Hello -

I will be visiting Vancouver for a conference in late March. I work for a non-profit, so I had to keep the hotel costs down and decided not to stay at the Hyatt (location of the conference) because of their rates. Hotel Le Soleil has a decent rate, but I keep reading on the boards that there is no view. Does anyone know of hotels near the Hyatt that might be reasonable (less than $125 US) and have a view?

Also, does anyone know if the valet parking rate at a hotel like Le Soleil is per day or each time you return to the hotel? We will be flying to Seattle (husband and 18 month old with me) and will have a rental car.

Thanks in advance!

Starterfish,

Hi, it's me again!

I thought I'd let you know that I used Priceline just 9 days ago (Sat, Feb. 4) to get a downtown Vancouver room.

(this quote is from Priceline's follow-up survey thing)

"Thank you for your recent priceline.com Hotel purchase. Now that you're back, we'd love to hear about your stay at the Marriott Vancouver Pinnacle Downtown in Vancouver."

My base rate on Priceline was $60 and it worked out to a total of $74 and some change (U.S. funds)

Another reason to use priceline, is that the "G.S.T." tax in Canada isn't charged, because in theeeeeeeeeory all of those using Priceline are U.S. tourists who are exempt from G.S.T. on some purchases.

I swear you should be using Priceline, and at least browsing the "hotel list" for Vancouver at biddingfortravel.

I would so be willing to coach you through the whole thing via an online messenger live-chat.

Hi NorthwestMale -

Thanks for continuing to respond to my questions! I am going to give the BFT a try for Seattle. I am not sure I want to use it for Vancouver because I don't want to be too far from the conference hotel. My colleague thinks Le Soleil is too far from the Hyatt already. Do you know if I go through Priceline if I can get a crib? I read through info and got the impression that it's double occupancy with no extras. We could get away with not having a crib if we get a king-size bed, but if we get doubles or twins we'd be in trouble.

thanks!

Hi,

It is my strong impression that you can get any of those amenities for what would be no worse than a nominal fee. A crib might be free for the asking (especially in mid-March in northern locales [= low demand]) but would surely be available.

Also, you will likely get a BIG bed (or even two such beds in your room). Hotels don't often have situations where just twin beds are the norm... excepting places like NY City where space is at such a premium.

About the Vancouver thoughts... I would look at the probably-all-inclusive "VANCOUVER HOTEL LIST" you could find at biddingfortravel... and survey those locations to assess your chances about being near the Hyatt.

Why I see that the Hyatt is even IN the list... so if the conference isn't huge, then perhaps...

Also, on that topic, as downtown Vancouver simply cannot "sprawl" very far, for it not having anyplace to sprawl to, the hotels are by default going to be more near to one another than in many cities.

FYI I just now did a "map" from the Hyatt to the place I stayed at (through Priceline) 9 days ago (Marriott Pinnacle) and here is what it said:

"Start: 655 Burrard St, Vancouver BC
End: 1128 W Hastings St, Vancouver BC
Total Distance: 0.4 Miles
Estimated Total Time: 2 minutes"

Next I did the Westin Bayshore to your Hyatt... and got the following:

"Start: 1601 Bayshore Dr, Vancouver BC
End: 655 Burrard St, Vancouver BC
Total Distance: 0.7 Miles
Estimated Total Time: 3 minutes"

I was just on biddingfortravel and saw people getting that "Westin Bayshore" for $61 base rate... c'mon, that is a Westin for sixty bucks, and that in the middle of SUMMER !!

Oh, and by the way, the PARKING RATES for downtown Vancouver hotels really SUCK. Sadly you should figure a DAILY charge of roughly $20 (cdn funds) per day, added onto your bill, and payable when you check out.

For clarity, when you push the last button at Priceline, and commit to your hotel bid... if you are buying 5 nights @ $80 per night... the TOTAL of about $450 (5 x $80 plus priceline fees) is IMMEDIATELY put on your credit card (no refunds for any reason). Then, at the end of such a stay... the credit card you file with the hotel will be charged approximately $100 Cdn. for five days of parking. (roughly $85 U.S.) (only if you're actually THERE, WITH a car on premises that is)

Still you compare that to maybe $120-130 (shrug of uncertainty) per night of a base rate, AND the same parking charge... and the G.S.T. (tax) on the whole thing, and you're still way better off.

PARKING METERS in the area of the Marriott Pinnacle are effective from 9:00am SEVEN DAYS per week... IF you could somehow find ways to get out and move the car/pay the meter by 9:00am, then you might be able to dodge the hotel parking... although your situation makes it TOUGH (I did that on one Sunday morning when I stayed recently). But you'd still have to find SOMEplace to PUT the car during the day... so it probably wouldn't work.

FYI - if you wish to be coached through the process for bidding for your Seattle hotel, and you have any of the internet live-chat messenger services, e-mail me at [email protected] and I'll be happy to connect with you if you are at all fearful when first trying Priceline. (might be wise to mention here at Fodors that I should check that e-mail)

FYI I LIVE in Seattle and am quite familiar with the layout of downtown Seattle.

Just as an FYI - I work about a block from Hotel Le Soliel - the walk to the Hyatt from there would probably take you about 2 minutes to walk - literally. I'd don't think it's even 2 full blocks.
On the other hand, the walk from the Bayshore to the Hyatt would take a fair bit of time. If you decide to go that route, a cab might be best...

There are no shortage of hotels in this area. There's a Days Inn at on Pender at Hornby that looks nice, plus a few down at the waterfront (Pan Pacific and the Fairmont Waterfront - both on the pricey side but have good views)

Finally - Hotel Le Soleil is a bit of a boutique hotel from what I understand - although I've never been in one of the rooms, the lobby is far nicer than most of the hotels in vancouver (rumour has it that the stars stay in the Hotel Le Soliel when they're in town). Granted, I doubt it has much of a view of anything as it's pretty small...