Westin Bayshore Resort & Marina

Located within walking distance of the lively West End, with Burrard Inlet and its marina right outside, and Stanley Park only a steps away, the 510-room Westin Bayshore Resort is positioned to take full advantage of Vancouver’s spectacular natural setting and busy urban scene.

• The clean, uncluttered simplicity of the rooms
• The floor-to-ceiling windows and balconies
• The evocative views of park, water and mountains
• The outdoor pool
• The proximity to Stanley Park and the Seawall that runs around it

This is Vancouver’s only resort hotel with its own marina, and the views from all but a handful of its rooms are mesmerizing. The Bayshore overlooks Coal Harbour and Stanley Park on one side, and Burrard Inlet and the city on the other. The hotel is occupies two buildings, the original low-rise from 1961 and a newer tower, with a giant pool, restaurant, and conference center between them.

The enormous glass-walled and marble-paved lobby is an airy wow, and the furnishings and décor throughout provide an upscale resort ambience, but don’t expect any individualist surprises in this enormous resort/convention hotel. All the rooms received a makeover in 2009 with comfortable, casual, contemporary West Coast furniture and floor-to-ceiling windows that open wide to views of Stanley Park, Burrard Inlet, or the city skyline. For a little more room and a better view, book a Deluxe Tower Room with a balcony. The bathrooms in both buildings are nicely finished but fairly small, with tub/shower combinations (one or the other in the Deluxe Tower rooms). All in all, you’ll find the professionalism, service and quality that you’d expect to find in a high-end Westin property.

A good fitness center and a Vida spa is part of the complex, and the huge outdoor pool makes the hotel a fave with families.

Families looking for reliable comfort and a pool; romantics who want to savor the anonymity of a huge hotel with spectacular views in their room; cruise-ship visitors and those who want to experience Vancouver’s special outdoor landscapes.