Loved it!!!
By dwd94 from Washington, DC
05/18/07
Last Visit: May 2008
Great for: Families, Singles, Students, Business, Beds, Pool, Spa, Internet
Connection, Romance, Luxury, Hip/Trendy Scene, Nightlife
The Renaissance Harbourside is in the perfect location downtown, right by the
harbour, especially convenient if you don't have a car and rely on walking to
get around town. The staff is very friendly and helpful. The rooms are very
clean and fresh, with nice new linens and furniture. The view of the harbour is
slightly blocked by some new high-rises going up on Cordova Street, but you
still get a very picturesque view of the water and mountains. You can get to
Stanley Park, Gastown, Robson St., and Granville Island all by foot from this
location. The pool, spa, sauna, and fitness room are all a huge plus. And the
restaurant: excellent food, excellent service, and the dining area provides a
relaxing view of the harbour. I would definitely come back to this hotel.
Poor policy, ungracious compensation
Contributor from portland, oregon
01/08/07
Last Visit: August 2006
We had confirmed reservations and called enroute to be sure they knew we were
coming. We arrived at 5pm to learn they were overbooked and could not
accommodate us. The entire city was booked apparently. They referred us to a
dive hotel about 20 minutes away by car, and worlds away culturally. We
complained to Renaissance and the reservationist suggested another hotel. It was
just as bad or worse.
We opted to sleep in our sport wagon--the dive hotels were that bad! It actually
was probably not right decision, as we hardly slept at all before embarking on a
long day of travel. But we couldn't imagine sleeping in the rooms we were
shown--dark, smelly, worn out, and the noisy surrounding area would have
necessitated ear plugs to sleep.
My point is that the hotel justified their overbooking policy, using the
airlines as an example. Well, we said what you would have said. You can NOT
compare the two situations. The airlines offer fliers a choice and they
compensate with vouchers, and they still get you to your destination, in the
same if not better flight accommodation. People who CHOOSE this option are not
usually inconvenienced, but choose to spend a longer layover here rather than
there in many instances.
After we returned home, the experience still aggravated me. I spoke with a
manager who refused to see my point, but offered a one night stay. Well, even if
I visited Vancouver often, which I don't, I would hardly feek compensated. I
would like to see a policy change. My guess is they offer the lowest rates in
the area because they overbook and therefore run closer to capacity than the
other hotels. Travelers should not be treated so carelessly by a hotel wanting a
respectable reputation among discriminating travelers.
C. Borger
Extremely overprice
Contributor from Los Angeles, CA
12/21/06
Last Visit: November 2006
Way too expensive for what they offer. The location is good, but that is all. It
is definitely not worth $200 for what I paid, plus $19 for parking, plus $20 for
internet connection. The $21 breakfast is nothing to brag about either
After staying there for 2 nights, I moved to a Motel nearby for $90 a night,
breakfast included, wonderful service, no extra charge for anything
Not worthy
By zhen jiang from Philadelphia, PA
10/13/06
Last Visit: October 2006
The room is clean and comfortable. The location is very good. However, there is
a recent construction over there blocking the view of harbor, if the guest stays
at lower floors.
The service is terrible. My wake-up call always gets 10-15 minutes' delay. The
hotel tour (Grayline? I am not sure) had 30 minutes' delay. And I must wait
outside for the bus, not in lobby. I saw one guest of Renaissance and his family
were put into a wrong tour bus and had to come back to hotel (Lucky me. I
eventually got into the right bus). I bought the internet access for one night
but was double charged. The hotel does not have wireless in rooms. The wireless
access at lobby is not stable. That costs me a lot when I thought the file
should be transmitted but actually not. The persons working at front desk are
inexperienced and work inefficiently. For money exchange, I have to line up
twice and was asked the same questions by two persons. One of them asked me the
same question twice! I thought she had a short memory. |
