Just checked in to Sheraton Wall Centre - not impressed

[NightRN]

We flew in about an hour ago and checked in to the hotel. The hotel room is smaller than a Motel 6 room. My view is of the rooftops of old buildings. The staff was friendly, but not overly accommodating. We've heard 3 sirens in the small amount of time we've been here. I am an ER nurse, so it has been fun to see the ambulances run in to the hospital, but it will get old very quickly when we're trying to sleep. My husband walked around the corner to 7-11 and ran across 2 or 3 homeless people. $9.00 for a bowl of oatmeal from room service. $22.00 if I want a Denny's "Grand Slam" type breakfast. This is not what I expect when I am paying $200 a night for a hotel room. If this is what we get as preferred spg members, I hate to see what non-members get.

[Urban trekker]

I can't comment on the size of the rooms at the Sheraton as I have never stayed there but street people are a fact of life here in Vancouver - they are more of nuisance than anything else - many are not homeless but more "lost" - there is also a youth drop-in center next to the 7 -11 so that tends to draws then to that corner - I know I live about three blocks from the Sheraton and walk by there just about every day.

 

Hopefully you will be able to enjoy the rest of your visit and try and take in the fireworks at Canada Place tonight - starting at 10:30PM - just head straight down to the north foot of Burrard and find a place neat the new convention center for the best views.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[jasmith52]

We flew in about an hour ago and checked in to the hotel. The hotel room is smaller than a Motel 6 room. My view is of the rooftops of old buildings. The staff was friendly, but not overly accommodating. We've heard 3 sirens in the small amount of time we've been here. I am an ER nurse, so it has been fun to see the ambulances run in to the hospital, but it will get old very quickly when we're trying to sleep. My husband walked around the corner to 7-11 and ran across 2 or 3 homeless people. $9.00 for a bowl of oatmeal from room service. $22.00 if I want a Denny's "Grand Slam" type breakfast. This is not what I expect when I am paying $200 a night for a hotel room. If this is what we get as preferred spg members, I hate to see what non-members get.

 

I seems that they gave you a "basic" room. What exactly did you book ?

 

The prices you quote for food are what I have seen at other 4-star properties. They are not out of line with other hotels. Besides that $22 plate of eggs is in Canadian dollars so in USD that would only be ~$19. Now, Is that a deal or what :) Just think what those rubber eggs would cost in New York or worse in London :eek:

[NightRN]

I can't comment on the size of the rooms at the Sheraton as I have never stayed there but street people are a fact of life here in Vancouver - they are more of nuisance than anything else - many are not homeless but more "lost" - there is also a youth drop-in center next to the 7 -11 so that tends to draws then to that corner - I know I live about three blocks from the Sheraton and walk by there just about every day.

 

Hopefully you will be able to enjoy the rest of your visit and try and take in the fireworks at Canada Place tonight - starting at 10:30PM - just head straight down to the north foot of Burrard and find a place neat the new convention center for the best views.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

 

Thanks for the info. We are loving it here. Everyone we've met has been wonderful. In fact when my husband got coffee from 7-11, the clerk was from the same state we came from. It was great talking to her.

[NightRN]

I seems that they gave you a "basic" room. What exactly did you book ?

 

The prices you quote for food are what I have seen at other 4-star properties. They are not out of line with other hotels. Besides that $22 plate of eggs is in Canadian dollars so in USD that would only be ~$19. Now, Is that a deal or what :) Just think what those rubber eggs would cost in New York or worse in London :eek:

 

When we stayed in New York, the breakfast didn't cost nearly that much - although that was back in 2003. My mom and I stayed at a Sheraton in Chicago last Oct/Nov. and room service wasn't nearly that much then either.

 

We generally only use the room to sleep in anyway, so we're out having a good time! It was just a shock to have such a tiny room with a horrible view.

[leoandhugh]

In my opinion, if you were that disappointed in the size of the room and the view (or lack of it) you should have immediately gone back to the front desk, told them of your disappointments and asked them what other room(s) they might have to offer you. What did you ask for when you booked the room? Most hotels will go out of their way to keep customers happy, even though they may charge a little more for a better room or suite.:)

[Putterdude]

Sorry about your experience...as Ut has pointed out, unfortunatley the homeless are a fact of life in Vancouver as they are in most major cities, in fact the first time I really became aware of the problem was in Washington, DC in the mid-80's when we stayed at the Four Seasons about 2 blocks from the Capital building...not that is an excuse...it is just a fact. As for the sirens, oops....we tend to forget that your hotel is just a couple of blocks from St. Pauls Hospital and of course Burrard St. is a main route to St. Pauls. The bright spot is that St. Pauls is where both Ut and I were born....so it is kind of shrine you might say.:D

[NightRN]

My husband did go and talk to someone at the front desk, but it didn't get us anywhere. It wasn't enough to keep us fron enjoying ourselves, I just wouldn't stay there again and wanted to warn anyone who might have been considering staying there.

 

We had a great time in Vancouver. In fact our favorite dinner of the whole trip was at a restaurant called Gigi's on Davie St. The food was good and the live music was excellent. My mother didn't want to leave. :D I also loved the community gardens.

 

Putterdude, the hospital was a beautiful building. I'm so glad I got to see the shrine to your birth! Hee-hee. My stepfather took the time to wander around inside the building too. In the end, the sirens didn't bother us at night. I don't know if they shut them off when getting closer to the hospital at night or if we were just exhausted by the time we were sightseeing.

[Urban trekker]

"Gigi's on Davie St. The food was good and the live music was excellent. My mother didn't want to leave. I also loved the community gardens.

 

I ate at Gigi's about a week ago - usually order lasagna - and while not the best I ever had it ranks up in the top five. The music is played by the owner I beleive.

 

Yes that community garden is a thriving greenery - it will be there for two to three years and then the owner will develop it into a commerical/condo project - in return for the green space the owner gets a large property tax reduction - much better than the gas station remains that were there before.

 

Hotel aside - glad to hear that the rest of your trip and visit to our City went well.

 

Sunny and very hot here today.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis