Fabulous Vancouver!

Advantages: Great city, great food, good value for money once you're there
Disadvantages: Expensive to get to and long flight there

...INTRODUCTION Myself and Ms Larsbaby have spent our vacation this summer in Canada, visiting both the east and west coasts on our travels. This is an account of our travels on the West coast, in the city of Vancouver, in the province of British Columbia. For those of you who like my restaurant reviews, I'll be taking a look at some of the places I mention in more detail in due course! As a topical aside, even though it wouldn't have affected us, I am very glad now that we booked through Trailfinders and flew with Air Canada rather than Zoom! ABOUT VANCOUVER Vancouver is located on the Pacific Northwest coast of Canada, and it's proximity to Asia lends a massive influence from the east. Its metropolitan population of over 2 million makes this a big city, with all the skyscrapers associated with this kind of North...

larsbaby 30.08.2008 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Vancouver (Canada)

Harbourside Hotel in Vancouver

Advantages: 4 Star hotel in Downtown Vancouver
Disadvantages: Just a few extras to make the room better

...tower and the shopping centre were all within walking distance this was in a great location. There was an express check out and our bill was delivered to our room early on the Saturday morning, as was a paper every day. The hotel prided themselves on being disabled friendly and had some rooms especially for disabled people, also strobe lighting for deaf in case the fire alarm was activated. Verdict? An excellent hotel in a lovely area, as within a few minutes we could walk along the harbourside , and sit and watch the boats and seaplanes, or turn the opposite way and visit the sights of Vancouver and shops and restaurants. Staff were friendly and helpful, food was first class. The only downside was no fridge in the bedroom, although you could get ice, no towel rail to hang your towels and no razor socket. It was suitable...

jo145 18.08.2008 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Renaissance Vancouver Hotel Harbourside, Vancouver

A decent hotel choice for downtown Vancouver

Advantages: Great location, good facilities, great deal
Disadvantages: You'll be lucky to get the same deal

...INTRODUCTION It was the first time Ms Larsbaby and myself had been to Vancouver, and without first hand experience of knowing where to stay, we had a look on the net and took this hotel booked for us by the excellent Trailfinders, which was one of their options. LOCATION The Century Plaza is pretty much was the heart of the shopping and eating area of downtown on Burrard Street and so is ideally placed for the tourist. This end of Burrard Street had several restaurants and coffee shops, as well as a Market Place supermarket which had lots of excellent foodstuffs as well as a café which serves nice paninis. Just a short walk to the north was Robson Street, which had lots of shops such as Gap & Banana Republic, and a lot of Asian restaurants. There was also an interesting looking hot dog stand very close by which...

larsbaby 01.10.2008 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Century Plaza Hotel and Spa, Vancouver

Vancouver: Spectacular by Nature

Advantages: Pretty much perfection
Disadvantages: Rains alot!

...Surrounded by sandy beaches and snow-capped mountains, it?s very hard to beat Vancouver for sheer breathtaking beauty. Top that with numerous parks ? including the huge forest-filled Stanley Park, superb shopping, varied nightlife, cultural and sporting offerings, as well as bright modern architecture and it's pretty hard to avoid the cliche ?there?s no place quite like this?. GENERAL FACTS Canada is vast, stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It is further from Vancouver in the West to Toronto in the East than it is from Toronto to London, a 7 ½ hour flight away. Canada?s landscapes actually exceed all expectations ? the Rocky mountains, rainforests, desert land, lakes, open grassland stretching as far as the eye can see, tundra, lush orchards, fjords and prairie wheat fields, Canada has them all and is completely...

flickpugh 17.02.2004 (21.09.2004) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Vancouver (Canada)

Top Thai cuisine in downtown Vancouver

Advantages: Excellent food, excellent service, excellent prices
Disadvantages: It's a ten hour flight away

...INTRODUCTION Myself and Ms Larsbaby were in holiday in Vancouver and found ourselves in a decent downtown hotel. We explored the area and found many fine Asian restaurants. Having sampled Japanese and Chinese, we were looking for something else to add to our list. A Thai restaurant from across the road of our hotel caught our eye and maintained a spot on our "to do" list. Towards the end of our stay, we finally cracked and went to eat there. THE RESTAURANT Sala Thai has two locations, one on Burrard Street, the other on Cambie Street. Cambie street is someway south of downtown. We went to the one on Burrard, at the heart of downtown, which looks pretty big from the outside. When we went, the restaurant was pretty full and we had to wait a short while for our table for two. A good sign then, that the place was so...

