Top 10: the best Downtown Vancouver hotels
An insider's guide to the best hotels in Downtown Vancouver, including the top places to stay for trendy bars, Michelin-starred restaurants, sumptuous spas, swimming pools and rooms with city views, near Vancouver Art Gallery, Robson Street, Yaletown and the City Centre Canada Line.
This 'Castle in the City', as it is often called, is in the heart of downtown, close to the major attractions. Ever since King George VI and Queen Elizabeth opened the hotel in 1939, it has been the preferred choice of the rich and famous. With its doormen dressed in long frock coats and hats, wide corridors and rooms full of old-fashioned comforts, this hotel epitomises a grande dame. There's a spa, gym and indoor pool. Book ahead for Tea at the Top up on the 15th floor; dainty sandwiches, scones and pastries, plus a bird’s-eye view of the city. It is close to major attractions, such as the Vancouver Art Gallery and posh shopping along Robson Street.
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Expect Art Deco luxury soaked in a glamorous history with some of Canada’s finest dining and cocktails squarely placed in the heart of the downtown action, opposite the Vancouver Art Gallery. The saltwater pool has a fun illuminated floor which softly glows different colours; other facilities include a gym and spa treatments. The Art Deco vibe continues in the rooms, with Twenties-style lamps and wooden furniture with beautiful grain detail. Even standard rooms come with an oversized marble bathroom complete with double soaker tub. Splurge and get the tasting menu at Hawksworth or sip on a cocktail surrounded by Damien Hirst art in the bar.
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This hotel in trendy Yaletown with its bars, restaurants and clubs has attracted fashionistas since it opened more than a decade ago. Along with the buzz that has attracted celebrities such as Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez and Lady Gaga. 'Bold' is the watchword in the rooms, which showcase, large, dramatic artworks and are bright and colourful. The hotel lends complimentary iPads to guests, and has its own (free) limousine for getting about. At breakfast time, La Pentola serves good coffee, banana bread and fresh donuts. Free bicycles are also available.
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A glittering glass tower on the water’s edge overlooking soaring mountains. It also takes up prime real estate in one of the most desirable spots in the city, two minutes from the tourist attractions and cruise terminal at Canada Place. The PacRim may have an uncompromisingly modern exterior but inside there’s a traditional warm welcome. Chilled live guitar or piano-playing singers croon daily, and the lobby rings with the sound of ice crashing in cocktail shakers and flirty conversation. Decadent rooms and suites gleam high-tech luxury, with ravishing views of the North Shore Mountains and Coal Harbour below. The Willow Stream spa is one of the city’s best and BMW bikes are available.
Five-star luxury in the heart of the city with a peaceful garden oasis and Vancouver’s only swim-out pool. Other facilities include a gym, and guests can look red-carpet-ready after a styling session at the Blo Blow Dry bar in the lobby. Wooden fish carvings lead the way to YEW Seafood + Bar, which is pleasantly intimate, thanks to some smart sectioning with a fireplace stone wall. The cocktail bar has exciting barrel-aged cocktails list, and a themed 'Oceans' menu featuring creative concoctions. You won’t get an ocean view here but you’ll be wowed by the city skyline and mountains soaring beyond. Floor-to-ceiling windows flood the guest rooms with plenty of natural light.
A top-hatted doorman greets those seeking discretion, as well as old-school luxury. In the bustling downtown, it is a pleasant surprise to find what feels like a country-house retreat, where classic decoration is matched by the latest technology. Movers and shakers frequent the restaurant and bar. Many of the 83 rooms and suites have balconies overlooking the gardens on Robson Square. Even the standard rooms (labelled Executive Queen Guestrooms) are spacious, with good city views from the 12th to 14th floors. As well as the latest fitness technology, personal trainers and a eucalyptus steam room, the day spa has unusual treatments.
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Think part French country house, part ski lodge, tucked away on a quiet street in the downtown core. The dramatic lobby with its black-and-white floor and flamboyant suspended scarlet sculpture is the yin to the yang of the quietly elegant rooms above. Sip cocktails on the suntrap patio, or swim in the saltwater pool at this sophisticated urban oasis. On the fifth floor, L’Orangerie lounge is also a cosy place to relax by the fire with a book. The staff pride themselves on personal service so expect to be greeted by your name. Bikes and tandems are available by request and there is a complimentary downtown shuttle service.
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The Pan looks for all the world like a great ocean liner, with soaring ceilings and picture windows, and commands killer views over the North Shore mountains, city skyline and Stanley Park from its perch on Canada Place. Step outside and you can hop on board the free tourist buses, and visit the various attractions on Canada Place. Generously-sized rooms come with coffee makers and dazzling views as standard. Things kick up a notch in the restaurant at weekends with a Saturday night opera buffet featuring live singers, and a lavish Sunday market brunch. There’s a functional gym and large spa with unusual treatments including seaweed baths and chocolate-infused mud wraps.
The glamorous Shangri-La is Vancouver’s tallest tower at 700ft-high. It's slap bang in the middle of the city surrounded by bars, late-night cafés and restaurants. CHI has a spa-within-a-spa concept with each treatment room lavishly appointed with its own hot tub, steam room, relaxation area and changing room. There’s a small outdoor pool and hot tub. 'Market by Jean-Georges' is one of Michelin-starred chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s concept restaurants, so here is the chance to sample his signature style of East-West fusion cuisine. The soft gold-accented rooms are elegant and bright with floor-to-ceiling windows and Asian art and tapestries decorating the walls. Even the smallest is pleasingly spacious, and many come with their own balconies high over West Georgia street.
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Barely two blocks away from Coal Harbour and the city’s seawall which wraps around Stanley Park – where you’ll find active Vancouverites jogging, biking or in-line skating – the Loden is also niftily placed a few blocks from the bustle of downtown. Gleaming designer Dornbracht fixtures and Philippe Starck fittings mesh with a west-coast hipster vibe to create a very Vancouver kind of stay: laid back yet stylish. In true west-coast fashion, an activity programme, WanderFIT, is offered to connect guests with local cycling and trekking guides for a full cardio workout in the great outdoors. The second floor houses a well-equipped gym, spa suite, infrared sauna and green space with a reflecting pool and mini-waterfall.
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