Obsession...I mean, planning is coming along...need to find a hotel in Vancouver still

[bumbershoot]

Espresso is worse than coffee. Can't stand either of them. Wish I did, though. It would make things so much easier.

That's fine. But just like you go to a coffee place for tea, you might consider another coffee/espresso place for tea. If you do the same search, and I think the result was on yelp, they had some AMAZING looking pastries in pictures. Since I don't go out to get tea (I have loads of teas at home) I don't know what Blenz and Waves might have, but it might be worth looking at. Or getting pastries at. (...ending sentences in "at". Ack!)

 

[scrapperkimmydee]

That's fine. But just like you go to a coffee place for tea, you might consider another coffee/espresso place for tea. If you do the same search, and I think the result was on yelp, they had some AMAZING looking pastries in pictures. Since I don't go out to get tea (I have loads of teas at home) I don't know what Blenz and Waves might have, but it might be worth looking at. Or getting pastries at. (...ending sentences in "at". Ack!)

I could do that for my other travelers, but I've already spent waaaaaay too much $$ trying to find other teas that I like. I HATE tea. JUST LIKE I hate coffee. The only reason I drink the tea I do is because it doesn't taste AnyThing like tea. I'm not spending any more money trying to find another tea.

 

[scrapperkimmydee]

lOr getting pastries at. (...ending sentences in "at". Ack!)

Your participles are dangling...;-)

 

[l4dk]

Trying to keep costs down. Need a hotel for the night before the cruise.

Looking on hotel.com (where I always book through) but it doesn't say which places offer shuttles to the port.

Any chance anyone has a list of hotels that offer that?

We had a great 4 night prior cruise stay at the Hampton Inn Downtown. They have a free and very convenient shuttle to the port. Great location with a lot within walking distance. Love the views from the top floor terrace.

 

[JenPinks]

I am from BC and have stayed at the georgian court lots of times. It is pretty popular because it is walking distance to 2 major venues for sports/concerts. I have enjoyed all my stays there. If there is a concert during your stay you might encounter some noise in the hallways as people return to their rooms. It is walking distance to a skytrain station and there is a starbucks right by it, as well as lots of other restaurants.

Thanks for that info!

 

[LoveMickey]

When we sailed out of Vancouver, I booked a downtown hotel and then did Hotwire and got the Pan Pacific for a better price.

The downtown hotel was a regular chain, Hampton or courtyard, or similar

The Pan Pacific was great. I'd do that again. In your search criteria,make sure you have that it has a pool. That will differentiate it from the one across the street.

Good luck. Oh, once I did the Hotwire, need to pay in advance, I cancelled my downtown one.

 

[mamaburrito]

How can you tell on Hotwire if you have Pan Pacific? Right now we are booked at Times Square but I keep looking elsewhere.

When we sailed out of Vancouver, I booked a downtown hotel and then did Hotwire and got the Pan Pacific for a better price.

The downtown hotel was a regular chain, Hampton or courtyard, or similar

The Pan Pacific was great. I'd do that again. In your search criteria,make sure you have that it has a pool. That will differentiate it from the one across the street.

Good luck. Oh, once I did the Hotwire, need to pay in advance, I cancelled my downtown one.

 

[mbjeni]

I did Hotwire yesterday for June and I got the Hyatt regency for $183/nt but the fees are another $50/nt! There were two hotels also listed as 4-5 star but were going for $282/nt.

 

[alli817]

We stayed out in Richmond - specifically the Sandman Signature, we paid about $130 and that included 2 weeks of parking(we are staying there next weekend for $100/night). Sandman is a Canadian chain, rooms were nice, there was lots of pools and places to eat within walking distance. They had a free shuttle to the airport(make sure you reserve it!) and we jumped on the Canada line and walked about 2 blocks to the port - with 2 weeks of luggage and an autistic child..and it was Easy peasy! and cheap! But we're from BC, so we didn't need the tourist part of Vancouver and didn't see the value in staying downtown

If you are childless the Riverock hotel is super nice and right on the SkyTrain line. It's a casino hotel and they always have specials and deals!

 

[cmph]

How can you tell on Hotwire if you have Pan Pacific? Right now we are booked at Times Square but I keep looking elsewhere.

Old thread, I know, but I'm wondering if you ended up staying at Times Square? Rates are insane the weekend before our cruise next summer, extra insane b/c of some convention that weekend. Times Square is pretty reasonable though, and it seems like a great location. I don't care if we have a $10 cab ride to the port if I'm saving $400-500 on the hotel for the weekend! The weird thing about the AC only being in the bedroom gives me pause, but it shouldn't be warm enough to matter, I assume. And laundry machines in the suite certainly make up for that.

