Hotel Review: Pan Pacific Vancouver

Location

The Pan Pacific Vancouver Hotel is located right in downtown Vancouver on the waterfront.  It is connected to the cruise ship terminal and convention center which makes it very convenient for a pre- or post-cruise stay.

The location is so ideal that after parking our car for the weekend we didn’t have to use it once.  Everything is within walking distance.  You can also hop on the sky train or sea bus which are just a block away from the hotel.  Beware – parking at the hotel is very expensive ($42/night!!).  If you do need a car, you can rent one from Enterprise or National/Alamo – they have rental desks right inside the hotel which is very convenient.

Tip: Don’t bring a car.  Explore the city by foot, sky train and sea bus.  If you must drive, rent a car from within the hotel lobby instead.

Experience

Check in was quick and easy but to be honest we both did not find the front desk staff to be very warm or welcoming. I would understand if it were really busy but we were the only guests checking in at the time and there were 4 staff working at the front.  However, when we checked out, the woman who helped us was very nice and friendly.

Rooms

Our room was a King Bed City View room.  We were offered an upgrade to a waterfront view room for an extra $40 upon checking in but we declined.

The room we received had a beautiful city view and also some view of the water so we were very pleased.  I don’t think it’s necessary to pay extra for the waterfront view – instead you should take in the beautiful views from the heated outdoor pool and hot tub, which is exactly what we did!

Tip: Skip paying extra for a waterfront view room.  City View is just fine!

The bed was one of the most comfortable I’ve ever slept in at a hotel.  The duvet was super fluffy and warm and the pillows were perfect.  I slept so well.

Other pluses: the heater in the room worked well, decor was nice and clean, there was a nice flat screen TV, and a coffee maker with Starbucks coffee and real cream (not powdered!) which I really appreciated.

Don’t be fooled when you connect to the wifi, though – it is not free.  It’s $5.95 to connect per day or $14.95 for higher speed, which was disappointing.

Some nice touches I appreciated in the room were a weigh scale in the bathroom and a nice big umbrella for you to use during your stay!  That’s a first I’ve experienced in a hotel.  Definitely needed in Vancouver 😉  Also, if you want to keep the umbrella it’s just $25 and gets charged to your room.  Same with the super soft bath robes ($80).

Amenities

The main draw of this hotel for us was its heated outdoor saltwater pool!  Since it was winter and snowing out we figured we’d be the only “crazy ones” to want to go outside.  But we discovered a lot of others had the same idea as us and the hot tub was actually packed.  We decided to try out the pool instead and it was surprisingly warm enough to swim!

Tip: Bring your bath robe from the room to stay warm before and after jumping into the pool.

The pool is located on the 8th floor and overlooks the harbour.  While in the pool you can take in the fantastic views of the mountains and Stanley Park.  It really is lovely.  Definitely take advantage of the pool at least once during your stay.  We went twice in one day!

The hotel also has a fitness centre and spa but we did not have time to check them out.

Food

There appeared to be some nice restaurants in the hotel but we did not try them. There are so many amazing restaurants nearby to eat at so there’s only so much you can try 😉

Overall Rating: 9/10

All in all this is a very lovely hotel and I would definitely stay here again! The main reason we were drawn to this hotel over others in the area was the fantastic pool and we were not disappointed.   The reason we did not give it a perfect rating is because the staff could be a little more warm and welcoming and the parking and wifi costs were too high.