Cheap hotels in Vancouver?

January 23, 2006 6:55 PM

Cheap motels/hotels in Vancouver?

I'm traveling to Vancouver in March for a conference, and will be arriving about 1am local time on a Wednesday night (early Thursday morning). A friend and I are sharing a room on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, but I don't have accommodations for that first night.
Basically, I'm looking for an inexpensive, close-to-Vancouver-International-Airport place to crash for 8 or 9 hours, before I have to find my way to the hotel in the morning. I'd love to find someplace cheap but clean(ish), with few frills: all I need is a bed and a shower, really. Chain hotels/motels are perfectly fine. Any recommendations?
Bonus points if you know of a place that is not only close to the airport, but from which it is easy to get to the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre, which is where the conference is taking place. (I know nothing of the geography of the city.)

I've looked at the other Vancouver-related AskMe threads, but none seems to directly address this rather specific question. Any suggestions are most welcome - thanks!

posted by Dr. Wu to travel & transportation (13 comments total)

PS. If any MeFites are going to be at the SCMS conference, please let me know!
posted by Dr. Wu at 6:55 PM on January 23, 2006

If you're going to bother leaving the airport, you might as well head downtown to a hotel near the Wall Centre, as opposed to staying out by the airport. It's about $25-30 from YVR to downtown and should take 20 minutes if it's evening.

The Comfort Inn on Nelson should be about $75 a night. Nelson runs beside the Wall Centre, which is on Burrard. feIt's pretty close -- maybe 3 blocks away. My parents have actually booked there for this weekend.

The Sandman Suites on Davie are maybe four blocks away, but still fairly close. A little more money.

There's a YMCA on Burrard, about two blocks from the Wall Centre.

You could also try the hotels listed in the St. Paul's Hospital guide, since the hospital is practically across the street from the Wall Centre.
posted by acoutu at 8:15 PM on January 23, 2006

You might not want to pay for it, but there's a hotel IN the airport...I understand it is a bit pricey, though.
posted by johnsmith415 at 8:39 PM on January 23, 2006

Stay at the Sylvia or the Coast Plaza and wake up to a view or stay across the street from the Wall Centre at the Century Plaza and grab some time at the spa.

You don't want to stay at the airport if your conference is downtown.
posted by timeistight at 8:46 PM on January 23, 2006

At the extreme cheap end, there are plenty of hostels in Vancouver, all clustered around the Downtown area where your conference is. I've stayed at the Grand Trunk Hostel, which is one of the cheaper (and therefore more rundown) options at US$25/night for a private room or US$13 for a dorm bed.

If you haven't stayed in a hostel before, you should know to expect a tiny room, a lumpy (but clean) bed, and a bathroom and shower down the hall. Car parking is often limited or nonexistant; public transit is often a better choice. (It's slow but fairly easy to take the bus from the airport to downtown Vancouver.)
posted by mbrubeck at 8:54 PM on January 23, 2006

If you make it downtown that night and don't mind having a bathroom down the hall, you can find a pretty decent price for a quality room at the Victorian Hotel.
posted by Staggering Jack at 9:29 PM on January 23, 2006

The YWCA Hotel is quite nice too.
posted by raysmj at 10:12 PM on January 23, 2006

The Ambassador Hotel (At 1212 Granville St, a 5-minute walk from the Wall Centre) is very affordable - about $50 CAD per night + tax. The bathrooms are shared (a men's and women's on each floor) but they tend to keep them very clean, and if they are dirty for some reason, you can always go to the other floor or ask them to clean it. I've stayed there many times with no issues.
posted by helios at 11:35 PM on January 23, 2006

I think I'm going to the SCMS with some other friends. Yay!
posted by fionab at 11:43 PM on January 23, 2006

I second the recommendation for The Sylvia, which is downtown and has an amazing view.

There's also Windsor Guest House, which is sort of between the airport and downtown. It's a cute little place and has really great prices. I think single rooms start at around $50 Cdn and include breakfast.
posted by sanitycheck at 12:55 AM on January 24, 2006

Agreed, there's no real reason to stay out at the Airport. Second the YWCA, as well as the Sylvia on the waterfront in the West End. It's not terribly convenient but an authentic Vancouver experience.

Also don't rule out taking advantage of the discounts offered by Entertainment coupon Booklets. I'll see if can I find mine, ( I just moved, it's buried somewhere) and send you a list.
posted by PareidoliaticBoy at 1:08 AM on January 24, 2006

Thanks, everyone! I'm definitely going to look into some of these suggestions. Muchas gracias.
posted by Dr. Wu at 5:08 AM on January 24, 2006

The Sylvia isn't bad, but it is about 12 blocks from the Wall Centre.
posted by acoutu at 9:57 AM on January 24, 2006