Alternate Hotel in Vancouver

November 2, 2014 4:08 PM

Where to stay for one night in Vancouver - that isn't near Stanley Park?

We'll be staying near Stanley Park during a conference the week Nov 11, then going off to Vancouver Island for the weekend and returning to the city for one night, with a flight out the next day at 6pm. We'll have explored downtown during the week, so where should we stay that's different for that one last night? I've looked at old questions and considered Strathcona or Kitsilano as neighborhoods that will be a little out of our way and worth exploring on that last day, but is there somewhere else we should stay and explore?

Extra bonus - any unusual or timely treats we should look out for? We have a long list of restaurants and sights based on prior askmes, but if there's something new and awesome (especially craft cocktails, gelato, or a birthday night tasty restaurant), please hook us up!

posted by ldthomps to Travel & Transportation around Vancouver, BC (5 answers total)

You might consider staying in Richmond at the Marriott or something off of No. 3 Road. Aberdeen Centre and Yaohan have the best authentic Asian food courts. Pretty incredible selection of food, and really cheap. There is good transit access from downtown Vancouver, and it's also where you would catch the bus to the Vancouver Island ferry anyway.

Staying near Granville and Broadway would be kind of fun too.
posted by Nevin at 4:20 PM on November 2, 2014

Best answer: Granville & Broadway area could indeed be a good idea if you're taking transit. The 99 B-Line express bus goes along broadway and will quickly take you to Kitsilano, Strathcona (a short walk or bus north once you get off at Main), as well as Main Street which is probably the hippest part of the city right now. The area surrounding Main & Broadway has lots of restaurants, bars, cafes and quirky shopping. There are also a couple of hotels east of Main & Kingsway at 12th. Kingsway is a block away from Broadway. The B-Line will also take you to Commercial Drive which is the "hippie" part of town and full of vegetarian restaurants and kooky people. So yeah, if you want to hit a few areas quickly, somewhere near Broadway would be a good idea!
posted by oceanview at 8:48 PM on November 2, 2014

Commercial Drive is a really cool area with tons of good bars and restaurants. And if you're at all geeky, The Storm Crow is the best geek/nerd themed bar you will ever visit with great cocktails and a wide variety of cool games to play.

Granville Island is an old industrial park that's been mostly turned into an art/crafts/theatre/shopping area. (It's on all the top places to visit lists.)
posted by raeka at 10:37 PM on November 2, 2014 [1 favorite]

The weather will most likely be torrential rain, so plan accordingly.

I think the Granville Island Hotel is a good option.

If you're into beer, the lower part of Main, around 5th, has turned into a brewing paradise.

West is my go to for amazing cocktails. Cafe Medina for breakfast during the week, then you won't have to wait.

I could give you many restaurants recommendations, but I'm sure you have those already.
posted by miles1972 at 9:35 PM on November 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks, all! I chose the Park Inn and Suites on Broadway as not too far from Granville, which ended up being a bit of a boring stretch (although we had great sushi at Tojo's thanks to a previous askme). We ended up driving around Kitsilano, which was nice, and too-briefly seeing Main. Our best happy accident was stumbling on Blue Water Cafe in Yaletown on our way back from dropping off the rental car. It'd also been recommended in previous askmes, and we had great cocktails (and an awesome bartender) there.

Also it was strangely dry and sunny for 10 straight days while we were there. I'm not sure I believe that it's usually rainy.

If we were doing it again, I'd try to find something closer to Main Street or in Kitsilano proper. Thanks for the recommendations, all!
posted by ldthomps at 10:03 AM on December 4, 2014