Vancouver Info if needed

[bbttb]

Take them to a bank to exchange them for newer currency. While all discontinued notes technically remain legal tender, you can expect almost every vendor you try to hand them over to to refuse them. Almost certainly won't be accepted as valid by machines either.

 

 

Salmon & Bannock is a great place, family-run, and incredible value for the dishes offered. Best value I've found for game dishes, and unique cuisine (closest other first nations resto is in Whistler). While I've touted it a lot in the past I'm a bit annoyed they're as popular as they are on Tripadvisor now as it's much harder to just walk in!

 

You'll want to cab or transit from the Hyatt as it's the other side of False Creek on Broadway, almost 4km to walk. Ballpark $15-20 by cab, or $2.75pp bus (take 10, 14, 16 and get off at Broadway, walk east 4 blocks). No idea about the baked potato place I'm afraid. You could also try the Georgia Straight's Golden Plates awards which gives local public views of the top 3 in many categories so it's very easy to pick your preferred types of food and see what's popular. Quite a few very good local restos don't do lunch though, only opening for dinner.

 

Happy to offer reccos for other places, but I need more info - at least a ballpark budget and types of food you love/hate.

 

 

Hi Martincath,

 

Thanks for the info!

 

We'd like to keep our lunch costs under $75 US for the 2 of us without alcohol. We would prefer a place with a great view of the water or mountains, and one that we can either walk to or maybe ride the seabus or skytrain to. We enjoy seafood, Italian, Asian, west coast cuisine ...but try to avoid "heavy" foods.

 

Is there anyplace in Stanley Park, Grouse Mountain, on the North Shore (that we can get to by Seabus) that you would recommend? We've eaten at the place on the tip of Granville Island and at Carderos many times, and would like to try something different.

 

Love the seabus...it's like a mini harbor cruise right out there with the ships and barges! Is there anything on the northern end of the seabus ride that you recommend?

 

Many thanks to you and your fellow Vancouverites for sharing your wealth of information and recommendations!

[trophy_23]

One of our favourites, though not fancy by any means is to grab lunch at the Lonsdale Quay. We really like the Donairs at George's Gyro in the Quay (Beef a little bit spicy is the way to go) and we take those outside where we can sit at a table and watch the harbour. If you aren't into Greek, there are plenty of other options in the Quay Market as well. This of course will be right near the North Shore seabus station. You could also walk up Lonsdale there are some good places to eat on Lonsdale too depending what you are after. Grouse Mountain observatory is a nice restaurant but I believe it is only open for dinner. There are some lunch places up there though if you plan to spend the day up there, but it is more of a cafeteria type setting.

[Putterdude]

For seafood around the Lonsdale Quay where the SeaBus goes I would recommend Fishworks (however it is not open for lunch on weekends), Pier 7 which is open or lunch 7 days a week. If you would like to try something with a Japanese flair then Yohachi's is an excellent choice but it is only open for lunch on weekdays. Something with a bit of a twist is Burgoo's. For Greek look no further than Anatolli's. All of these are and easy walk from the sea bus terminal and there are a ton more close by if none of these appeal to you.

 

http://www.fishworks.ca/

 

http://pierseven.ca/

 

http://yohachi.ca/

 

http://burgoo.ca/

 

http://anatolisouvlaki.com/

[bbttb]

One of our favourites, though not fancy by any means is to grab lunch at the Lonsdale Quay. We really like the Donairs at George's Gyro in the Quay (Beef a little bit spicy is the way to go) and we take those outside where we can sit at a table and watch the harbour. If you aren't into Greek, there are plenty of other options in the Quay Market as well. This of course will be right near the North Shore seabus station. You could also walk up Lonsdale there are some good places to eat on Lonsdale too depending what you are after. Grouse Mountain observatory is a nice restaurant but I believe it is only open for dinner. There are some lunch places up there though if you plan to spend the day up there, but it is more of a cafeteria type setting.[/Q

 

 

Hi Trophy_23,

 

We're not fancy people, and we have enjoyed the food court area of the Londsdale Quay many times:) I don't think you can get a better view! We'll probably grab a bite there at least once during our short visit. The market at Granville Island also has a nice food court area with spectacular views.

 

Thanks for your suggestions!

