Fabulous Vancouver!

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

...American city. Downtown is made up of several distinct areas such as Gastown and Chinatown, and venturing a little further will take you to places such as Richmond, which hosts a Chinatown night market much bigger than one that is held in downtown Chinatown. The city is often used as a stop off to the nature of the rest of the province of British Colombia, with national parks and ski resorts such as Banff and Whistler. The beautiful Vancouver Island is also close by (sadly I didn't get to go there). It isn't so far over the border to the state of Oregon in the USA, and Seattle is a short plane or longer bus, train or car journey away. DOWNTOWN VANCOUVER Out trip began in Vancouver, the first time either of us had been to the west coast of North America. The long flight (about 10 hours) meant that we ended up at our downtown...

larsbaby 30.08.2008 · Read review
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Review of Vancouver (Canada)

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
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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
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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
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Review of Century Plaza Hotel and Spa, Vancouver

VANCOUVER ISLAND-Most beautiful place on earth

Advantages: see above
Disadvantages: none

...I am a huge fan of the US, but even stronger is my love for Vancouver Island. I spent 2 weeks there at my friend in the Courtenay/Comox area in octobre 1995 and three more weeks in june 1996. During that time I saw a lot of this Island and its beauty, as well as the city of Vancouver itself. Well I start with the Courtenay/Comox area. In this area you can find anything. An airport (Canadian Air Force and Civil flights), an harbour (ferry to the mainland), shopping opportunities, night clubs, beautieful nature, Mt.Washington (skiing till from october to may possible), several golf courses and beaches. Most impressive was the area arount that little river in the woods, because of the wildwater area and some waterfalls. Then there is Coombs (a little to the south) with its shops. There is also a hemp shop (not that I am into that), as...

Superfly25 18.12.2000 · Read review
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Review of Vancouver (Canada)

Vancouver: Spectacular by Nature

Advantages: Pretty much perfection
Disadvantages: Rains alot!

...: This is an automated transit system which offers fast efficient service (daily, every 2 ? 5 minutes) between central ?down town? Vancouver and the suburbs of Burnaby, Surrey and Guildford. As with most public transport in the city, Sky Train carriages and stations are wheelchair accessible (except Granville station). Buses ? cheap, efficient and frequent with an extensive service across downtown and suburban Vancouver. Make sure you have the right money though cos drivers don?t give change. SeaBus ? a passenger commuter ferry system which connects Vancouver from Waterfront Station with Lonsdale Quay on the North Shore (home to Vancouver?s mountains and Lonsdale market). The scenic journey takes just 12 minutes. BC Ferries ? there are two ferry terminals--Tsawwassen and Horseshoe Bay, providing access to Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands...

flickpugh 17.02.2004 (21.09.2004) · Read review
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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
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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
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Review of Vancouver International Airport (YVR)

Bear with me...

Advantages: Stunning scenery, easy to get around
Disadvantages: food is not consistently good

...In September 2005 I took a two-week holiday in Canada with my partner, starting in Vancouver, exploring Vancouver Island by car, then taking the Rocky Mountaineer train to Jasper and on to Lake Louise, Banff and Calgary. Our main objective was to experience the beauty of the vast wide open-spaces, but also spend a few days enjoying Canadian culture in some of the towns and cities. Vancouver We flew with Air Canada from Heathrow Terminal 3 into Vancouver. Rather than having a car while in Vancouver, we took a taxi to our hotel and explored the city mostly on foot. We stayed at an hotel called "Rosedale on Robson" for two nights, which served as a good base for exploring the city. The hotel is a comfortable modern place with little character and has an American style restaurant, called "Rosie's" which was O.K. for breakfast but not...

AndrewPo 17.07.2008 · Read review
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Review of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada

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
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Review of Metropolitan Hotel Vancouver, Vancouver