Vancouver Hotels
Jul 27th, 2006, 08:21 AM
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Vancouver Hotels
My husband and I are travelling to Vancouver in May 2007 and wonder if anyone can recommend a nice hotel near Canada Place (within 10 blocks). We're hoping to spend not much more than $100 a night for 6 nights. We would also like to know about things to do in those 6 days without a car. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
Jul 27th, 2006, 09:38 AM
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HOTEL
Under normal circumstances, you will not find a "nice" hotel for $100 anywhere in downtown Vancouver. My husband and I just stayed at the Holiday Inn. It was C$185 on the Sunday night and C$145 on the subsequent nights. It met our needs well, but we would not have wanted to go another notch down from there in terms of comfort, cleanliness, service, security, etc.
I've seen on this forum that people get 4 star hotels in Vancouver for around $90 when they bid on Priceline. With Priceline, as I understand it, you have to be prepared to accept any hotel within a certain zone, e.g., downtown, as long as that hotel has the number of stars that you've specified in your bid.
I don't know why you want to be within 10 blocks of Canada Place but, when I come to think of it, it seems to me that most of Vancouver's upscale hotels probably are within 10 blocks of Canada Place.
More in next post .........
Under normal circumstances, you will not find a "nice" hotel for $100 anywhere in downtown Vancouver. My husband and I just stayed at the Holiday Inn. It was C$185 on the Sunday night and C$145 on the subsequent nights. It met our needs well, but we would not have wanted to go another notch down from there in terms of comfort, cleanliness, service, security, etc.
I've seen on this forum that people get 4 star hotels in Vancouver for around $90 when they bid on Priceline. With Priceline, as I understand it, you have to be prepared to accept any hotel within a certain zone, e.g., downtown, as long as that hotel has the number of stars that you've specified in your bid.
I don't know why you want to be within 10 blocks of Canada Place but, when I come to think of it, it seems to me that most of Vancouver's upscale hotels probably are within 10 blocks of Canada Place.
More in next post .........
Jul 27th, 2006, 09:39 AM
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THINGS TO SEE AND DO
* Spend a day visiting Vancouver's centrally located landmarks (Stanley Park, Granville Island Market, Yaletown, Robson Street). That one-day itinerary easily could be expanded to two days. It is possible to spend a full day in Stanley Park alone, especially if you visit the Aquarium that is located there. Vancouver has a compact downtown core that I find to be walkable. The downtown area also has good public transportation. Finally, you can use one of the hop-on / hop-off tourist bus services to cover the central area of Vancouver.
* Do a day trip to Whistler. I don't know why you don't want to use a car. I would like to have a car if I was going to Whistler. However, if you are adamant about doing everything without a car, Gray Line offers a couple of day trips to Whistler. One day trip takes you both ways by bus. The other one takes you there by train and brings you back by bus. I've also heard good things about Landsea Tours, which reportedly uses smaller buses so there is more rapport between the driver and passengers.
* Visit the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia (accessible by public transportation from downtown). Interesting and beautiful.
* Use public transportation to get to Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge. It's located in North Vancouver, which is across Burrard Inlet from downtown. Walk across the bridge, and then walk in the extensive forest around there. It is lovely.
* Visit Victoria on Vancouver Island.
More .........
* Spend a day visiting Vancouver's centrally located landmarks (Stanley Park, Granville Island Market, Yaletown, Robson Street). That one-day itinerary easily could be expanded to two days. It is possible to spend a full day in Stanley Park alone, especially if you visit the Aquarium that is located there. Vancouver has a compact downtown core that I find to be walkable. The downtown area also has good public transportation. Finally, you can use one of the hop-on / hop-off tourist bus services to cover the central area of Vancouver.
* Do a day trip to Whistler. I don't know why you don't want to use a car. I would like to have a car if I was going to Whistler. However, if you are adamant about doing everything without a car, Gray Line offers a couple of day trips to Whistler. One day trip takes you both ways by bus. The other one takes you there by train and brings you back by bus. I've also heard good things about Landsea Tours, which reportedly uses smaller buses so there is more rapport between the driver and passengers.
* Visit the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia (accessible by public transportation from downtown). Interesting and beautiful.
* Use public transportation to get to Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge. It's located in North Vancouver, which is across Burrard Inlet from downtown. Walk across the bridge, and then walk in the extensive forest around there. It is lovely.
* Visit Victoria on Vancouver Island.
More .........
Jul 27th, 2006, 09:41 AM
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VICTORIA
I think it's more ideal to spend a night in Victoria.
Technically you can visit Victoria during a day trip from Vancouver. However, it makes for a long day trip and, even then, you cannot really do justice to Victoria. It takes at least 3.5 hours to get from downtown Vancouver to downtown Victoria, so at least 7 hours of your day are consumed just by travel (albeit most of that travel is scenic).