[bbttb]

For seafood around the Lonsdale Quay where the SeaBus goes I would recommend Fishworks (however it is not open for lunch on weekends), Pier 7 which is open or lunch 7 days a week. If you would like to try something with a Japanese flair then Yohachi's is an excellent choice but it is only open for lunch on weekdays. Something with a bit of a twist is Burgoo's. For Greek look no further than Anatolli's. All of these are and easy walk from the sea bus terminal and there are a ton more close by if none of these appeal to you.

 

http://www.fishworks.ca/

 

http://pierseven.ca/

 

http://yohachi.ca/

 

http://burgoo.ca/

 

http://anatolisouvlaki.com/

 

 

Hi Putterdude,

 

I checked out the menus, and they all sound tempting. I think we'll definitely have to fit in a trip to Pier 7.

 

Thanks for your suggestions. :)

[martincath]

Hi Martincath,

 

Thanks for the info!

 

We'd like to keep our lunch costs under $75 US for the 2 of us without alcohol. We would prefer a place with a great view of the water or mountains, and one that we can either walk to or maybe ride the seabus or skytrain to. We enjoy seafood, Italian, Asian, west coast cuisine ...but try to avoid "heavy" foods.

 

Is there anyplace in Stanley Park, Grouse Mountain, on the North Shore (that we can get to by Seabus) that you would recommend? We've eaten at the place on the tip of Granville Island and at Carderos many times, and would like to try something different.

 

Love the seabus...it's like a mini harbor cruise right out there with the ships and barges! Is there anything on the northern end of the seabus ride that you recommend?

 

Many thanks to you and your fellow Vancouverites for sharing your wealth of information and recommendations!

Hmmm - well that's almost CAD$100 for the two of you (tax on food is just 5%, vs. booze 15%) which means you could lunch in any resto in the city without going over budget.

 

Frankly there's nowhere inside Stanley Park that I recommend - the Teahouse is run by the same folks as Carderos but offers worse value (Carderos at least actually has a view, while Teahouse is both pricier and has very limited view seats - unless you enjoy watching people bowl). Prospect Point has a cafe that does perfectly decent soups & sandwiches, ice creams etc. but it's very casual as are all the other park eateries - I'm more inclined to get some really good picnic fodder elsewhere and take it up to the point rather than buy at the cafe.

 

Meat & Bread sandwiches, salads from Tractor, and pizza/panini from Bella Gelateria will all travel up just fine - they're all just a couple of blocks from your hotel too (although the Gelato from the last of these should definitely be eaten while you walk, it'll never last the trip!)

 

Lift is the closest spot to the park with views on the same side as Carderos - and is a significant step up in quality IMO, as well as having an excellent by-the-glass wine selection with many BC wines in case you fancy a little sample.

 

For different views near the park, far and away the best option down on the English Bay side is Cactus Club - it sits right on the Seawall in front of Boathouse, and craps all over the latter in quality and value (as well as views unless you can secure upstairs window seats in Boathouse).

 

What about views all around? The restaurant in the Harbor Centre is very good for a rotating resto, with a quite acceptable price hike considering the superb 360 degree views offered. Personally I like to bring visitors up here for brunch and we've always been pleasantly surprised by the quality for the price (as opposed to Cloud 9 - the other high up rotating resto downtown - which is, to be blunt, awful in both service and food quality).

 

North Van now has a Tap & Barrel location - decent pub grub, and all their main branches have the best patios around. Their original Athlete's Village location has views across False Creek to downtown (same side as Granville Island, but further east so also mountains as well as the downtown skyline) and the Convention Centre branch looks across to the North Shore mountains. Even their mini-pubs or 'Tap Shacks' are chosen with views in mind.

 

Asian restos with views is a very small niche locally - Miku, just next to Canada Place, springs to mind (not my thing - they specialize in Aburi Sushi, which is scorched with a flame that to me makes the sushi no longer sushi - but those who like that style like it a lot, it racks up many awards and great reviews).

 

Italian-wise I can't think of any close to water or with mountain views I can recommend, sorry.

[Milhouse]

<snip>

The other is a baked potato restaurant on Robson St., that sounded like it might be good for a quick lunch. Has anyone tried them? We've stayed at the Blue Horizon and at what used to be the Sheraton Landmark many times...is it near there? Worth a visit?

 

Any other suggestions? We would prefer to be able to either walk or ride the sky train or sea bus, rather than take a taxi.

 

<snip>

 

Are you referring to Russet Shack?

Russet Shack is located closer to the Stadium end of Robson street; about a 15 min walk from the Hyatt. They've only been open for a few months at most. They also have a groupon which you likely came across. I've never tried them but they seem to be busy, likely due to the groupon.

