My aunt and uncle gifted us a breakfast at the restaurant at the Sylvia Hotel for Christmas one year, a place that is dear to them (isn’t this the coolest gift?) and it was such a lovely experience I wondered what it might be like to stay at this iconic hotel too. It’s in a perfect location near Stanley Park and English Bay and at one point in time it was the tallest building in this area of Vancouver BC. So when we decided to stay local for President’s Day weekend I found out we could get a night here and we liked the comfortable spacious room we stayed in and found the Sylvia Hotel a great choice for getting around Vancouver.
What are the rooms like at the Sylvia hotel?
Being a historic hotel and comparatively reasonably priced to many other Vancouver hotels I was curious about what a room would be like here. For example, it was nearly double the price for the room we stayed at another Vancouver hotel the night before. (This was a last minute trip and I booked at two different hotels because I really wanted to see what the Sylvia Hotel was like and I could only get one night here.)
I booked with Expedia because I had OneKey Cash to use (which made this hotel a really incredible deal) but it’s also important to check with the actual hotel site if you’re looking for the best deals or loyalty rewards. I also didn’t really know what the room would be like-it was a three bed room and I didn’t realize that there would be two beds in one room and one smaller one in a separate room. On the Sylvia Hotel site you can actually see photos of the room we booked and it looked pretty much exactly as pictured. It was more space than we thought we would get and the teens took turns chatting on the phone in the small room with friends so it was really nice having the extra little room. We are at the stage with our teens that if we are on an extended trip we need more space or at least an extra bathroom if we want to get ready in the morning without a sharing schedule.
There is parking at the hotel and it was around $20-25 which was less than we’ve paid at other hotels in Vancouver. If you stay here you should read the history in the book you find in your room but Sylvia was a real person, a swimmer (taught by another famous Vancouverite, Joe Fortes) who lived to be 102 and the Sylvia Hotel was built by her father and originally called the Sylvia Court Apartments. The hotel rooms feel updated but there are many historical photos and decor around the hotel and the rooms still use real keys. The beach is literally right across the street and if you’re seen the A-maze-ing Laughter sculptures (by Yue Minjun) in Vancouver photos, these sculptures are just around the corner. We were on the fourth floor and there are elevators in the hotel but also there were stairs so we never had to wait to get to our room. (and I really appreciate when hotels have stairways as an option.). Apparently the Sylvia hotel was also the site of the first cocktail lounge in Vancouver and I wish I tried the “1954.” (Next time)
Where to eat nearby the Sylvia Hotel
We thought about going to the music night at the restaurant in the Sylvia Hotel and just having a meal there, but we also wanted to wander the neighborhood and get a feel for the area. We usually stay more towards the waterfront and downtown and the Sylvia hotel area is more where we used to hang out when the hubby and I went to UBC. We ended up at a cozy Italian restaurant called Nook. They have a few more locations now but this one is the original. Everything our family ate was outstanding and we all had different pastas and we were talked into a to die for chocolate salted caramel budino that I highly recommend if you end up at this restaurant too. We had planned to go to Nero for waffles for breakfast but it was closed the day we went. We ended up driving to Sophie’s Cosmic Cafe so the kids could see where we used to go for breakfast dates ages ago. We also took a bit of time to drive around UBC campus. Our guys are Sophomores this year and everyone I know with older kids has told me to start checking out colleges when you holiday just to get our teens a feel for where they might like to end up after high school. (I was even sent a list of the most popular US colleges and I can’t believe we are already at this stage of life!)
A touristy thing to do nearby: the Capilano Suspension Bridge
The weather was really wet while we were on this trip, but thankfully not snowy like it often can be in February (and just days before our visit). It cleared up and we ended up getting to go to the Capilano Suspension Bridge for their Love Lights which was about a twenty minute drive from the hotel (I literally booked our tickets about 40 minutes before we went while we were walking on the beach). I wanted to see the Capilano Suspension Bridge decorated with lights and I keep missing this because I think it only happens between October and February. There is always a debate between Capilano Suspension Bridge and Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge and which one is ‘better’ or ‘worth it’ but if you can catch the Capilano Suspension Bridge just as the sun is setting and also see it all lit up and decorated, then this is the clear winner.
Do you love historic hotels? I do! (We recently visited a historic hotel in Chicago with a very cool pool and I do enjoy finding out when a place has been around for a long time.)
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)
One thought on “Staying at the Sylvia Hotel a historic hotel near English Bay and Stanley Park in Vancouver BC”