A Business Trip to Vancouver, Staying at the Popular Pinnacle Hotel Harbourfront, Quickly Transformed From Business to Pleasure Amidst Scenic Beauty and Downtown Attractions.
Vancouver: Culture, Adventure, and Obsessive Beauty
I have visited many beautiful places but Vancouver just jumped to the top of my most impressive destinations. The stunning natural Canadian beauty of water and mountains blended with a massive amount of cultural diversity and outdoor adventures. What should have been mostly business meetings with a sprinkle of pleasure, turned into something much more. The unexpected sightseeing in Vancouver quickly became the “star” of the 4-night business trip.
Things I Didn’t Know About Vancouver
I am pretty good with geography and had visited Canada before, but until this trip, I was unaware of the fact that Vancouver sits just north of Washington State. In fact, Vancouver is considered a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia.
The Vancouver harbor faces both the Pacific Ocean and the North Shore Mountains. It’s home to the Canucks NHL hockey team. The area is known for its sushi and other Pacific seafood.
Boasting a diverse cultural heritage, Vancouver’s downtown even has a bustling Chinatown, America’s second-largest Chinatown featuring history and delicious Asian cuisine. On Commercial Drive, you can find Vancouver’s Little Italy, where you can enjoy Italian food along with many popular bars and shops. Gastown is recognized as Vancouver’s oldest neighborhood featuring cobblestone streets and home to art galleries and additional unique food and drink options.
And my favorite fact, when visiting Vancouver you can almost guarantee seeing whales! And I love whale watching almost as much as I love traveling to chase cascading waterfalls. I’m happy to report that Vancouver’s whale watching did not disappoint. But before I tell you about Vancouver sightseeing, I want to tell you about our hotel.
About Pinnacle Hotel Harbourfront
With a business conference set for the Vancouver Convention Centre, the Pinnacle Hotel Harbourfront was recommended. It was described as the ideal downtown Vancouver waterfront location just minutes from the conference. This location was considered the business district of Vancouver but the Harbour Green Park around the corner made it less city-like and more like suburbia with tall buildings. The location was perfect.
I think you can guess that a “harbourfront” hotel would offer breathtaking waterfront views and yes, it did! It was a modern hotel, not new, but clean, safe, and welcoming. In addition to free high-speed Wi-Fi, there was an indoor pool overlooking the harbor, fitness center, and the P2B Bistro restaurant and bar. There was also a business center great for making printouts, along with meeting and event spaces. Pet friendly guest room options are available if you travel with your pet.
The hotel staff were very helpful, allowing us to check in a bit early and check out a bit later, as our flight back home was in the late afternoon.
The Hotel Amenities I Appreciated Most
While most of the amenities were standard, I must point out the hotel’s restaurant, happy hour, live music, and the most fun e-bike rental. The indoor pool and hot tub looked like fun but we didn’t have time to go swimming. The fitness center (very spacious) was nice but I only used the treadmill once.
The hotel offered half-day e-bike rentals (starting at $45 for 4-hours) and it made seeing downtown Vancouver fun for a few hours so we could enjoy the views and get some much needed exercise.
The hotel’s P2B Bistro restaurant was not only a convenient dinner option after a long day of meetings (and some sightseeing!) but the daily breakfast buffet was the perfect start to each day. Brioche French toast was my favorite breakfast and the Braised Beef Short Rib was a delicious dinner. The food was pricey but worth it considering the hotel provided coupons including a “$30 Dining Credit for Dinner.”
The service in the P2B Bistro and bar was amazing every single time. And the Happy Hours from 3-6pm were a fun way to meet up with conference attendees where we could enjoy cocktails and appetizers. I was happy to have caught a bit of the live music one evening (featured on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday) as it was a real treat.
Love Me a “Room With a View”
If you’re interested in staying at Pinnacle Hotel Harbourfront, you can select from a City View Room, Harbourfront Room, Junior Suite, or Coal Harbour Suite. We stayed in a King Harbour View room with a cozy big bed and a spectacular water view with a mountain backdrop from my Juliette-style balcony. Other hotel rooms of my colleagues had Vancouver skyline views, equally impressive.
A slight downside is that the hotel is not like some of the newer hotels I’m used to. In some places, the décor looked a bit outdated and the room even showed some wear and tear. However the cleanliness far outweighed the fact my room had an old striped rug. The room also came with free Wi-Fi, High-definition LCD television, and a Keurig coffee maker.
One con was that the room was noisy, the sound of the fan seemed to never turn off. Luckily, I brought my white noise machine to help me not be disturbed by the room sounds while sleeping.
Here’s an interesting hotel fact: Some rooms had a full size balcony or a Juliette-style balcony, and other rooms had windows that actually open. I don’t recall ever staying in a hotel room that had windows that actually open to let in fresh air, other than a balcony room.
A Few Recommended Vancouver Attractions
Here are some fun things my colleagues and I managed to squeeze into our busy days at the business conference.
Stanley Park – One of the world’s largest urban parks that just happened to be located around the corner from the hotel. It’s 1,000 acres has multiple trails, an aquarium, nature center, and other recreational facilities.
Vancouver Seawall – Located at Stanley Park, this 5.5-mile path is known as the world’s longest uninterrupted seawall path, typically filled with walkers, skaters, bikers, runners, and anyone looking to appreciate the scenic views.
Vancouver Aquarium – Canada’s largest aquarium located right in Stanley Park. It’s the home of 65,000+ aquatic species including sea lions, otters, and more. Feeding and training shows, along with a 4D Theatre Experience, made for a fun but quick 2-hour visit.
Vancouver Whale Watching – It was a heated catamaran with indoor and outdoor viewing decks allowing us to spot multiple whales. I felt a bit sea sick but seeing the whales and capturing some great photos was well worth the nausea.
Queen Elizabeth Park – This was a nice place to just relax and enjoy the views. It’s located on Little Mountain, a former rock quarry turned into a huge, 30-acre park with city views, rose garden, and miniature golf.
I must point out one more attraction that came highly recommended but we did not get to do. The Vancouver: Capilano Suspension Bridge & Grouse Mountain Tour. The tour takes you to many of Vancouver’s popular attractions including a walk on the Capilano Suspension Bridge, a walk through the Treetop Adventure, and a ride on the Grouse Mountain Gondola. I’ll save that for next year’s Vancouver conference so I can muster up the courage to walk the bridge and ride the gondola.
Takeaways/Final Thoughts
I highly recommend the Pinnacle Hotel and look forward to staying there at next year’s conference.
- Great location downtown, walking and bike riding distance to many attractions
- Lovely harbor front with scenic mountain and water views
- Rooms clean and very spacious (but outdated décor)
- Friendly, helpful staff from check in to check out
- Great food and cocktails at hotel’s P2B Bistro and Bar
- Convenient parking at hotel (fees apply)
- Kids up to age 17 stay for free
- Pet friendly room options available (pet fees apply)
Author Bio: Originally from Long Island, New York, Donna Wright now calls Deland, Florida her home. An avid traveler, she has journeyed by air, land, and sea, to many cities in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean to exciting destinations like California, Arizona, Las Vegas, San Diego, Myrtle Beach, Lake Tahoe, Reno, and more.
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