 

I also recommend Meat & Bread but mainly just their porchetta sandwich. Personally I don't think their sides are that incredible.

 

One of the best lunch specials downtown is at a Korean restaurant called Sura which is on Robson near the Blue Horizon. They have a $15 and a $20 lunch specials that comes with a bunch of banchan side dishes. Dinner is good too but way more expensive.

 

Ramen is kind of at a peak trend in Vancouver. Two places I like are Ramen Jinya (on Robson same block as Russet Shack) and Kintaro Ramen on Denman.

 

Food carts are kind of a popular lunch option but many in the downtown core are only downtown during weekday lunches. Five that I'd recommend are: Le Tigre, Tacofino, Mogu, Vij's Railway Express, and Mom's Grilled Cheese truck. They're not super cheap though as you can end up spending about $15 per person.

If you're in town on a Friday, near the seabus terminal and Quay is the North Shore Night Market. It runs Friday nights until Sept 30. There's typically over a dozen food trucks there. Many people grab their food and eat on the seats on the pier overlooking downtown Vancouver. If the food cart options don't intrigue you, you can then head over to Tap & Barrel which forms one perimeter of the market.

 

For something a bit nicer, the Glowbal Group of restaurants has a nice stable of restaurants downtown. They can be somewhat pricey but they have very a good cocktail hour with discounted beverages and appetizers and the odd lunch specials which are good value.

 

If you make it to Granville Island, I recommend heading just off the island to Go Fish Ocean Emporium. They are known for their fish and chips but they also have really nice sandwiches and fish tacos. It's weather dependent though as it's only a "shack" with uncovered outdoor seating.

 

Also check out this restaurant list from Mia Stainsby, a local food critic. I really like her recommendations but they occasionally get out of date to the changing food scene in Vancouver as she only updates this list about once a year.

[jensue1]

Hi. I haven't as yet read through the whole 143 odd pages so I hope you don't mind me asking..... We will have just over a week in Vancouver after our cruise and I just wondered if you could suggest a suitable hotel for someone with mobility issues. I may even hire a scooter.

[Putterdude]

Hi. I haven't as yet read through the whole 143 odd pages so I hope you don't mind me asking..... We will have just over a week in Vancouver after our cruise and I just wondered if you could suggest a suitable hotel for someone with mobility issues. I may even hire a scooter.

 

Dudette, my wife, has MS, travels in a wheelchair so accessibility is always our number 1 priority. I will tell you that Vancouver is very accessible and many hotels have accessible rooms. However, there are literally hundreds of hotels in Vancouver so it would be much easier to help you if you could give us an idea of what area you might like to stay in and your budget for a hotel room.

[jensue1]

Dudette, my wife, has MS, travels in a wheelchair so accessibility is always our number 1 priority. I will tell you that Vancouver is very accessible and many hotels have accessible rooms. However, there are literally hundreds of hotels in Vancouver so it would be much easier to help you if you could give us an idea of what area you might like to stay in and your budget for a hotel room.

 

we really need to do some more research as I don't know Vancouver at all. We would like access to shopping (even a shopping mall would be fine) restaurants. We don't want to be isolated. We will do some day tours (of city and hopefully day trip to whistler) that hopefully will pick up from hotel. Have looked briefly at St Regis, L'Hermitage hotel, Marriott Pinnacle so that sort of price range. However price isn't the major concern, location and convenience is the most important for us.

[Putterdude]

we really need to do some more research as I don't know Vancouver at all. We would like access to shopping (even a shopping mall would be fine) restaurants. We don't want to be isolated. We will do some day tours (of city and hopefully day trip to whistler) that hopefully will pick up from hotel. Have looked briefly at St Regis, L'Hermitage hotel, Marriott Pinnacle so that sort of price range. However price isn't the major concern, location and convenience is the most important for us.

 

As budget is not a major issue that makes it easy:

 

The Pan Pacific at Canada Place is obviously as close to the cruise ship terminal as you can get, has some great views but is about 6/7 blocks to any amount of shopping.

 

The Marriot Pinnacle has a number of accessible rooms but tends to be a bit out of the swim of things.

 

The Hyatt Regency is IMO as close to center ice as you can be in the city, has accessible rooms and is close to everything such as transportation, shopping restaurants and alike.

 

The Fairmont Vancouver Hotel is a classic old hotel and shares most of the locational qualities of the Hyatt Regency.

