd say it's worth buying.

FromAtlanta

Yeah, I'm going by myself so I don't know...I looked at the site. They sure do have a lot of restaurants-but it is buy one get one. Sometimes they will give you 50% off one-but sometimes they won't. I'm not sure if I would save anything by buying it ... and I usually save $$ by staying at B&B's. The hotels are nice, but B&B's can be REALLY NICE plus you get a great big breakfast that usually fills you up to the point you don't need a big lunch.
But I think the book is GREAT if you are going with someone else!!!!

FainaAgain

I have a question: to use a hotel discount offered by the Entertainment book you should call their 800 number to book it, and when you call you find that using websites like Travelocity gives you the same or even a better deal, am I right or wrong?

waltd

Dear FainaAgain: When you want to use the Entertainment rate for a hotel, you call the hotel directly (they usually have an 800 number). It's possible that Travelocity can you you just as good a rate. You'd have to compare the rates and see. But, for most of the discount hotel internet sites, they have a cancellation or itinerary change fee, which the Entertainment Book does not. Last year I used the Entertainment Book for the Delta Whistler, which I got by calling the hotel directly. I then had an itinerary change a week later, called the hotel, and simply changed it with no hassles. Changing itineraries or cancelling reservations on Travelocity isn't so easy.

FainaAgain

Thank you for this explanation, Waltd!

Ronda

FYI I purchased the Vancouver Entertainment book which also has Victoria Hotels but not attractions or restaurants. I called the Empress and was told the room rate for a standard room was $179 US and the room rate with the Entertainment card was $161 US. The book advertises "50% off RACK room rates" so the gal told me although $161 is not 50% off current room rate, it is 50% off rack rate.

She asked me if I had any other discounts and I told her AARP. She came back with a room rate of $125. She also asked me if it was a special occasion and I told her an early wedding anniversary (which it is) hoping they might upgrade us once we arrive.

I'll have to look for a Victoria book.