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Categories: Hotels, Venues & Event Spaces [Edit]
1253 Johnston StreetVancouver, BC V6H 3R9
Neighbourhood: Granville Island/False Creek
(604) 683-7373
- Price Range:
-
$$$
7 reviews for Granville Island Hotel
All Reviews
My wife and I go here to enjoy the Sunday morning jazz and their excellent Brunch Buffet. I am not the type to saddle up to the salad bar and stat digging but the hotel really puts on great show and spread. You have everything for fresh sushi to eggs on the menu and with a view overlooking False Creek it is really an excellent experience.
Spent a nice evening at the GIH celebrating our anniversary - did the Aqua Bus over to Yaletown for dinner and then, as part of the package, picked up a show at the Arts Club theatre, a 5 minute walk away. This is a lovely hotel with jaw-dropping views of False Creek and the boats. The weather was sunny and warm so it couldn't have been much better. The room was small but had a cozy King bed and a nice flat screen TV so the amenities were OK. Bathroom was nice - nothing bad, nothing good. Service at the front desk was fun and courteous - they even asked whether or not we enjoyed the show. Nice touch! Andrew and Kim were really nice contact points in my calls there to firm up our stay and they were flexible and helpful with putting together a package for us.
As part of our stay - room, theatre tickets - we also got vouchers for breakfast. The breakfast was really quite average as my partner and I both ordered omelettes (shrimp for me and one regular omelette for her). These were really quite dry and disappointing but the coffee was good the view was spectacular.
Would we come back again? Not sure actually with so many other great spots in Vancouver but it's definitely worth the experience. Make sure you get a room with a view and do explore the dining spots in Yaletown.
I struggle to give this anymore than an average because of the cost and the meh breakfast... still, the room was nice (small though) and the front desk gang were awesome.
If you MUST stay on Granville - then you really need to stay here. Kinda average. Rooms are cruise-ship small, bathrooms are mediocre and the hotel overall is hard to peg as any type of "star." In terms of gym, I wound up forgoing the hotel gym (ahem - more like a room with a bike) and walked half a block to the Granville Island Community Centre, where I paid $5.00 and worked out in above hotel grade facilities.
Again, if you MUST stay on Granville Island then your options are limited.
Drink alot in the bar - pass out with your feet hanging over the bed, wake up at 530 and go the the Community Centre to work out.
The patio is delightful for a thin-crust pizza lunch beside the marina on a sunny day (for this it would get 4 stars).
The location on the water is good but pretty much moot if you are mid-restaurant. The food is good but not exquisite by any means. If you're enjoying a leisurely dinner, be prepared to cab back to town or check the aquabus schedule.
I have to be honest; I'm disappointed. Our experience just wasn't very good.
We'd called to ask if we could check in early, and the guy who answered checked, said "sure, we have your room ready", and told us to come on in. He didn't say anything about it being dependent on other check-ins or anything; we understood that OUR room was ready. So, we drove a half hour, lugged our stuff in, and went to check in. The guy we spoke to on the phone - Jason - was also the guy who checked us in, and right away, he just couldn't have seemed less interested that we were customers. It was busy, so perhaps he was stressed/frazzled, but we got an indifferent vibe from him. We said who we were, and he pulled up our reservation, studied the computer for a few minutes, then said "we've had a lot of early check-ins, so the ready rooms went to them. You can wait until two, if you like, then try again?" It was 12:15 at this point, and we had other plans/things to do - we were only in Vancouver for 40 hours or so. He then said "I do realize you called ahead, but we weren't anticipating so many early arrivals."
I said "We've just driven a half hour; it would have been great if you'd mentioned on the phone that our check-in wasn't guaranteed. We were told our room was ready."
And he replied "As I've just *explained*, there was no way for us to expect so many early check-ins, and the rooms went to them."
No "sorry," no "let me see what I can do,", no "sorry for the delay/inconvenience", no "shoot, sorry to hear you drove a while to reach us" - nothing.
So, rather than driving all the way back, we brought both of our bags, and our cooler, into the lobby and sat and waited. And then he called housekeeping and checked on the room, and then our room was ready in 15 minutes. I guess they didn't like us sitting there.
The room was small. Very. very. small. Granted, it had a king-sized bed in it, but the addition of a chair squeezed next to the bed on one side meant we had a choice of operating the window curtains OR pulling the bedclothes up and down as needed, not both. The window didn't quite close properly (nor quite open properly), and so much moisture had leaked in that the wallpaper around the window was mildewed/moldy and warped. Our view consisted of a slanted roof, a bunch of suites we could see into (and vice versa, I'm sure), with a wedge of ocean/sky visible between them, which was pretty.
There was no breakfast included, though we did have a room service menu provided with standard breakfast fare like $14.00 omelettes.
The shower took ages to warm up, and once in the shower, the pipes made enormously loud rumbling, groaning and roaring noises, during which times the water would stutter and stop for a moment.
The parking was $12.00. I know it's common, but I really feel like...if someone is paying to stay at your hotel, just let them park their car. Really. It just seems so tacky.
That said, here are the good bits:
-the king-sized bed was very clean and very comfortable. We slept well.
-It was quiet
-the back of the hotel has a lovely view
-the tv in the room was big (though actually too large for a room so small)
-the shower in the bathroom, despite the warming-up and pipes issues, was very cool - clear glass door, with a handheld/mounted head option or an overhead waterfall option, which was lovely.
-the toilet has a watersave flush option (half flush), which I like to see.
-...the ice machine worked fine...
seriously, the price isn't bad, considering it's such a touristy area, but from the get-go we were a little soured with our reception, which was somewhere between rude and indifferent, and just really not what we were hoping for on our mini-vacation. We had a good sleep, but given the overall experience, and how little they seem interested in their customers' happiness, I wouldn't recommend staying here, and I myself can't see going back.
The Granville Island Hotel seems to emanate a calm, friendly vibe. I've never stayed here, so I can't comment much about the rooms, but I've always enjoyed coming here for events.
It's very small, for one thing, which makes it easy to find where you're supposed to be upon arriving. The conference rooms are all on the ground floor, and they have lots of windows to let in the light and let you gaze a little on the scene outside. (Gauzy curtains provide shade, and are so much nicer than Venetian blinds - who invented those atrocities?) I never get that "trapped in a conference room in Hotel Nowhere" feeling.
And I guess this will depend on your organizer/host, but they serve a strong cuppa coffee here, and pitchers of water come sensibly garnished with lemons.
There's a decent restaurant/pub out back - a little touristy feeling with the nautical theme, but a fine place to sit back with a pint of microbrew.
The Granville Island Hotel is basically your only option if you plan to stay in Granville Island. It's a bit pricey and their gym facility is pretty terrible and difficult to find. They don't have a pool, but they do have a whirlpool and sauna to melt your tensions away.
The rooms are pretty standard with a lovely view of the ocean from one side. They also have a brewery on site that makes delicious beer and a large restaurant, patio and bar space for conventions and guests. Their conference rooms are also very roomy with lots of light and great catering. The service I've received from staff has always been very pleasant.
I should warn the hotel isn't quite as beautiful as the website suggests, but it's still a great place to stay.