 

If you really want to go top drawer then the Four Seasons is right over Pacific Centre, the downtowns major shopping centre.

 

Sutton Place has 5 accessible rooms and is reasonably close to shopping and very close to many restaurants.

 

The St. Regis has a great location for shopping and restaurants. It has some accessible rooms. However, it was a redo of a much older hotel which I am also loath to recommend.

 

We often recommend the Blue Horizon on Vancouver threads but it does not have any accessible rooms.

 

If you find yourself choking on the room rates in Vancouver please come back and we will come up with some other options.

[jensue1]

As budget is not a major issue that makes it easy:

 

The Pan Pacific at Canada Place is obviously as close to the cruise ship terminal as you can get, has some great views but is about 6/7 blocks to any amount of shopping.

 

The Marriot Pinnacle has a number of accessible rooms but tends to be a bit out of the swim of things.

 

The Hyatt Regency is IMO as close to center ice as you can be in the city, has accessible rooms and is close to everything such as transportation, shopping restaurants and alike.

 

The Fairmont Vancouver Hotel is a classic old hotel and shares most of the locational qualities of the Hyatt Regency.

 

If you really want to go top drawer then the Four Seasons is right over Pacific Centre, the downtowns major shopping centre.

 

Sutton Place has 5 accessible rooms and is reasonably close to shopping and very close to many restaurants.

 

The St. Regis has a great location for shopping and restaurants. It has some accessible rooms. However, it was a redo of a much older hotel which I am also loath to recommend.

 

We often recommend the Blue Horizon on Vancouver threads but it does not have any accessible rooms.

 

If you find yourself choking on the room rates in Vancouver please come back and we will come up with some other options.

 

Thanks so much for your helpful reply. I will have a look at the hotels you hav suggested.

[Plmkrze]

We are staying at the Marriott Pinnacle this Friday night.

We are on a tight budget.

Two adults to eat lunch and dinner Friday and breakfast Saturday.

We prefer to walk so we don't have to spend money on transportation.

Our flight lands at noon on Friday.

We will split meals if needed also.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

We need the cheapest way to get from airport to Marriott and then from Marriott to cruise terminal for Princess cruise lines.

Does public transportation such as buses take credit cards or do we need to get a small amount of CAD from an ATM?

 

TIA,

Meggan

[martincath]

We are staying at the Marriott Pinnacle this Friday night.

We are on a tight budget.

Two adults to eat lunch and dinner Friday and breakfast Saturday.

We prefer to walk so we don't have to spend money on transportation.

Our flight lands at noon on Friday.

We will split meals if needed also.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

We need the cheapest way to get from airport to Marriott and then from Marriott to cruise terminal for Princess cruise lines.

Does public transportation such as buses take credit cards or do we need to get a small amount of CAD from an ATM?

 

TIA,

Meggan

Buses are CAD cash only (effectively coins only since no change is given, unless you want to waste a lot of $) but you can buy tickets in advance with credit cards in a Skytrain station. There's one right at the airport, which is also the cheapest way to get two people downtown. $9pp for a Two Zone Fare - this includes a $5 surcharge for inbound airport travel, in case you are on an RT cruise and need to get back to YVR at the end it'll only cost $4pp (or $2.75pp on weekends as all travel becomes one Zone).

 

NB: make sure that your credit card providers know you are traveling, and ideally use a Chip & PIN card - Skytrain is fully automated including ticket sales, so nobody will be able to manually process your cards if they are rejected for being third world technology! MasterCard/Visa work, I can't recall offhand if AmEx works on transit ticket machines, and Discovery is basically a no-go except in hotels and larger restaurants.

 

From the Pinnacle, cheapest way to the pier is to walk! By the time you wait for a cab and then wait in traffic - it's a huge bottleneck getting into the terminal on cruise days - it may even be as fast to walk! Only 600 metres.

 

Cheap eats nearby - try some food carts, especially for lunch. They're pricier than McDs/Timmies/Subway fastfood, which are also all nearby the hotel if you are really scrimping, but muich more interesting. Ramen is very popular and makes for a good, filling meal at a bargain price - many, many options of which my fave is Ramen Jinya (get the premium pork broth, it's mindblowingly rich).

 

For dinner, eat early - Happy Hour is becoming quite the thing locally. Flying Pig (three branches) does IMO the best overall quality/value HH, but some of the otherwise overpriced options like Hy's Steakhouse and Joe Fortes offer some superb bargains too. Pub Grub in general is decent value, but of the downtown options near you I'd say Malone's offers the best bang for your buck.

