[grahamsmom98]

Hello!

We are planning our Fall vacation and will be driving to Seattle & Vancouver, BC. We'll be in Vancouver the second full week of September, and will be visiting the aquarium & science centre for sure, and those wonderful gardens.

Ds is almost 10. Think he'd like the Science Centre? We visited the sc in Calgary last Spring and were quite disappointed in it. We love OMSI (Portland) and the Pac Sci Center (Seattle) and the Calgary centre was a let down (aimed at a much younger age level).

We need some recommendations on hotels or B&Bs in the Vancouver area. If it is not in downtown Vancouver, that's fine (Burnaby, Surry or other suggestions?).

If there are hotels/B&Bs near a transit system that would allow us easy access to the aquarium and/or science centre, that would be a big +!

I have heard that Vancouver has a great transit system. Is there a monrail or other light rail available? How easy is it to find your way around? What is public parking like in the Gas Town area?? It would be nice to leave the car at the hotel and make use of the public transportation.

Price isn't a huge deal, but we would prefer something in the < $200/night range, if possible! It MUST be NON-smoking and offer two queen-size beds (no double beds, dh is 6'5" and won't sleep well on one).

I've looked at various hotels in the Vancouver area on the Internet, but it is always nice to hear what the locals suggest!

Thanks, in advance!!

 

[Storm Bride]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grahamsmom98 Ds is almost 10. Think he'd like the Science Centre? We visited the sc in Calgary last Spring and were quite disappointed in it. We love OMSI (Portland) and the Pac Sci Center (Seattle) and the Calgary centre was a let down (aimed at a much younger age level). We need some recommendations on hotels or B&Bs in the Vancouver area. If it is not in downtown Vancouver, that's fine (Burnaby, Surry or other suggestions?). If there are hotels/B&Bs near a transit system that would allow us easy access to the aquarium and/or science centre, that would be a big +! I have heard that Vancouver has a great transit system. Is there a monrail or other light rail available? How easy is it to find your way around? What is public parking like in the Gas Town area?? It would be nice to leave the car at the hotel and make use of the public transportation.

I can't give you any hotel suggestions (my only out-of-town visitors are my in-laws and they stay in North Van), but pretty much any hotel in the downtown area is very close to transit. I can't remember the routes very well, but you won't have to transfer more than once to get to Stanley Park (where the aquarium is) or Science World (accessible by SkyTrain - light rapid transit - which has three stations downtown). I personally find parking in Gastown itself horrible. We were there on Thursday with my in-laws, and the parking was gross.

You can get pretty much anywhere on transit, and most (all?) of the major tourist spots have a bus stop really close by. Check out the translink website to look at routes and schedules: http://www.translink.bc.ca/ It's generally pretty easy to get anywhere.

As for Science World, both my 15 year old son and 13 year old nephew have a blast there. So do I, except for the crowds. It tends to be very busy.

 

[tiffani]

Hi there!

no real hotel advice...no real advice at all, just wanting to offer some vancouver hospitality to your thread!

have fun here!

 

[Len]

I've never stayed there (no need to, LOL) but the Lonsdale Quay Hotel in North Vancouver may be a good option, since transit is right there to go to Downtown Vancouver via the seabus and the North Shore attractions (Capilano, Grouse, etc) Parking in Gastown, well all over downtown is expeeeeensive but very accesible via seabus/skytrain/bus.

Another little hotel that could be kinda fun to be in would be the Granville Island Hotel, although public transit out of there may be a bit limited.

If you find a good package on a nice hotel downtown, including parking, that would be a great option too.

 

[SweetGoddess]

I've stayed at a number of hotels downtown before I had the kids so I have no advice for staying with kids. I would recommend checking out hellobc.com for hotels and city info, I've found good deals on hotels there and they have info on festivals and activites in the city. I can say that any hotel in the downtown area will be very convenient to transit. There is quite a bit of construction going on in the city so I'd recommend calling the hotel to ensure that they aren't under construction.

Hope you enjoy your stay!