I enjoyed my stay at Coast Plaza, and would definitely stay there again.

Yes, the hotel interior and rooms are a bit dated. And it wasn't "luxurious" by any means. The bed and linens were not of the highest quality. The shower worked well but the bathtub and tiles looked a little bit grimey. But I had a good time there.

The good:

- my room had a fridge, which was great for keeping beer/wine/snacks.

- the view from my balcony on the 31st floor was awesome! A full panorama from English Bay to Coal Harbour, with the most excellent view of downtown. Only problem here was that there wasn't any furniture out there on the balcony, so I moved the desk chair out there!

- I liked the bath and shower products. I forget what brand they were but the glycerin soap and regular soap were great.

- I loved the location. Denman Street is nice with lots of eating options and shopping. Robson Street and Davie Street are a few blocks away, as are English Bay Beach and Stanley Park.

- All the staff were friendly and helpful.

- I liked having the Sav-On and Denman Wines downstairs in the mall off the lobby.

- My room/floor was quiet, allowing for a good night's sleep.

So all in all, the good outweighs the "bad". I had such a great time exploring Vancouver that I'll be back, and would consider staying at the Coast Plaza again, mostly because of the location and balcony view.

We stayed at this hotel courtesy of Hotwire at the discounted rate of $120 / night x 3 nights. Hotwire had rated this hotel at 3.5 stars.

Upon check-in, we found the hotel to be quite busy. Apparently they get a large portion of their business from the nearby cruiselines. Check-in took approximately 10 minutes with a minimum of fuss. Parking is available at ~$18 / day.

The hotel itself has a fairly decent lobby is situated just steps away from Robson Street (just a word of warning though - it's at the BOTTOM of the hill leading to most of Robson :P).

The room we stayed in was on the 12th floor -- it had a decent view of the skyline and harbour. It also had a microwave, dishes, and a refridgerator. We found the decor and the linens to be quite dated and in need of replacement.

We attempted to extend our stay to a fourth day, and were told fairly bluntly that the lowest rate possible at the hotel was $209 / night, almost double what we were paying. When we asked if we would have more luck on hotwire, we were told by the night manager that we probably wouldn't, since his hotel was very busy. That said, we tried anyway and rebooked on hotwire for $99 (actually LESS than what we paid originally).

At times, we found the condition of the room to be somewhat unsettling. The maid had long black hair that we constantly found in the bathtub, on the bathroom floor and in the sink. That was exacerbated by the bathtub backing up during the first night of our stay. We should point out that this maintenance issue was dealt with promptly. We also found a used rag on our counter during the second night of our stay, and dirty pillow cases under the bed during the third night.

Wireless internet is offered by the hotel, but is unfortunately unsecured (all one needs is a room number -- pick any number between 700 - 1900....). Because of that, the wireless network was congested and unusable. Luckily, the hotel does offer hardwired ethernet cables for use at no charge (but doesn't advertise that fact).

In summary: If I were paying full price (200 / night) I would feel pretty choked. However, It has a great location (Stanley Park, Robson Street and city transit access). It certainly isn't the steal the $80 Hyatt was last winter =) but we felt that we got our money's worth (~130 - 150 / night including parking).

Hope this helps somebody else make their Hotwire decision.

We started vacationing in Canada in the 80's. Since that time we have gone to Canada at least once a year. In the beginning, we would stay a week at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel in Victoria and a week at the Westin Bayshore in Vancouver.

In the early 90's we started looking around for an accommodation on the West Side of Vancouver that would offer a Suite with a full kitchen and a view of Stanley Park and English Bay.

The Coast Plaza was our answer! We stay up as high as we can for a view of English Bay and Stanley Park.

We love the idea that the Plaza has within it's complex a grocery store on the ground level which you can elevator down to without ever going through the Lobby and find those items that will keep you happy in your room with the view.

There's Super Safeway a block over from Comox on Davies that has everything you would need for food needs. (Adjacent to Safeway is a Providence Liquor store.) The hotel can direct you to a Whole Grain Grocery store on Robson if your into more exotic fare.

Our Suites have always had a super size King bed and television in the bedroom. A television, dining table and free computer hookup in the livingroom. The livingroom is large with a walk out balcony.

Look on the Vancouver websites for dining and tours. But, please keep in mind that Vancouver is a very walkable city and public transportation is great.

Tired of cooking don't want to eat out? Great room service menu.
I've never seen on a room service menu Lamb Shank with all the trimmings for $19.00 and Bumble Berry pie Alamode. Wonderful!

It's nice to be greeted by a hotel staff whom with with their smile and greeting say to you. "welcome home."

I've only written one other review for a property and that is the Molesworth Suites in Dublin, Ireland. Again, location, location, location and friendly ,'we remember you staff.'

Gary & Judy Holbrook

We booked a standard room at the Coast Plaza via Clipper Vacations and were eligible for a free upgrade to a one bedroom suite. The hotel does look like a throw back from the '70s, but, hey, all of the West End of Vancouver looks like that -- very retro area. The hotel is an older property but it is maintained pretty well. Our room was actually a 1br apartment and was HUGE. It was also very clean. There was a large living/dining room, a fully equipped kitchen and views of most of the city from our 23rd floor windows and balcony. Go do your laundry in the laundry room on the 26th floor and get an even better view of the city. This hotel is perfectly located in a residential area within minutes of a zillion restaurants of every ethnicity. You've also got the #5 and #6 buses right there that will take you down either Davie or Robson Streets to downtown. You're also in walking distance of Stanley Park and English Bay Beach. Definitely stock the fridge with food from either the supermarket directly beneath the hotel in the small Denman Place mall or, better yet, go to the more upscale Safeway supermarket just a few minutes by foot further down Davie Street. All in all a good experience at this hotel in the fabulous city of Vancouver.