 

Brekkie next day - Timmies? Coffee, hash brown, and a breakfast sandwich will only run you about CAD$6pp. More substantial - try De Dutch pancake house, almost next door to Canada Place in the other half of the convention centre.

 

NB: that with our dollar still quite weak, CAD$20~=US$15 so if you look at the prices and basically assume they are in US, that will cover tax (5% on food), tip, plus Foreign Transaction Fee on your credit card. Booze has a 15% tax applied though, so watch out for that!

[Plmkrze]

Buses are CAD cash only (effectively coins only since no change is given, unless you want to waste a lot of $) but you can buy tickets in advance with credit cards in a Skytrain station. There's one right at the airport, which is also the cheapest way to get two people downtown. $9pp for a Two Zone Fare - this includes a $5 surcharge for inbound airport travel, in case you are on an RT cruise and need to get back to YVR at the end it'll only cost $4pp (or $2.75pp on weekends as all travel becomes one Zone).

 

Is there a way to not have to pay the $5.00 surcharge? We are on a one way cruise.

Is there a website that tells use exactly what buses to take to get from airport to Marriott.

 

NB: make sure that your credit card providers know you are traveling, and ideally use a Chip & PIN card - Skytrain is fully automated including ticket sales, so nobody will be able to manually process your cards if they are rejected for being third world technology! MasterCard/Visa work, I can't recall offhand if AmEx works on transit ticket machines, and Discovery is basically a no-go except in hotels and larger restaurants.

 

I will use a chip visa for all purchases. I will hopefully be able to use an ATM to get about $20.00 out and get some change from a bank.

 

From the Pinnacle, cheapest way to the pier is to walk! By the time you wait for a cab and then wait in traffic - it's a huge bottleneck getting into the terminal on cruise days - it may even be as fast to walk! Only 600 metres.

 

We will walk to the pier.

 

Cheap eats nearby - try some food carts, especially for lunch. They're pricier than McDs/Timmies/Subway fastfood, which are also all nearby the hotel if you are really scrimping, but muich more interesting. Ramen is very popular and makes for a good, filling meal at a bargain price - many, many options of which my fave is Ramen Jinya (get the premium pork broth, it's mindblowingly rich).

 

I am interested in trying to eat at places that we don't have near my home. I will look into ramen.

Should we get something to eat for the train ride from the airport to hotel? Do you suggest something from the airport?

 

For dinner, eat early - Happy Hour is becoming quite the thing locally. Flying Pig (three branches) does IMO the best overall quality/value HH, but some of the otherwise overpriced options like Hy's Steakhouse and Joe Fortes offer some superb bargains too. Pub Grub in general is decent value, but of the downtown options near you I'd say Malone's offers the best bang for your buck.

 

Brekkie next day - Timmies? Coffee, hash brown, and a breakfast sandwich will only run you about CAD$6pp. More substantial - try De Dutch pancake house, almost next door to Canada Place in the other half of the convention centre.

 

NB: that with our dollar still quite weak, CAD$20~=US$15 so if you look at the prices and basically assume they are in US, that will cover tax (5% on food), tip, plus Foreign Transaction Fee on your credit card. Booze has a 15% tax applied though, so watch out for that!

 

 

What do you suggest as a cheap/free option for things to do Friday afternoon/evening and Saturday late morning?

 

Thanks for all your input.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Edited September 12, 2016 by Plmkrze

[martincath]

Answers in red

Is there a way to not have to pay the $5.00 surcharge? We are on a one way cruise.

Nope - they closed the loophole with the new ticketing system. Only way to avoid it is not to take Skytrain - and you REALLY do not want to take a bus in from YVR, it's outrageously inefficient since SkyTrain killed all relevant bus routes except for nightbuses which run when train does not. One Community shuttle bus route does come onto Sea Island, but the nearest stop is over a klick from the terminal and then you'd have to transfer multiple times over about 90-120minutes to get to the Marriott - all while balancing luggage on lap as no storage on buses!

 

Is there a website that tells use exactly what buses to take to get from airport to Marriott.

I linked it above - translink website has it's own trip planner, here. But since system is fully integrated with Google Maps and their interface is more familiar to most, I'd just Google it!

 

I will use a chip visa for all purchases. I will hopefully be able to use an ATM to get about $20.00 out and get some change from a bank.

