I’ve been to Vancouver half a dozen times– an easy 2 hour drive from Seattle or a short flight up from Portland, SF, or LA. My favorite experience was hiking Grouse Mountain with Brad Twohig, before he become a big-time venture capitalist and before I became 70 pounds in the obese category.
This is Canada’s San Francisco, in my opinion– clean, high-tech, and very outdoorsy. There are tons of tourists (Asians, like me) and much to do downtown. When I was there a few days ago, I saw a movie and caught a bunch of Pokemon. I’m at Level 29 now.
For those trying to save money, I’d recommend you fly into Seattle and then drive or take the super scenic Amtrak up. When I bought Brad’s ticket, which was for our trip to see our buddy Markus Frind, it was under $250 round-trip from New York to Seattle, even last minute. Had I bought a ticket from New York to Vancouver it would have been almost triple that.
The folks at corporatestays.com reached out to me as an influencer, offering me a free stay at one of their locations in exchange for an honest write-up.
So I chose their downtown Vancouver location (Vancouver, BC– not Vancouver, WA), among the many they have in North America, South America, and Europe.
It was on the 20th floor, right next to the stadium and the SkyTrain—high enough that you can actually look into the stadium and see the scoreboard.
I was there on business, so there wasn’t time for going to any of the games.
But I did manage to go to a restaurant that is now my favorite one in Canada—Chambar.
It was so good, I went there twice. Unbelievable lamb shank and desserts. And with the Canadian dollar worth only 76 cents against the US dollar— everything is on sale!
I’m a frequent business traveler, doing over 300,000 miles per year, so convenience and simple luxury is key. Being right in the middle of downtown is great.
The condo itself was what you’d expect from a 3-star hotel—nothing incredible, but nothing lacking. Having a kitchen was nice if you’re staying somewhere for a long time and wants some comforts of home. I was on the road for the last two weeks in San Francisco, Seattle, Washington DC, Miami, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, and other places.
The washer/dryer was nice—and they included the soap packets, too. Saved me the effort of going to a fluff and fold, which is what I typically do on the road. I won’t pay $100 to do laundry, normally preferring to pay $10 to drop off my luggage of clothes and pick it up 4 hours later.
The condo has some standard features like a doorman, a small gym, and an outdoor pool/jacuzzi. It was snowing outside, so I wasn’t “that” badly interested in going in the jacuzzi…
The whole check-in and check-out process was fast and efficient. Better than what you’d typically get through some other services.
The condo I got was well priced as well– way cheaper than a hotel. The bed was comfy and the bathroom/shower was normal. No pics of the bathroom, since I feel weird taking pictures there.
