We had a good stay at this hotel and whilst the immediate area around the hotel is ok, not too far away (maybe around a mile) is a homeless problem the like I have never seen before in any major city in the west. We drove through it on a few occasions on our way to see the sights and the scale of it was disturbing. This is the only reason I would not recommend this hotel to a friend - it is not the best introduction to a beautiful city, nor a great memory.

Our room was on the 4th floor with a good view of the mountains beyond. The king bed was excellent and the curtains and bedding were attractive. There was a desk and a sofa plus a coffee machine. The breakfast was typical of Holiday Inn Express with all the usual items of bagels, muffins, toast, fruit etc. It was served from 6.30 am and there were a few of us waiting to go in to the dining area at that time, I assume, mostly because of the time difference experienced by many of the guests.

A couple from the east coast of Canada in their eighties were having a 3 day stay here before embarking on an Alaskan cruise. I was full of admiration for anyone staying here without own transport but especially so at their age - although they did seem very active and had their transport arrangements sorted out.

The car parking arrangement suited us well, with your room key needed to enter the car park and again in the elevator to take you to any floor other than the lobby. The elevator was accessed from the underground parking area which was ideal.

We did lunch one day at Tom and Jerry's across the road, which was just okay but didn't nourish the soul! If you have a satnav or a good map, I could recommend a pretty tree-lined small town in well-heeled west Vancouver called Dundarave and a restaurant called Dundarave Fish Market. The town also had a couple of coffee shops and other places to eat which I should have liked to have tried. The sunset views over Vancouver from nearby Cypress Mount were spectacular.

We booked this hotel prior to leaving for a cruise. Our travel agent recommended it because the price was more reasonable than many downtown hotels and we, along with another couple, would have a car. We drove in from Seattle and had no trouble locating the hotel. Service at the front desk was excellent, and the free underground parking was fine. (I saw some earlier reviews complaining about the parking, but we had a fairly large car, and no trouble parking.) We liked the security and keyed elevator.

The hotel lobby was attractive and our room was perfectly adequate. The bathroom products were quite nice. The morning breakfast provided as part of the cost of the room was also good.

However, as earlier writers have indicated, you want to have a car to stay here. We traveled to Vancouver's lovely downtown and harbor twice, and took different routes to and from this area. In all cases we traveled through skidrow sections in what I believe are labeled Japantown and Chinatown. What they look like should be called "junkytown." Vancouver really needs to clean up this mess.

I consider this the city's problem, not the hotel's. The hotel offered good accomodations for a reasonable price.

redeemed holiday inn priority club points for free stay

pros: reasonably close to downtown; nice view of mountain and waterfront for rear rooms; front rooms look out to street; free parking garage; good water pressure in shower; reasonable free breakfast; gave me free upgrade to executive suite

cons: old, somewhat rundown hotel; worn carpets, furniture, etc.; mold in caulking of bathroom tiles [these people never heard of bleach ??]; area doesn't seem very safe in night; underground parking garage is small & difficult to manouver

We stayed two nights and BOTH mornings we took COLD (really) showers. When we called the front desk to find out what the problem was, the answer was "We have a full hotel and all the guests are fighting over the hot water. I suggest you wait about an hour." The response did not indicate that this was unusual or surprising. True, the place was packed with a tour group, but there is no excuse for a hotel to have NO hot water in the morning. Yes, the neighborhood is not too good - a 24 hr. XXX shop is directly across the street. And, yes, there wasn't near enough hotel staff to keep the tables anywhere near clean at the reasonable good morning breakfast. And, yes, when I asked for the manager to complain/ask for a room refund for the lack of hot water, the response was "You'll have to wait till he comes in about noon, I can't do anything." After providing my email, still no response three weeks later. THIS PLACE SHOULD NOT BE CONFUSED WITH A REAL HOLIDAY INN.