Vancouver hotel reccomendation

[CONCH65]

We will be staying in Vancouver on a Friday night prior to our Saturday morning cruise to Alaska and we are looking for a downtown hotel with things to do within walking distance. We will probably be exhausted from our flight but we may want to get out for a few drinks and check out the local atmosphere. Probably won't get to the hotel until around 6pm. Reccomendations please? Thanks.

[BcIcemen]

I am staying at the Pan Pacific on a Friday with a Sat departure

Edited February 14, 2020 by BcIcemen

[CONCH65]

23 minutes ago, BcIcemen said:

I am staying at the Pan Pacific on a Friday with a Sat departure

Interesting. It's right at the port.

[BcIcemen]

It is on the expensive side but there will be no transportation cost to the pier

[martincath]

Literally ANY downtown core hotel has minimal travel costs to the pier. The furthest away such hotel is barely two miles - a cab might reach CAD$15 due to busy cruise traffic (minimal access routes to the pier, only one actual entrance, so definite bottlenecks that slow cabs to below walking pace and add a few bucks). Since most of our tourist sites are also in the downtown core, just like the pier, choosing a hotel comes down to budget first & foremost as the worst-located hotel is still eminently walkable to bajillions of restos, shops, sites, and very likely the pier too. If you have points, pick a chain you can use them in. If you have the budget for the PP, or one of the Fairmonts across or just down the street, great - but you will be paying significantly more for a very marginal convenience increase. Unless you need the extra facilities that a 4 or 5* hotel provides your cash would go much further elsewhere.

 

Oh, and the area right around the pier is about the boringest in the city in terms of nightlife, streetlife, and general vibe. Most folks you meet will be fellow tourists! If you actually want to experience an evening in Vancouver as downtown locals do, head into Gastown, out to the West End, or along Davie Street (our 'gay village' - the least-fratboy-infested clubs are here).

 

[rkacruiser]

2 hours ago, martincath said:

If you actually want to experience an evening in Vancouver as downtown locals do, head into Gastown, 

 

The Fairmont Waterside and the Pan Pacific are within easy walking distance to Gastown.  Gastown is a very interesting area of Vancouver with many cafes and restaurants and, of course, lots of shops.

[martincath]

10 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

The Fairmont Waterside and the Pan Pacific are within easy walking distance to Gastown.  Gastown is a very interesting area of Vancouver with many cafes and restaurants and, of course, lots of shops.

And on that walk you could easily pass a few hotels which are even closer, and cheaper... my point about the PP etc. isn't that you cannot get to places with 'atmosphere', or even that they are particularly far, but that you do have to go elsewhere than the immediate environs of the pier to get anything that's a regular locals hangout.

 

First-timers who see that there are multiple restos & pubs within a block may not bother going further - and if they just want food or drink with a nice view they don't need to. Indeedc I recommend Tap & Barrel, Rogue, Cactus Club frequently (it's really just Mahoney & Sons that I advise against - it's the fakest of all the fake Irish bars in the city IMO). But few locals frequent any of those bars - at least in cruise season - so when someone specifically mentions wanting to experience 'local atmosphere' I feel it's worth warning that if they mean people rather than literally within close physical proximity, the vibe just isn't there unless it's something like Canada Day that does bring locals to Canada Place and immediate environs.

 

When I travel I like to find local 'dive bars' and other places where I'm one of few or even the only tourist - Conch65 might be similar.

[Northern Aurora]

Regarding downtown Vancouver hotels we also like the Pan Pacific.  The convenience of having a hotel bellman pick up your luggage and take it to the ship porters is so nice.  But there seem to be so many conferences there it can be difficult to book.  

 

So our next option is the Auberge.  We have stayed at the Auberge several times and are booked again for this fall.  And we have also stayed at the Sutton Place, and liked it also.

[PhotoJim]

We're cruising to Japan in September, and decided to splurge and booked the Pan Pacific.  The rate was within $50 of any other decent hotel downtown, which was close enough for us.

 

It is pretty convenient that we won't even have to go outside on embarkation day until we actually get to the ship.  And we like that we can take the Canada Line from the airport, and can explore the area on foot.  No travel complications until we get to Japan.

[KristyMisty14]

One of the 2 Fairmont Hotels neat the pier are great choices!

[Prost Seattle]

I like the Westin Grand for it’s central location.