Driving to Vancouver

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Boblobla

More questions.

How is the Granville entertainment district? It looks like it is close to alot of the stuff I want to do.

Would it be a pain in the ass to drive from there to Burnaby on a Sunday? There are a few good deals on hotels in that area.

Grimmy.

It's full of cheezy clubs at night. In the day time it's full of panhandlers and porn shops. They are slowly fixing it up, but it's not quite there. It's hardly worth it as a tourist destination. I'd only recommend going to the clubs there if you are aged 19-25, although the Roxy is good if you want to get sloppy sloppy drunk.

If you're 25+ I'd recommend goign to gastown for a night out.

I'd also try and stay in Vancouver if possible, although Burnaby is really not that far of a drive to downtown. If you are going to visit downtown, go to Yaletown, the beaches, the West End, David Street, GasTown, Coal Harbour, etc.... before going to the "entertainment district".

[Boblobla]

My question was poorly worded. Let me try again.

There is a 4 star hotel for a smoking deal on priceline in the Granville entertainment district. It has a pool and looking at a map of Van that area would be central to places I want to visit (Stanley Park, Granville Island). Parking would not be an issue as I believe I would have parking at the hotel.

We only have to be in Burnaby for 1 day and I don't want to necessarily get a hotel there and make the rest of the trip a pain in the ass.

Would a hotel in that area, around BC Place I believe, be an okay place to stay?

Thanks again for all the help.

[VANFLAMESFAN]

I'd stay downtown if you're getting a good deal on the hotel and are only going to Burnaby for the one day. Downtown to Burnaby, is 20-25 minutes(depending on where in Burnaby).

If your hotel is close to BC Place, you should be good. But if you got a young one, the places you said you wanted to visit(Granville Island/Stanley Park) aren't really walking distance, especially in February. In the summer, it'd be a nice walk, but if you're dealing with rain/wind, it could get a little dicey. But a cab can get you to there for pretty cheap. Would be a lot better than driving in from Burnaby or Coquitlam if you plan on spending lots of time in the downtown core.

May I also reccomend heading up to Grouse Mountain, even just for lunch or dinner. The kid will enjoy the gondola, it's a pretty cool trip when you're a kid. The views on a clear day up there are truly amazing.

It's too bad you're coming in February though, there's just so much more to do in the spring/summer. I hope you get some good weather.

[browna]

Originally Posted by blankall

If you're 25+ I'd recommend goign to gastown for a night out.

If you are going to visit downtown, go to Yaletown, the beaches, the West End, David Street, GasTown, Coal Harbour, etc.... before going to the "entertainment district".

I assume you mean Davie St? What's the attraction there in general? Let alone for an assumabley married, hetrosexually-preferring, guy?

Nice part about staying in central downtown is no car necessary to see a lot of the attractions. Stay around Pacific Centre shopping mall, which is central. From there, a 15 min stroll down to the water GasTown one way, a walk 10-15 min walk down Robson Street or down to Granville the other way, which really isn't that seedy. Or, do the self guided SC riot walk and hit up London Drugs, Sears, the Bay, and other "hotspots".

Last time we stayed dt Vancouver it was at the Metropolitan, which is central. A block away are the Hyatt, Four Seasons, Fairmont and a few more.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by browna

I assume you mean Davie St? What's the attraction there in general? Let alone for an assumabley married, hetrosexually-preferring, guy?

Nice part about staying in central downtown is no car necessary to see a lot of the attractions. Stay around Pacific Centre shopping mall, which is central. From there, a 15 min stroll down to the water GasTown one way, a walk 10-15 min walk down Robson Street or down to Granville the other way, which really isn't that seedy. Or, do the self guided SC riot walk and hit up London Drugs, Sears, the Bay, and other "hotspots".

Last time we stayed dt Vancouver it was at the Metropolitan, which is central. A block away are the Hyatt, Four Seasons, Fairmont and a few more.

Davie Street is not gay only. It has gay nightclubs at night, but in the day, it's got some great restaurants on it. The best Greek restaurant in town in on Davie. It's also the nicest walk from Granville Street into the West End.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Boblobla

My question was poorly worded. Let me try again.

There is a 4 star hotel for a smoking deal on priceline in the Granville entertainment district. It has a pool and looking at a map of Van that area would be central to places I want to visit (Stanley Park, Granville Island). Parking would not be an issue as I believe I would have parking at the hotel.

We only have to be in Burnaby for 1 day and I don't want to necessarily get a hotel there and make the rest of the trip a pain in the ass.

Would a hotel in that area, around BC Place I believe, be an okay place to stay?

Thanks again for all the help.

ahh...

Staying in a hotel near Granville Street is good, as it's centrally located. You can walk to Robson, Yaletown, Gastown etc... from there.

Just make sure it's a large reputable hotel and not one of the small seady ones actually on Granville. The larger hotels are also a block or two off Granville itself, so noise from Granville shouldn't be a worry. Driving one day into Burnaby is a non-issue from downtown. It's about a 20 minute drive.

[Wise Gamble]

Come down to the Edgewater....play some poker.

[AR_Six]

Originally Posted by browna

IStay around Pacific Centre shopping mall, which is central. From there, a 15 min stroll down to the water GasTown one way, a walk 10-15 min walk down Robson Street or down to Granville the other way, which really isn't that seedy.

See the thing about this is that there's a skytrain stop inside Pacific Centre mall for every skytrain line. So if you stayed - say - near Broadway, or in south Van near Cambie, or at the River Rock, or somewhere in Burnaby near a station, you'd still be effectively "around" Pacific Centre because it's a ~10 minute LRT ride to get there and the LRT system there is fantastic.

[Boblobla]

Alright, I got a good deal with points at a hotel on Burrard Street, looks pretty central. The room has a kitchen which will save us some money and make feeding a 2 year old easy. 10 minute walk to the pacific centre mall.

I am pretty excited to try out as many of the recommendation in this thread as I can.