Smart family hotel in Vancouver - can anyone please recommend one?

[Bear]

ie a smart hotel suitable for families in Vancouver (not a hotel for smart families as I'm not sure we'd qualify) - we don't want a budget hotel but the Fairmont Pacific Rim's prices will blow the what's left of our budget. Times Square Suites looked the business, but nothing available for our dates. TIA

(I was initially going to suggest the Fairmont).

How about looking at the Hampton Inn and Suites in downtown Vancouver?.

Another is the Residence Inn by Marriott. Both are family friendly.

Thanks AtM, I will take a look at those.

We stayed with our 2 boys at Hotel Sylvia just by Stanley Park. It is a bit old fashioned, but kind of charming for it - think grand old dame rather than swanky, blinging 5 star. The location is great, though - right by the beach in English Bay, Stanley Park on your doorstep with a municipal outdoor pool (with kids area) and play ground about 4 mins walk from the hotel. We had a 1 bedroom suite which had a separate bathroom and small kitchen/diner, enabling us to save money by eating in a couple of evenings. It was massive and there was a TV in both the lounge and the bedroom, so we could put the kids on the sofa bed in the lounge, taking the comfy double in the bedroom, and still have an evening. There is lots of parking under the hotel too, so easy parking if you have a hire car. We also flat packed our boys' Microscooters in the bottom of our big suitcase and managed to do the 6 mile sea wall walk around Stanley Park with them.

I forgot to mention that there are plenty of restaurants and bars around Hotel Sylvia, including a nice sushi/Japanese restaurant just around the corner, so you can eat out nearby.

I'd second the recommendation for the Hotel Sylvia.

We stayed there 10 years ago on the say so of a Canadian friend, and we're booked to stay it again this summer for a night when we arrive, so it's great to know that it's still good !

Ooh dustbunny whats the name of the sushi restaurant, and do they have anything that a fussy 9 year old will eat such as plain noodles or that plain breaded chicken?

It is just round the corner on Denman Street. Googling, there are 2 but no photos. Going up the street from English Bay, it was on the left hand side quite a long way up - maybe 3/4 of the way towards the top of the street. I remember that the facade and interior was very black and that the door was to the left hand side of the facade. I can't remember the name, but they were very good with the children and we were able to buy plain noodles/rice. Our kids eat regularly in Wagamama and we were able to find equivalent dishes to the stuff they will eat off Wagamama's kids' menu, e.g. chicken katsu. It was good tucker.

I'm pretty sure it is this one - the beer mats and menus had goldfish on them & the feel of the photos look right: www.kingyo-izakaya.ca/contact/ The menu is available on from the home page.

We ate at The Fish House in Stanley Park too and they did really good fish and chips for the kids. It is achingly posh (although reasonably priced considering), but they let us in wearing our jeans and waterproofs (with scooters) at the end of our Stanley Park sea wall walk. We were dining mid-week/late lunch, so the restaurant was pretty quiet, so perhaps they were less precious because of that. The service was amazing - attentive without getting on your nerves and our waiter was lovely with the kids. The restaurant is about 10 min walk from Hotel Sylvia.

Thanks Dustbunny - might have more luck getting them to The Fish house, so looking forward to our holiday.

I am very envious. I LOVED Vancouver and would visit again at the drop of a hat (money permitting).

The food in the Fish House was amazing, by the way - definitely worth it.

We're just staying one night in Vancouver - so many wonderful places to see in Canada and we're not great city people.

We've managed to get in to our original option at the second attempt. Tiny bit gutted to miss out on Hotel Sylvia now! But thanks so much for the advice. Will try to visit the Fish House. Really looking forward to our trip now!