You can cut down on travel time to Victoria by flying from Vancouver Harbour to Victoria Harbour in a seaplane. The flight takes something like 30 minutes or 40 minutes.
I think the ideal transportation on a day trip to Victoria is a seaplane in one direction and a bus / ferry combination in the other direction. This saves a certain amount of time, but still allows you to do the attractive ferry crossing through the Gulf Islands.
However, the seaplane is more expensive, so one or two legs by seaplane will add to the cost.
Note that the seaplanes have severe luggage restrictions. While they are convenient for day trips, I doubt they are suitable for overnight trips on which you have to take all of your luggage with you.
You can see Butchart Gardens in 2 hours, but I think it would be more ideal to spend half a day there. The longer visit would be possible only if you were staying in Victoria overnight.
If you did a day trip to Victoria and if you visited Butchart Gardens on that day, you would have time for only a quick look at Victoria's downtown, which centres on the charming Inner Harbour.
If you stayed in Victoria overnight, you'd have time to visit the excellent Royal British Columbia Museum, the Parliament Buildings, the Fairmont Empress Hotel and possibly do a whale watching cruise.
Instead of spending 6 nights in Vancouver, you might consider spending 5 nights in Vancouver and 1 night in Victoria.
More ..............
I think it's more ideal to spend a night in Victoria.
Technically you can visit Victoria during a day trip from Vancouver. However, it makes for a long day trip and, even then, you cannot really do justice to Victoria. It takes at least 3.5 hours to get from downtown Vancouver to downtown Victoria, so at least 7 hours of your day are consumed just by travel (albeit most of that travel is scenic).
You can cut down on travel time to Victoria by flying from Vancouver Harbour to Victoria Harbour in a seaplane. The flight takes something like 30 minutes or 40 minutes.
I think the ideal transportation on a day trip to Victoria is a seaplane in one direction and a bus / ferry combination in the other direction. This saves a certain amount of time, but still allows you to do the attractive ferry crossing through the Gulf Islands.
However, the seaplane is more expensive, so one or two legs by seaplane will add to the cost.
Note that the seaplanes have severe luggage restrictions. While they are convenient for day trips, I doubt they are suitable for overnight trips on which you have to take all of your luggage with you.
You can see Butchart Gardens in 2 hours, but I think it would be more ideal to spend half a day there. The longer visit would be possible only if you were staying in Victoria overnight.
If you did a day trip to Victoria and if you visited Butchart Gardens on that day, you would have time for only a quick look at Victoria's downtown, which centres on the charming Inner Harbour.
If you stayed in Victoria overnight, you'd have time to visit the excellent Royal British Columbia Museum, the Parliament Buildings, the Fairmont Empress Hotel and possibly do a whale watching cruise.
Instead of spending 6 nights in Vancouver, you might consider spending 5 nights in Vancouver and 1 night in Victoria.
More ..............
Jul 27th, 2006, 09:42 AM
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MUSEUMS
The Royal BC Museum in Victoria also has excellent exhibits on the culture and art of the First Nations people of the west coast. If you are pressed for time, you can choose either the Royal BC Museum or the Museum of Anthropology.
EXPENSIVE RIP OFFS (in my opinion)
* Capilano Canyon. You can get a similar experience for free at Lynn Canyon.
* Grouse Mountain. Who needs Grouse Mountain if they go to Whistler?
More .........
The Royal BC Museum in Victoria also has excellent exhibits on the culture and art of the First Nations people of the west coast. If you are pressed for time, you can choose either the Royal BC Museum or the Museum of Anthropology.
EXPENSIVE RIP OFFS (in my opinion)
* Capilano Canyon. You can get a similar experience for free at Lynn Canyon.
* Grouse Mountain. Who needs Grouse Mountain if they go to Whistler?
More .........
Jul 27th, 2006, 09:44 AM
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OTHER SOURCES OF INFO
FODOR’S DESTINATIONS SECTION
Click on the link near the top left hand corner of the screen. Fodor’s provides EXCELLENT travel notes on Vancouver and Victoria.
THE COAST SECTION OF MY WEBSITE
http://groups.msn.com/CalgaryandCana...kiesTravelTips
DANIEL WILLIAMS’ TRIP REPORTS
Part 1
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34654147
Part 2
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34654156
Conclusions
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34654164
Over and out.
FODOR’S DESTINATIONS SECTION
Click on the link near the top left hand corner of the screen. Fodor’s provides EXCELLENT travel notes on Vancouver and Victoria.
THE COAST SECTION OF MY WEBSITE
http://groups.msn.com/CalgaryandCana...kiesTravelTips
DANIEL WILLIAMS’ TRIP REPORTS
Part 1
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34654147
Part 2
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34654156
Conclusions
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34654164
Over and out.
Jul 27th, 2006, 06:23 PM
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Oh my, this is terribly misleading.
You should use PRICELINE.COM to secure rooms in Vancouver downtown for less than $100 per night.
