Originally chose this hotel because of the Park and Fly package - one night stay gives you 7 days of parking, additional days at $5/day, free airport shuttle. The parking area is behind a locked chainlink fence and was secure (hotel staff open and close it). If you're flying out of YVR and have to overnight it's not a bad deal.

I booked on-line by clicking on the Park and Fly package icon (assuming that would give me the Park and Fly rate). Upon arrival I was informed that the rate I booked was the regular AAA rate, the Park and Fly package was actually ended up being $40 more than I expected - $177 compared to $135 ($15 of that was the additional 3 days of parking).

The room was clean, well maintained, and comfortable. We had requested a crib and it was provided. The continental breakfast the following morning was pretty basic - Cosco muffins (Cosco located across the street so they were probably fresh), microwaved "omletes" with Cheese Whiz filling (boxes were being dropped off as we ate so these too were probably "fresh"), cereal, fresh fruit, etc.

Stayed here twice - night before and night after an out-of-country flight.

Hotel staff very professional. Building and room were spotless.

Breakfast was really quite well done.

I would return here without doubt for overnight stays.

Very convenient to use the "park and fly" option to leave the car if heading away.

Highly recommended!

Newer hotel. Room was clean, breakfast was nice. Not very many dining options in the immediate area, but there were a few places that offered delivery to the hotel.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Richmond for one night during the August long weekend. We chose this location so we would be close to the ferry terminal as we were on our way to Vancouver Island.

We arrived at the hotel in the afternoon. The hotel is situated across the street from a Costco (less than a minute by foot) and a number of restaurants on the other side. There was lots of parking on the street and some in front of the hotel where we could park prior to checking in.

Check-in was speedy and efficient. The staff were friendly and professional and kindly answered our (many) questions about the Richmond Night Market and the drive to the ferry terminal. All the information they gave us was accurate and helpful.

Once we got our room keys, we returned to our vehicles and took them into the secured parking. All vehicles entering require a room key so it's very secure. Another feature that makes this parking area quite safe is that you must cross *through* the lobby elevator to get to the parking. (The elevator opens from both ends.) This means that if someone dodgy is lurking in the area by the door or in the parking area, you will likely be able to see them before even leaving the lobby. As a frequent solo business traveller, I really appreciated this unique set-up. Another extra bit of security is that all guests must swipe their room key in the elevator in order to be able to choose a floor.

Once we got up to our floor, we noticed how very hot it was. Later on, as we walked around the hotel, we noticed that none of the "common" areas seemed to be air conditioned -- or, if they were, not air conditioned enough.

Luckily, this was not the case with our rooms. We were very satisfied with every aspect of our rooms, including the temperature. We had a king bed in ours and a fridge and microwave. The bed was the typical Holiday Inn Express bed: clean white sheets, tons of pillows, and comfortable mattress. The furniture in the room was also typical of the Holiday Inn Express brand: modern, beautiful wood tones, nice fixtures and lamps, and pleasing artwork. For a budget hotel, the Holiday Inn Express actually competes quite favourably with many much more expensive hotel chains when it comes to its in-room furniture, amenities, and overall decor.

The TV came with pay-per-view television. Unfortunately, it did not appear to be functioning properly as we tried several times to browse the movies and the TV would respond only intermittently. We weren't going to be staying in the room very long, though, so we didn't mind.

The hotel is situated near the airport but we never once heard an airplane while we were in our room (yet we could see them flying right over us). The view of these airplanes was actually quite enjoyable. We got to see some massive planes quite close up, from the comfort of our room.

It was Sunday when we stayed in this hotel, so the Richmond Night Market was in full swing that evening. We had read about the market in a number of travel magazines and seen it on TV travel shows, so we made a point of going. The market is open on weekend evenings during the summer months. It is located about a 5 minute drive from the hotel. It's an asian-themed open-air market with over 400 vendors of food, clothing, decorations, trinkets, plants and flowers, toys, and much more. The traffic coming and going was a bit much (we waited 10 minutes in line to get a parking spot) but we had a lot of fun and felt very safe. You should bring cash only and remember that all prices are negotiable!

The next morning we had the complimentary breakfast in the lobby. Everything was great as it always is at the Holiday Inn Express. They had the usual items: Cinnamon buns, yogurt, toast, bagels, muffins, fresh fruit, juice, coffee, water, milk, cereal, and more. Unlike other hotels in this chain, however, they also had scrambled eggs and bacon. I had never before seen these items offered at a Holiday Inn Express.

The only complaint I had about breakfast is that the lay-out of the breakfast bar was not very good. It was split apart in different areas and there were tables and chairs too near. It was very cramped and we had a very hard time getting what we needed in a timely manner. We ended up having to go back and forth 3 or 4 times because people were proceeding around the bar in every direction and we couldn't get to what we needed. Compared to the breakfast bar in the Burnaby Holiday Inn Express, which is very neat and orderly, this one was pretty disorganized. That said, we still appreciated the tasty free breakfast, of course!

Once we had eaten, we left for the ferry terminal. We got to the ferry in mere minutes and it was a very easy trip.

Overall, a pleasant stay with only minor issues. If you're planning to visit typical Vancouver attractions I probably wouldn't recommend this location because it *is* quite a drive. You would probably be better off in a more central hotel. However, if you're planning to board an early morning ferry or a plane at Vancouver International, I would highly recommend this hotel. It really takes the stress out of the commute.