Don't, unless your bank will refund ATM fees in Canada. While the conversion rate is the fairest, it's not enough to offset even a small fixed fee when you take out small amounts. Simplest way to get a bit of local change is to break a US$20 at a retailer - they'll give change in Canadian, and even if rate is less than bank official there's no fixed cost to overcome. Or visit VCBE downtown for the best exchange rates for cash.

We will walk to the pier.

Good call.

 

I am interested in trying to eat at places that we don't have near my home. I will look into ramen.

Any other cuisines you haven't got locally? 'Ethnic' usually means cheap...

edit - one immediate suggestion - Phnom Penh in Chinatown! No resos, plastic tablecloths, but stellar value Vietnamese/Cambodian food and possibly the best wings on the planet. Has lineups daily even after more than a quarter century in business!

 

Should we get something to eat for the train ride from the airport to hotel? Do you suggest something from the airport?

Heck no! It's a 26min ride end-to-end, and eating onboard is unlawful. Why pay inflated airport prices to sit and NOT eat anything? Wait until you get downtown.

 

What do you suggest as a cheap/free option for things to do Friday afternoon/evening and Saturday late morning?

Art walk? Tour Guys free walking tour? Not free, but very cheap and interesting Architectural walks?

 

Thanks for all your input.

No problem.

One additional thought - given you're asking about very small savings above, have you considered a different hotel? If you're sticking to Marriott properties, the Residence Inn is usually cheaper and still a decent downtown location - if you are happy with any good hotel, then the best bargain in the city is the YWCA Hotel (real hotel, not a hostel). A private bath double would likely save you enough to pay for a very nice dinner and cab fare from airport compared to Pinnacle, and if you go to a shared bath even less spendy. Popular though, so may not have rooms left...

Edited September 12, 2016 by martincath
Forgot tour links

[Milhouse]

You'll find a plethora of restaurants along a circuit of Robson, Denman, Davie, and Granville.

Here are some cheap sit down options:

• Stepho's is a a popular Greek place with locations on Robson and Davie selling souvlaki meals for $10-15.
  
• On the other end of Robson, Ebiten with Japanese bowls. You can get a tempura and teriyaki chicken rice bowl for sub $10.
  
• Kintaro on Denman is one of the popular and cheaper ramen places in Vancouver for $10 a bowl. I like Ramen Jinya better tho because of their richer broth.
  
• Hon's on Robson is a popular inexpensive Chinese restaurant. They're known for their wonton soup and pot stickers (2 bowls of wonton soup and a dozen pot stickers ~ $20). One caution is that they did get closed down earlier this year from a restaurant inspector visit.
  
• On Granville is The Famous Warehouse where everything is $4.95. The food is ok for $4.95 but don't expect anything spectacular. Some of the portion sizes are smaller as can be expected.
  
• The Gallery Cafe at the back of the Art Gallery has a pretty popular patio when the sun is out. They serve inexpensive soup, sandwiches, salads, and quiche. A number of the items are pre-plated under glass but the food is fresh.
  
• Most of the Glowbal group's restaurants have a Friday $12 burger/pasta/fish&chip and a beer special if you are still needing lunch after getting in. After that but before dinner, they have a happy/cocktail hour specials.
  
• A little further afield in Gastown are a couple of inexpensive taco/Mexican joints: Gringo and Tacofino.
  

 

Best free/cheap activities on Friday night IMO is Shipyards Night Market: You just have to get across the inlet via the Seabus. Free entrance. Vendors, live music, food carts, great views of downtown Vancouver. You can spend a 1.5-2 hours here if you combine it with a visit to the Lonsdale Quay Market.

 

There's a nice seawall walk between Canada Place and Stanley Park with a view of the inlet, marina, park.

There's longer circuit where you can walk down Robson Street, across Denman, check out English Bay (great sunset area), up Davie Street, and back across Granville. There's a lot of restaurants and retail along these blocks.

Walking to Granville Island and it's public market is realistic option.

 

If you make it to Granville Island, the Vancouver Fringe Festival is on with a number of venues there.

 

Gastown is within walking distance and a standard tourist destination with it's cobblestone streets and steam clock.

 

Granville Street from about Georgia to Nelson gets pretty busy Friday and Saturday nights as it's the Entertainment District with a number of pubs and lounges. It's lively area but can turn into a bit of a gong show with all the drinking going on.

