Vancouver Smart Splurges

Opened in January 2009, Hong Kong-based Shangri-La’s first North American property delivers on the brand’s reputation for understated elegance and unassuming service. Located in the heart of downtown, near the Vancouver Art Gallery and the designer boutiques along Georgia Street, the hotel’s 119 rooms occupy the first fifteen floors of a new 61-story building – currently the tallest in the city. (Private residences fill up the higher floors, while a massive Urban Fair gourmet grocery shares space on the ground level.) Rooms range from 450-square-foot standard options to the 1,395-square-foot Orchid Suites; all boast B&B Italia furniture, a palette of warm chocolate, gold and wood tones, free local calls and Internet access, Nespresso coffee machines, and 42” flat-screen TVs with – a cool touch – DVR  pause-and-record capabilities. A smaller LCD television is also installed in the bathroom, along with a deep-soaking tub and separate glass-enclosed shower. Some rooms tout small balconies as well. Downstairs at MARKET by Jean-Georges, the menu plays like a greatest hits of the three-star Michelin chef’s fine-dining repertoire, with a particular emphasis on local ingredients like fresh seafood and regional wines. The expansive CHI Spa offers the brand’s signature Tibetan-inspired treatments as well as a number of organic services using the local, seaweed-based Seaflora line.

Top-of-the-line amenities keep guests comfortable at the über-luxurious, 504-room Pan Pacific, but the spectacular waterfront views are the hotel’s real selling point. All rooms and suites overlook the North Shore Mountains, Stanley Park, and – most importantly – the activity below in Coal Harbour. If you manage to peel your eyes away from the vast cruise ships gliding past your windows, you’ll appreciate the frette robes, flatscreen TV’s, and generous pillow-top beds. The Pan Pacific is located in Canada Place, site of the cruise ship terminal, so when you’re finished appreciating the view from above, you can trot downstairs and catch your cruise to Alaska.

Vancouver’s grande dame has been holding court from the heart of downtown since 1939. Covering the bulk of a city block, this august address offers old school elegance and luxury in its 556 rooms, as well as the opulent Griffins Restaurant, the sleek 900 West Lounge, the decadent Absolute Spa and Gucci and Louis Vuitton stores. Strut about its generous 400-square-foot rooms and enjoy views out over the city. While old world elegance may reign, the hotel is no slouch when it comes to high tech amenities – all rooms come equipped with high-speed internet and HD flatscreen TVs.

The historic St. Regis Hotel, one of Vancouver’s oldest properties (it dates from 1913), recently underwent a complete makeover to the tune of $11 million. The result of the renovations: a chic, business-savvy downtown hotel with 65 rooms and suites that showcase contemporary furnishings, neutral tones, and ultramodern conveniences like flat-screen TVs and Wi-Fi. The hotel makes an excellent base from which to discover Vancouver (and ski at the Whistler Blackcomb resort, a 2-hour drive away) before the crowds descend in 2010 for the next Winter Olympic Games.

Devour a sumptuous array of local seafood with a six- or ten-course menu and an enticing wine...more

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Savor inventive East Indian fusion cuisine at this sultry West Side spot. Vij’s famous wine...more

Vancouver’s largest gallery of First Nations (indigenous) artwork specializes in Northwest Coast and Inuit pieces, many made with wood and stone from sustainable local sources. Find sacred transformation masks, ceremonial button-blanket cloaks, feast bowls, serpentine carvings, beadwork, and fine paintings.