larsbaby 19.09.2008 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Sala Thai, Vancouver

Vancouver airport

Advantages: Friendly - Efficent modern service
Disadvantages: none

...We arrived at Vancouver international airport on a flight from London Heathrow. I am afraid to say that upon arrival we had a connecting flight to make to Vancouver Island (Via float plane) so I did not have chance to take much in as it was bit of a rush due to out flight being an hour late arriving. However saying that the initial impressions were favourable. It has been several years since I had actually flown into Vancouver and I was impressed by the improvements that had been made. Much effort seems to have gone into bringing the airport out of the 80's style time warp it had been. Lots of money has been spent on melding the 21st century with native Indian heritage of the area. Everywhere you looked large Indian murals and statues sit comfortably next to the glass and steel of the buildings structure. Customs was relatively...

kent-ledger28 01.11.2005 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Vancouver International Airport (YVR)

A Luxurious Stay In Vancouver

Advantages: great work-out space, accommodating staff, spacious rooms
Disadvantages: room service choices too limited

...The Metropolitan, located on Howe St., very central in Vancouver's bustling West End, is a wonderful place to stay when traveling on business or pleasure. ROOMS: Guest rooms are spacious and gracious--linens and matresses are top-notch, creating an extremely comfortable sleep environment. Bathrooms are large and well-appointed with marble counter-tops and wonderfully aromatic soaps and shampoos. (They weren't so good that I wanted to steal extras, though!) EXERCISE FACILITIES: The spa/swimming pool/workout room are combined in an open, inviting environment. Huge windows open onto Vancouver's downtown core, inviting the sun to shine or the rain clouds to loom, as Vancouver weather tends to change dramatically from one minute to the next. Although they don't have an elliptical machine, they have bicycles, Stair...

robinwhybrow 16.02.2006 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Metropolitan Hotel Vancouver, Vancouver

Top of the World! (well, Vancouver)

Advantages: Stunning views over Vancouver, great scenic walks
Disadvantages: A bit expensive, views vary according to weather

...According to a recent survey, Vancouver is the best city in the world to live in. Having spent a wonderful holiday there last month, it is very difficult to disagree with this statement. Vancouver has it all - an enviable coastal position supplying a modern harbour, while it is also flanked by forests, dissected by a hundred acre park and is the gateway to the majestic Rocky Mountains. So what is there to do in Vancouver? Well, why not get the best view of the city by going up Grouse Mountain? Just 15 minutes from the city centre, the unassuming entrance gives no clue as to the spectacular views ahead, with the peak of the mountain (4,100 feet) still out of sight. The admission charge is currently $29.95 (Candian dollars) for adults which works out roughly at about £15, while children between the ages of 5-12 are $10.95 and 12...

bazbaboon 27.10.2005 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Grouse Mountain, Vancouver

Vancouver Island-A Wildlife watchers dream.

Advantages: Clean air, Beautiful scenery, very helpful and friendly people
Disadvantages: Not enough time to see and do everything

...I visited Vancouver and Vancouver Island in June 2004, it was my first trip abroad and I did it alone. I had got the idea of the trip from reading some British Columbia magazines that were given to me by someone in work. After only one week of planning where I would go and the places I would visit, I booked my flight on the internet through Canadian Affair a comany I'd not heard of, but would certainly recommend. They operate a no ticket style policy, you get all the information on your flight times, numbers, dates etc, on one sheet, which you need to keep hold of to travel. I was able to buy my Canadian Dollars and travellers cheques from the same site, which was delivered the next day, most impressive and saves time queing up in a bank or post office. Canadian Affair use Thomas Cook airlines and are probably...

Tonyc7 08.09.2005 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Vancouver (Canada)

This Winter Wii Are Going To Vancouver

Advantages: Some great events and a chance to dress your Mii up for winter.
Disadvantages: This game will hold your attention, but for how long is a different matter.

...With the Winter Olympics fast approaching it?s time for the old rival companies Nintendo and Sega to reunite for their third game outing together to feature characters from the two respective gaming series? in the form of Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympics. The game is the first in the range of various games that are being released to coincide with the upcoming Winter Olympics in Vancouver and will be exclusive to the Wii and Nintendo DS, well after all Nintendo aren?t going to let Sony and Microsoft get their grubby little hands on their prize characters now are they. For those of you who did not have the pleasure of playing the Summer Olympics game that Nintendo released for the Beijing games this game works in a very similar fashion with you taking control of your chosen character/athlete and competing in...

HarryKgh 28.10.2009 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games (Wii)