 

A couple of other nearby full breakfasts options on Saturday morning:

White Spot on Georgia Street: 10 min walk. Very popular chain. A Nat's Hearty Breakfast for $10-12 will get you 2 eggs, 2 sausage, 2 bacon, hashbrowns, and toast.

 

Another option 10 min away is Cora on Robson. It's a popular breakfast chain from Montreal.

 

Free/cheap activities on Saturday morning:

The Canada Place to Stanley Park walk might be nice for this morning.

West End Farmer's Market at Nelson Park.

[Plmkrze]

One additional thought - given you're asking about very small savings above, have you considered a different hotel? If you're sticking to Marriott properties, the Residence Inn is usually cheaper and still a decent downtown location - if you are happy with any good hotel, then the best bargain in the city is the YWCA Hotel (real hotel, not a hostel). A private bath double would likely save you enough to pay for a very nice dinner and cab fare from airport compared to Pinnacle, and if you go to a shared bath even less spendy. Popular though, so may not have rooms left...

 

Thanks for the thought. It was free... we used Marriott points from my husband's travel for work.

[Plmkrze]

Thanks for all the info.

[SherriM]

I saw that it was said that there is no shopping near to the Fairmont Waterfront. What is easy walking distance to this hotel? Restaurants, things to see, etc. Thanks!

[martincath]

I saw that it was said that there is no shopping near to the Fairmont Waterfront. What is easy walking distance to this hotel? Restaurants, things to see, etc. Thanks!

Not sure who said that, but if it wasn't a misread on your part it was a case of relative distance or just plain nonsense from the poster.

 

There are plenty of shops and things to see and do and eat, within what most people probably consider easy walking distance from the Waterfront (say half a mile or less on sidewalks) - it's just that being almost next to the water there's obviously only half of the surrounding land area compared to a hotel with streets on all sides so relatively-speaking it's got less stuff in the very close vicinity! Have a shufty at Google Maps - I preselected the Fairmont here for you, and you can see even without searching the many shop and restaurant icons within just a couple of blocks. Plus of course being so close to the water means it's literally just across the street from the start of the Seawall at Canada Place which you can walk or bike along for many miles now.

 

Without knowing your preferred types of things to shop for, what you like to eat, what you like to do it's tricky to recommend specifics... but I'll take a stab.

 

Personally I enjoy Oru in the Pacific Rim and Five Sails in the Pan Pacific much more than ARC inside the Waterfront - the former does an exceptional job of handling food issues, with multiple menu versions for low sodium/fat/carb/gluten/vegantarian etc. etc. etc. and the latter is very nice continental cuisine in a beautiful space, all starched linens with great sunset views.

 

Miku just across the street has a great rep for sushi - but it's Aburi, the kind that's scorched rather than totally raw so not my personal preference - and one of our local Izakaya chains, Hapa, has a branch next door for a broad Japanese menu. Same building has the Vancouver Tourism visitor centre in it for leaflets, coupons, advice - and a branch of Rogue, a decent local pub chain with a strong focus on PNW IPAs. Pubs are all over - I'd opt for Tap & Barrel at the convention centre for the best combo of value and view, and Cactus Club Cafe have a branch there too for fancier but still good value dining. If you like the vibe of most North American 'Irish Bars' you'll probably enjoy Mahoney & Sons too, though it's blandly stereotypical of the genre to me as a Brit (ditto Elephant & Castle, a 'British pub' in the marine building).

 

Shuttles to the North Shore attractions - Capilano Bridge, Grouse Mountain - run from just across the road at Canada Place, as do both HOHOs for a useful overview tour of downtown and Stanley Park. FlyOver Canada, the VAG, the Olympic Cauldron, tons of outdoor art - it's all within a half-mile or less. Gastown is only ten minutes walk away, with the cobbled Water Street offering a nice 'Ye Olde Historic City' vibe, the Steam Clock and Gassy Jack statue. Super-swanky shoes from Fluevog in a very interesting 'building' (just flooring and glass roof & walls in an empty space between two buildings) and other shops from tacky souvenirs to art to fancy furniture on water.

