gloriasilverstein

Leaving NY October 2 till Oct 13th. Arriving in Vancouver Oct 2nd. Please suggest medium priced hotel that has parking preferably included in price, and near shopping, and galleries and what else do we do or go to surrounding Vancouver. The same goes for Seattle and Portland. We haven't booked hotel yet so waiting to hear from you so we know how long to stay in that area. We then thought we would drive to Seattle.Was told nothing really interesting in Seattle. Funky place. We are 60ish couple going to see Portland and be there in time for pre-wedding dinner Oct. 10th then leaving Oct. 11th for wedding at Hood River Gorge Oct 11th. Also want to see areas surrounding the gorge before we have to leave Oct 12th in the evening back to Portland for trip home early Oct. 13th. So planned vacation around this wedding since we haven't been to this part of the country. We like art museums, quality art galleries not tourist type galleries. Interested in medium priced hotels that have parking included as we are renting a car in Vacouver. Any suggestions and or other places where we mentioned we would love to communicate. Thank you.

Retired_teacher

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Vancouver Downtown (604 684-2151) in September last year. It's a nice facility, moderately priced, with an underground parking garage. Its downtown location is in a good area within walking distance of many shops, galleries, and other attractions including Canada Place. This past May we stayed at the Crowne Plaza Seattle Downtown (206 464-1980), another good facility with attached parking garage within walking distance of Pioneer Square, Pikes Market, and the waterfront area. We spent two days in each of these cities before embarking on cruiseships. In both instances, we felt that we could have used at least one more day to more thoroughly see the sites.

andy

Vancouver- The Sutton Place Hotel on Burrad st..one block of the main restaurant and shopping area of VANCOUVER---terrific European style 4 star hotel--they also have an Entertainment coupon discount at time..

http://www.suttonplace.com/
Seattle-Hotel Monaco (the hotel is dynamite!We did NOT want to leave!!
It does have a parking pkg:
http://www.monaco-seattle.com/html/specialsPackages.htm


Portland-The Heathman Hotel is a nice spot and they have a special with free parking,continental bkfst and 2 tkts to Museum:
http://www.heathmanhotel.com/

Whoever told you that there was NOTHING is Seattle has a screw loose!
Seattle is very artsy,has Pike Place Market, Pioneer Sq, a FABULOUS art museum and the BEST restaurants...

We used to live there 30 years ago and went back 2 years ago- and WHAT a change-from a tiny nothing city to a fabulous destination not to be missed on your way up to Canada...

You can spend one day on the ferry over to any of the islands- it is a gorgeous site to see.......and relaxing!

October should NOT be too rainy at any of the cities--

You could do Vancouver in 3 days, Seattle 3 days and Portland 2 days

GBelle

We did a vacation 2 years ago which began in Seattle, then we drove to Portland for a few days, back up to Seattle for 2 days and then to Vancouver for 2 before heading on a cruise ship to Alaska. We were originally just going to Seattle and Vancouver and after we made airline reservations, hubby said, let's do Portland too. So we had extra driving.

We found it less expensive to fly into Seattle than into Vancouver because you're not leaving the USA (unless you live in Canada in which case you're in the same country and this is a moot point).
In Seattle you should visit the Pike Place Market along the shore - neat place. We had kids in tow so we also visited the Pacific Science Center in downtown, but it's great for adults there too. Visit the Klondike Gold Rush National Monument in downtown so hear about the history of the gold rush. It looks like a little storefront and only will take about an hour or so. There's an Underground Tour that sounded interesting, but we decided not to go on it. We stayed at Embassy Suites north of Seattle in No. Lynnwood.
(I-5, exit 181, just east 10610 44th Avenue W)and drove into Seattle. Since we were heading north to Vancouver afterward, it made sense to stay on the road out of the city so we didn't get caught in morning rush hour traffic into the city when we were leaving.

In Portland, you should visit the Japanese Garden and the Rose Garden. Beautiful. The Pittock Mansion is nearby. If you're in the Columbia River Gorge, stop at the Bonneville Fish Hatchery, which was interesting to us and not something we've seen in the east. The road leading to it is beautiful with some waterfalls along the way.

mscarls

In Portland, check out the packages for 5th Avenue Suites. It's a great hotel.


When driving from Portland to Hood River, allow a few hours and take the older, scenic route that goes by numerous waterfalls.