THE FAIRMONT HOTEL VANCOUVER
Breakfast booths stylistically indicative of railway cars, a speakeasy-esque lounge off the flashy refurbed lobby, televisions hiding in the mirrors of some of its 556 rooms… This 17-storey building threw open its grand doors in 1939 as Hotel Vancouver, was later bought by Canadian Pacific Hotels and is now shunting its way back to an imagined "romance of travel" era. Pegasus and ram gargoyles protect the hotel from on high, while resident ghost and former guest, the Lady in Red, still floats around, refusing to check out. Rooms from $249 a night. See fairmont.com/hotel-vancouver.
MODA HOTEL
Moda's main 1908 building began life as a hotel called Dufferin. Original hardwood floors are exposed throughout three storeys of simply decorated rooms and suites, all equipped with coffee machines. The ground floor houses a bottle shop, cafe, pizza joint with hand-built pizza oven, wine bar with live jazz on Saturday nights and an Italian restaurant. Across the road, a building from this century is now also part of Moda. Rooms start at $200 a night. See modahotel.ca.
ROSEWOOD HOTEL GEORGIA
The grand staircase, Spanish ballroom with minstrel balcony and lobby fireplace, marble floors, clock and elevator dials are genuine remnants from 1927 when this 12-storey hotel opened. Part of the penthouse was a jazz radio station and rumour has it Elvis slept beneath the high ceilings of that floor's Lord Stanley Suite. Prohibition, in the basement, is all green velvet, craft cocktails and La Belle Epoque-inspired absinthe fountains; accessible from the street when the green bulb glows. The number of Georgia's guestrooms has recently halved to 156 and aesthetics standardised so juniors now live like kings from $379. See rosewoodhotels.com/en/hotel-georgia-vancouver.
SYLVIA HOTEL
You'll either put a hand to your chest and say "bless" and never stay elsewhere in Vancouver, or race off downtown for historic accommodation with glamour. Overlooking English Bay and close to Stanley Park, this 1912 apartment block became a hotel after World War II. Some guests have been returning to its homely embrace for decades, others love it as a beachside writers' retreat and I meet several staff who've worked at this family-owned hotel for more than 30 years. Most of its ghosts, I'm not surprised to hear, are friendly yet stubborn former guests. Sylvia's 120 rooms in 23 different styles start from a bargain $100 in winter and a family of racoons passes by the corner windows of one suite, for no extra charge. See sylviahotel.com.
ST. REGIS HOTEL
This independent Canadian-owned boutique hotel is entirely separate from the high-end chain of that name. The six-storey Edwardian building has been a hotel since 1913 and a sports hotel since the '40s. The current owner is a keen sports follower, hence the 48-inch flat screen with 200 channels in each of its contemporary-style rooms, and is also a regular traveller, so everything you need on the road is included in the room price starting at $149. The hotel's capacious Gotham Steakhouse and Cocktail Bar offers live music five nights a week and St. Regis Bar and Grill serves up food and beverages with plenty of televised sports coverage on the sides. See stregishotel.com.
VICTORIAN HOTEL
Vancouver's oldest hotel, near historic Gastown, is a memento of its shift from a Wild West town to a Victorian city. All 47 guestrooms are unique and its three storeys of accommodation are divided into two distinct sections. Rooms in the 1898 building, from $450 per night, have high ceilings, an ensuite and various exposures of original brick walls and floorboards. In the "new" 1908 section, a recently renovated double room with shared bath starts at $150 per night. In the spirit and restrictiveness of the bygone era there are no elevators, no airconditioning and continental breakfast is included. See victorianhotel.ca.
The writer was a guest of the Canadian Tourism Commission and Rosewood Hotel Georgia.
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