 

Plenty of restos in Gastown too, from the dirt cheap 'stuff your face with pasta' Old Spaghetti Factory to some of the finest dining in the city (our only Michelin-star chef can be found in Bauhaus - though his star comes from prior German operations, and until the service gets as good as the food he won't be picking up another one here). I like Pourhouse for cocktails (it's historic without being too cheesey about it; they serve no vodka cocktails, as there was no such thing back in the day, which means you never need to worry about your martini being screwed up unless you specify gin, and while the barstaff do have to wear Ye Olde uniforms it's discretionary how far they go, so it's mostly just waistcoats and bowties - lots of very nice reclaimed wood and furniture in the place too) and L'Abattoir just past Gassy jack for dinner. Flying Pig has a branch on Water too, very affordable locavore food with superb value Happy Hour.

[martincath]

 

• Stepho's is a a popular Greek place with locations on Robson and Davie selling souvlaki meals for $10-15.
  

 

• Hon's on Robson is a popular inexpensive Chinese restaurant. They're known for their wonton soup and pot stickers (2 bowls of wonton soup and a dozen pot stickers ~ $20). One caution is that they did get closed down earlier this year from a restaurant inspector visit.

Jinya was also closed at almost the same time as Hons Milhouse - I like the fact these closures are public info, but as long as there's no pattern of failures I don't mind continuing to patronise a place that has made a mistake and fixed it.

 

But Stepho's!? Dang - just when I thought we were on a very similar page foodwise;-) It's pretty much the definitive case of 'popular does not equal good' (indeed, it's part of the Vancouver Lexicon for that very reason!)

[SherriM]

"The Pan Pacific at Canada Place is obviously as close to the cruise ship terminal as you can get, has some great views but is about 6/7 blocks to any amount of shopping." Per PutterDude

 

MartinCath - Thanks for setting me straight. I will print your recommendations and take with us! Appreciate the time you took to be so thorough! And this is why I LOVE CC (just fast forwarding through the snarky posts - ha!).

 

BTW - We'll be in Calgary and Canmore after our cruise. Somebody had recommended Caesars in Calgary for good steaks? Any input?

[martincath]

"The Pan Pacific at Canada Place is obviously as close to the cruise ship terminal as you can get, has some great views but is about 6/7 blocks to any amount of shopping." Per PutterDude

 

MartinCath - Thanks for setting me straight. I will print your recommendations and take with us! Appreciate the time you took to be so thorough! And this is why I LOVE CC (just fast forwarding through the snarky posts - ha!).

 

BTW - We'll be in Calgary and Canmore after our cruise. Somebody had recommended Caesars in Calgary for good steaks? Any input?

Much as PD and I don't see eye to eye on many things, he does know where the shops are! I'd stake good money on him meaning Robson Street, which has many fancy stores, in that comment, which is indeed about 6 blocks from the PP. Blocks in Vancouver are very small compared to many cities (most aren't much over 100 yards, although the size varies downtown due to the coastlines) - in other words his 6/7 blocks is well within my assumption of 1/2 mile being an easy walk for most...

 

Calgary isn't somewhere I visit often, but Alberta is where a huge amount of Canadian beef gets 'grown' so in theory there are a lot of good steakhouses. Frankly I rarely visit steakhouses as a steak is one of the easiest meals for any competent cook to make at home - the hardest part is in buying a good steak, the cooking consists of just not ruining it! My best meaty memory of Calgary is the charcuterie in Charcut which was exceptional.

[jensue1]

As budget is not a major issue that makes it easy:

 

The Pan Pacific at Canada Place is obviously as close to the cruise ship terminal as you can get, has some great views but is about 6/7 blocks to any amount of shopping.

 

The Marriot Pinnacle has a number of accessible rooms but tends to be a bit out of the swim of things.

 

The Hyatt Regency is IMO as close to center ice as you can be in the city, has accessible rooms and is close to everything such as transportation, shopping restaurants and alike.

 

The Fairmont Vancouver Hotel is a classic old hotel and shares most of the locational qualities of the Hyatt Regency.

 

If you really want to go top drawer then the Four Seasons is right over Pacific Centre, the downtowns major shopping centre.

 

Sutton Place has 5 accessible rooms and is reasonably close to shopping and very close to many restaurants.

 

The St. Regis has a great location for shopping and restaurants. It has some accessible rooms. However, it was a redo of a much older hotel which I am also loath to recommend.

 

We often recommend the Blue Horizon on Vancouver threads but it does not have any accessible rooms.

 

If you find yourself choking on the room rates in Vancouver please come back and we will come up with some other options.

 

Thanks so much for your help. I think we have pretty much decided on the Four Seasons. Looks like a good location (especially for some serious shopping! http://boards.cruisecritic.com/images/icons/icon12.gif