The Hampton Inn Vancouver is located about 1 mile from Canada Place (where the cruise ships depart), about 3/4 of a mile from Gastown (where you can see the steam clock), 2+ miles from Granville Island (with its famous market), and 2+ miles from Stanley Park. The hotel is not located near any tourist sights except for the football stadium. A 7-11 convenience store is located within two blocks of the hotel, as is a package store at the Westin (called Jimmy’s) that sells beer and wine. The hop on / hop off sightseeing bus stops outside of the Hampton Inn, but taxi cabs are not plentiful. The hotel advertises that its van / shuttle transports guests to nearby locations in the city, but when we tried to arrange a transfer, we were told to line up in the lobby at 7:15 am to speak to the van driver and schedule our pickup. We tried to schedule our transfer the evening before, but the front desk clerk could not help us.
The hotel lobby area is small, although it is an open two-story space with a mezzanine. The lobby contains seating arranged in front of a fireplace next to the bellman’s desk, and nearby, a table holds complimentary flavored water and a bowl of fruit. A porte-cochere is located off the lobby, where guests can wait for a taxi. Because the hotel is located on a slight incline / hill, the lower lobby entrance is on the Robson Street level near the stadium and the Back Forty restaurant, and the main lobby entrance is located on the second level and opens onto Cambie and Beatty Streets. No pantry exists on-site where guests can buy drinks or snacks for their room. The hotel advertises having a hair salon, souvenir shop, and coffee shop, but those retail spaces on the lower level are currently empty. Bogart’s, the hotel restaurant, is located on the lower level, features both indoor and outdoor seating, and is open for lunch and dinner.
On the second-floor mezzanine, which is open to the lobby and near the breakfast area, the hotel offers two computers and a printer. Guests must request an access code and password from the front desk. Bathrooms are located on this level, but you must insert your room key to gain access. The breakfast area is small for the number of guests at the hotel. Breakfast ends at 10:00 am on the weekends. The buffet contains a few hot items (eggs, meat, pancakes), as well as the ubiquitous Hampton Inn waffle maker, pastries, and breads (and two toasters), a cold bar with cereals, fruit (cut and whole), yogurt, and coffee. We did not see any cold juices, but the area was so crowded that it was difficult to maneuver around to access all of the selections.
The fifteenth floor features the fitness center, cabana lounge area, guest laundry and outdoor space. Outdoor space consists of one small terrace and one large terrace that contains some immovable cement tables and chairs. The outdoor space contains no plants, although it featured empty wooden window box planters, nor does it contain lounge chairs. The hotel permits smoking on the outdoor terrace. The laundry room contains two washers, two dryers, and soap dispenser machine. The top floor also contains an indoor hot tub / spa surrounded by glass, but the temperature of the water was lukewarm, not hot. This level also contains a sauna. The lounge area features a Ping-Pong table and a foosball table. The men’s and women’s bathrooms contain changing areas, lockers, and showers. The gym contains about five machines (two treadmills, two elliptical machines, and one bike), some free weights, some weighted balls, and a universal gym. The fitness center stocks towels and bottled water (as well as a water fountain). Oddly, even though guests need a key to access most other areas of the hotel, they can access the gym and laundry (and through them, the outdoor deck) without their key.
The two elevators in this hotel work slowly. Guests must use a key to gain access to any floor other than the main lobby and the lower lobby. Room numbers that end in -01 are located directly next to the elevator bank. Room numbers that end in -02 and -03 are one-bedroom suites.
We were unable to check into our room when we arrived at the hotel around noon. We were told that the room that we were slated for had requested a late checkout of 1:00 pm, so our room would not be ready until after 3:00 pm. Therefore, we stored our bags with the bellman and walked around the city. When we returned to the hotel around 4:00 pm, our room was ready and we checked in.
Later that evening, we went to the front desk to request a late check-out of 1:00 pm, and the French front desk clerk told us that they could not possibly extend our stay past 12:30 pm because a guest was scheduled to check into our room the next day. We found this unbelievable, because we had to wait when we tried to check in because those guests were allowed a 1:00 pm check-out time. We relayed this scenario to the desk clerk, who told us that she did not care. We asked for leniency because we were Diamond members for several years, and that we would appreciate that extra half hour, but she said that our status did not matter. She stated that the hotel treats all guests equally. While we appreciate that sentiment, she told us that our allegiance and loyalty to Hilton did not matter. If that is accurate, we will take our business to another brand like Marriott or Starwood next year.
We reserved a 1-bedroom suite, which featured a combination living / dining / kitchen area and a separate bedroom and bathroom. The hotel provides Neutrogena toiletries (shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, and soap), along with a few towels. The size of the bath towel was small, except perhaps for a child. The hair dryer is mounted to the wall; however, it is large and powerful. A closet located in the hallway between the bedroom and bathroom contains mirrored doors and contains a luggage rack.
A second closet located in the kitchen / living area held a large safe (although it did not possess computer-charging capability), umbrella, iron, and ironing board. The kitchen contains some small appliances (such as a toaster) and serve-ware, but not many pots and pans. The kitchen area contained a two-burner stove, full-size dishwasher, and small (yet full-size) refrigerator. The breakfast bar (with two chairs) served as the dining table. The living area contains a sofa and armchair / ottoman, along with a flat-screen TV atop a wooden console. The room had a side / end table and coffee table, and one wall of large windows, so the room was light (but consequently hot).
The air conditioning in the bedroom area worked well, but the system in the living area did not function properly. A sort of humidifier unit was positioned in the hallway area between the bedroom and bathroom, which we did not touch. The bathroom also had some sort of temperature control, but we did not adjust that either.
The separate bedroom area was smaller than the living area. It contained a king-size bed, two nightstands, a dresser with a flat-screen TV, and a desk and chair. One of the nightstands held an alarm clock / radio, but it could not charge an iPod.
During the night, the hotel delivered newspapers to the door to our room. The Hampton Inn and Suites Vancouver was the only hotel of our 10-day trip to deliver a newspaper. The hotel also slipped our final bill under the door.
We liked our suite at the Hampton Inn and Suites Vancouver, but the hotel’s location was not ideal for our purposes. However, for the right rate, this property is a viable choice in Downtown Vancouver.
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