If going before Victoria Day you're almost sure to land a nice hotel for a base rate of $70 U.S. plus Priceline fees.
If getting 6 nights at that rate I'd guesstimate the total bill to be less than $500 U.S. (and you see the final TOTAL before committing yourself to "buy"
**except for any random $2 or $3 per night tax/fee that they MIGHT have.
Downtown Vancouver, for being surrounded so much by water, is somewhat compact for a city of its population, so you can be fairly confident of a hotel somewhat convenient to Canada Place.
Vancouver is jam-packed with different experiences (and cultures even) that you can find without needing a car.
As soon as you are CERTAIN that you have transportation tickets to Vancouver then you should use Priceline to get rooms.
You should use PRICELINE.COM to secure rooms in Vancouver downtown for less than $100 per night.
If going before Victoria Day you're almost sure to land a nice hotel for a base rate of $70 U.S. plus Priceline fees.
If getting 6 nights at that rate I'd guesstimate the total bill to be less than $500 U.S. (and you see the final TOTAL before committing yourself to "buy"
**except for any random $2 or $3 per night tax/fee that they MIGHT have.Downtown Vancouver, for being surrounded so much by water, is somewhat compact for a city of its population, so you can be fairly confident of a hotel somewhat convenient to Canada Place.
Vancouver is jam-packed with different experiences (and cultures even) that you can find without needing a car.
As soon as you are CERTAIN that you have transportation tickets to Vancouver then you should use Priceline to get rooms.
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Jul 27th, 2006, 11:14 PM
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>>>>>>Oh my, this is terribly misleading.<<<<<<
NorthwestMale, if you are referring to what I said, I'd be curious to know what in my message was misleading.
Right after I said that a nice hotel could not be had for less than $100 under NORMAL circumstances, I went on to mention Priceline in the next paragraph.
Maybe "normal circumstances" was the wrong term. What I meant was the rate that the hotel published on its website and that its reservations staff quoted if you called.
NorthwestMale, if you are referring to what I said, I'd be curious to know what in my message was misleading.
Right after I said that a nice hotel could not be had for less than $100 under NORMAL circumstances, I went on to mention Priceline in the next paragraph.
Maybe "normal circumstances" was the wrong term. What I meant was the rate that the hotel published on its website and that its reservations staff quoted if you called.
Jul 28th, 2006, 04:42 AM
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Hi,
That is "normal" for Priceline, and to immediately discourage an interested traveler with "Under normal circumstances... you will NOT find..." IS terribly misleading. That is doubly misleading for someone traveling to Vancouver in May and not August.
Your opening salvo in response didn't even allow for an ounce of hope "under normal circumstances". It just wasn't fair to the original poster.
I do credit you with finally getting to Priceline, however that should have been included in your first sentence with an if, and, or but...
Tiz OK, far worse has been said on this board. I just didn't want the person to become discouraged when there was absolutely no cause for it.
That is "normal" for Priceline, and to immediately discourage an interested traveler with "Under normal circumstances... you will NOT find..." IS terribly misleading. That is doubly misleading for someone traveling to Vancouver in May and not August.
Your opening salvo in response didn't even allow for an ounce of hope "under normal circumstances". It just wasn't fair to the original poster.
I do credit you with finally getting to Priceline, however that should have been included in your first sentence with an if, and, or but...
Tiz OK, far worse has been said on this board. I just didn't want the person to become discouraged when there was absolutely no cause for it.
Jul 29th, 2006, 09:48 PM
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I'm with Norwest Male on this one. Priceline is really the only way to go to get a good hotel in Vancouver at a reasonable price. Bid on a four star in the downtown Vancouver section and you will get one in May for less than $100. I don't know how often you use Priceline Judy but it is a wonderful way to get a great hotel at a great price. I use it all the time and have had nothing but excellent hotels and excellent prices. I always just bid on the highest star rating they give. All of my friends use it to and nobody has had a bad experience.
Jul 29th, 2006, 11:26 PM
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I'll be looking for a downtown hotel in Vancouver this September and I thought Judy's first post was entirely adequate. In fact I'd say that it could have misled only readers whose attention span is abnormally short. There's no need whatever to eat crow on this one, Judy.
Aug 1st, 2006, 12:54 AM
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Hi Northwestmale
We are all entitled to our opinions. Judy's reply is both helpful and explanatory and certainly NOT misleading. I see no need whatsoever to criticise any poster even if you do think it's misleading. Your 'opening salvo'? "Oh my, this is terribly misleading"??! What's wrong with "My experience of priceline is ..."?
We are all entitled to our opinions. Judy's reply is both helpful and explanatory and certainly NOT misleading. I see no need whatsoever to criticise any poster even if you do think it's misleading. Your 'opening salvo'? "Oh my, this is terribly misleading"??! What's wrong with "My experience of priceline is ..."?
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