The Westin Grand Vancouver, Vancouver

...it suited my requirements for the purpose of my trip, and there was nothing wrong with the hotel itself, I was left feeling a little disappointed by it. Now, this could be down to one of three reasons: firstly, that it was genuinely disappointing; secondly, that this was the second hotel I'd stayed in during my trip and the first hotel had been 5 star luxury all the way; or thirdly, that while Vancouver was a nice city, it wouldn't go down on my ...
...staying in Whistler, and on the way home had decided to extend our trip with a few days in Vancouver. Due to transport reasons, we had to leave Whistler to go to the airport, and then back again on the bus to the hotel, so we didn't arrive until after check in time. Unfortunately our room wasn't ready, so we did have to leave our bags with the concierge for an hour or so while we went out for a stroll to get our bearings. While it wasn't the end ... more

I stayed in this hotel in July 2005. While it suited my requirements for the purpose of my trip, and there was nothing wrong with the hotel itself, I was left feeling a little disappointed by it. Now, this could be down to one of three reasons: firstly, that it was genuinely disappointing; secondly, that this was the second hotel I'd stayed in during my trip and the first hotel had been 5 star luxury all the way; or thirdly, that while Vancouver was a nice city, it wouldn't go down on my list of top cities to re-visit.

We'd previously been staying in Whistler, and on the way home had decided to extend our trip with a few days in Vancouver. Due to transport reasons, we had to leave Whistler to go to the airport, and then back again on the bus to the hotel, so we didn't arrive until after check in time. Unfortunately our room wasn't ready, so we did have to leave our bags with the concierge for an hour or so while we went out for a stroll to get our bearings. While it wasn't the end of the world, it is annoying after a day's mucking around with travelling to find your room isn't ready.

When we finally did get into our room, we found we were on the top floor. This could only be accessed in the lift with our key for security reasons, which we were more than happy with. As the top floor only contained suites, there were only a few rooms on this floor, which meant that it was quite quiet. Unfortunately though, although we had a suite, a room may have been bigger, or at least better proportioned.

Our bedroom was at the end of the suite (imagine a large corridor partitioned into three with the entrance door in the middle partition) and was a strange shape, not being quite square. There was a built in wardrobe one one side, but the rest of the room was taken up with the bed, which was a double. The window was floor to ceiling glass, as it was in the lounge area, but unfortunately the view was of a building site next door. Luckily we were so high up that this did not disturb us.

The lounge was compact but comfortable, with a sofa, coffee table, desk and desk chair. There was internet access but believe that there was an additional charge for this.

The bathroom was a good size, and the shower provided good pressure. There were toiletries provided in the bathroom too.

The hotel reception was on the first floor of the building, so you had to either walk up stairs or take the lift to check in. An impressive staircase took you from the ground floor to the first floor: it wound round, so from the first floor it was a balconied kind of effect. On the same floor there was also the restaurant, which was small. We never ate our evening meal there as there was nothing on the menu which excited us terribly, and to be honest, we thought we would get a better value meal elsewhere.

However, breakfast was included with our nightly rate, and we enjoyed this. Only the basic continental breakfast was included, but if you wanted a cooked breakfast then you could do this for an extra charge. Breakfast was taken in the restaurant, and it did have a nice view onto the street outside.

The hotel location was fairly central, and on Robson Street, which is one of Vancouver's main streets. It is for this reason that I'd chosen the hotel, and in this respect we'd done well. Robson Street boasts plenty of shops, coffee shops and bars, so we didn't have to go far to get headlong into Vancouver life. Luckily the Westin Grand was far enough away not to be disturbed by any nightlife going on outside!

All in all, a good value hotel with a good location. If I was going back to Vancouver again on a budget I'd probably pick it, but if money was no object then I'd probably prefer to stay at the Waterfront Hotel or something similar. 

...less