 

[jetskigrl]

Old thread, I know, but I'm wondering if you ended up staying at Times Square? Rates are insane the weekend before our cruise next summer, extra insane b/c of some convention that weekend. Times Square is pretty reasonable though, and it seems like a great location. I don't care if we have a $10 cab ride to the port if I'm saving $400-500 on the hotel for the weekend! The weird thing about the AC only being in the bedroom gives me pause, but it shouldn't be warm enough to matter, I assume. And laundry machines in the suite certainly make up for that.

Not the OP but we stayed at Times Square Suites for 4 nights this summer before our Alaska cruise. We absolutely loved the hotel but it does have some things to consider.

1) Depending on where your room is at, it is noisy. We knew this going in and we usually sleep with ear plugs anyway so it was not an issue for us. Our room faced the back of the hotel and the only time we really heard any noise was from the trash trucks. But I heard some of the rooms facing the front can get noise from the streets below.

2) Depending on where your room is at, the view is not so great. Again, our room faced the back alley and there was no view at all (unless you like driveway and trashcans, lol).

But for us, the pros definitely outweighed the cons. The room was huge (like an apartment) and it was great having a separate sleeping area for the parents and kids. We were there in August and the A/C in the main bedroom was nice but there were also fans in all the other rooms. We never found it uncomfortably warm, even though it was in the 80s every day we were there.

We enjoyed the roof-top patio area and the location was super convenient to Stanley Park, the waterfront, tons of restaurants and even a Safeway across the street to stock up the room.

It was great being able to have meals in our room (definitely saved over eating out three meals a day for 4 days) and we did a few loads of laundry the night before the cruise, which helped with being able to pack fewer clothes.

We loved Times Square and Vancouver so much that DH wanted to plan another trip back to Vancouver and stay there again, just to have more time checking out the sights

We stayed at the Pan Pacific for two nights before our Alaska cruise in 2014 and while we loved the location and view there, I would not have wanted to stay there any longer than we did. They only had double beds, which made 4 people sharing two beds really tight. And there wasn't even a refrigerator in the room to keep drinks cold. So when we stayed there, all our meals were eaten out, which just added to the price.

 

[cmph]

Not the OP but we stayed at Times Square Suites for 4 nights this summer before our Alaska cruise. We absolutely loved the hotel but it does have some things to consider.

1) Depending on where your room is at, it is noisy. We knew this going in and we usually sleep with ear plugs anyway so it was not an issue for us. Our room faced the back of the hotel and the only time we really heard any noise was from the trash trucks. But I heard some of the rooms facing the front can get noise from the streets below.

2) Depending on where your room is at, the view is not so great. Again, our room faced the back alley and there was no view at all (unless you like driveway and trashcans, lol).

But for us, the pros definitely outweighed the cons. The room was huge (like an apartment) and it was great having a separate sleeping area for the parents and kids. We were there in August and the A/C in the main bedroom was nice but there were also fans in all the other rooms. We never found it uncomfortably warm, even though it was in the 80s every day we were there.

We enjoyed the roof-top patio area and the location was super convenient to Stanley Park, the waterfront, tons of restaurants and even a Safeway across the street to stock up the room.

It was great being able to have meals in our room (definitely saved over eating out three meals a day for 4 days) and we did a few loads of laundry the night before the cruise, which helped with being able to pack fewer clothes.

We loved Times Square and Vancouver so much that DH wanted to plan another trip back to Vancouver and stay there again, just to have more time checking out the sights

We stayed at the Pan Pacific for two nights before our Alaska cruise in 2014 and while we loved the location and view there, I would not have wanted to stay there any longer than we did. They only had double beds, which made 4 people sharing two beds really tight. And there wasn't even a refrigerator in the room to keep drinks cold. So when we stayed there, all our meals were eaten out, which just added to the price.

Thank you so much for this detailed report!! I paused slightly at the AC bit before booking, but we'll be there in mid-June, and we live in Phoenix, so really - we ought to survive, right? I checked the annual weather averages just to make sure. LOL! I'm glad to hear you were ok in August, though. A view is nice and all, but I won't enjoy paying 3 times as much for it. Right now I have a 3-night rate that, with taxes, would get me about 1 night at the Pan Pacific. I checked rates obsessively all over the area, and from what I could tell, the Days Inn was the closest comparable option - but still more expensive and for 2 double beds! I booked the bedroom+den option at Times Square, which means my kids won't have to share a double bed (this would be dramatic and irritating), or even a bed at all, b/c the den has a twin and the living area has a sofabed. We will bring our white noise machines, for sure. And yes, the laundry machines and kitchen sold it for me. We'll be able to wash everything and re-wear it on the cruise without having to do laundry ON the cruise. And DH has celiac so it's much easier to eat some meals we prep ourselves than figure out 3 safe places he can eat each day. Thanks again, a big "whew" for me now!