We traveled to Vancouver, BC for our wedding anniversary vacation with a plan to travel to Victoria, BC for a few days, then return to Vancouver for our flight back to Texas. We picked a hotel close to the airport so we could accomplish our plan since our plan was to first spend three days touring Vancouver then travel by ferry to Victoria, BC for three days and take a return ferry to Vancouver late in the day and fly back home early the next morning. Being close to the airport and having free hotel transportation to and from the airport was critical since we also used the hotel shuttle to take us back and forth to/from the airport for our tour bus ride to Victoria (which required the tour bus to drive onto a huge ferry for the 90 minute trip to Victoria).
THE LOCATION:
The hotel is close to Vancouver International Airport and the hotel provides shuttle service to and from the airport for free. The hotel is kind of out of the way, in a mixed industrial area. If you look at a map of the surrounding Vancouver area, you can note that this hotel is at the northern end of the City of Richmond, BC. There is only a small, independently owned sandwich shop next to the Hampton Inn hotel but there are a couple of restaurants within a three block walking distance of the hotel. The hotel will provide free shuttle service to and from the Richmond Best Western Hotel a few blocks away. The Best Western has a great bar and a separate restaurant but is on the expensive side.
There is a Vancouver City Bus stop only two blocks away from this hotel. It is very inexpensive to ride the bus into Vancouver and back to the hotel, which I highly recommend. You can see some of Vancouver while on the bus and travel with the locals. The bus number is 98B. It always follows the same route and runs frequently up until late at night. This bus will take you all the way to the main bus station, which is also the station for the ferry across the bay to North West Vancouver. It's only three dollars CAD one way and fun to take this large people only ferry across the bay and to shop at the huge market on the other side (which is located at the ferry station!).
It is important to know that Richmond, BC is a major location for whale watching tour companies. This is another reason we picked this hotel at this location. We picked a whale watching tour company that picked us up and dropped us off at our hotel.
We also had the hotel shuttle take us to the airport for our trip to Victoria, BC. The shuttle driver dropped us off at the tour bus company, located in the domestic flight terminal at baggage claim area six.
THE VIEW:
We were on the fifth floor and located at the rear of the hotel. The view was of an entirely industrial area with a run down house (still occupied) about two hundred yards away. It didn't bother us since we felt safe at this hotel.
THE ROOM:
Our room was a standard Hampton Inn room with the exact same furniture that all Hampton Inns use. The room was very clean and the beds had recently been upgraded to the new Hilton bedding and mattress. We slept very well as a result. There is no fridge in the room, which we considered a negative since the Hampton Inn does not have a restaurant. However, breakfast is provided free.
THE STAFF:
The staff was outstanding! Very friendly service, including checking in/out, recommendations for transportation around town, good restaurants, and ensuring we received fast service when we needed the hotel shuttle.
THE VALUE:
We got exactly what we were looking for at a very good price. Our criteria was: Location close to the Vancouver Airport; comfortable beds for a good nights sleep, within a short walking distance to local transportation, proximity to our whale watching tour (which we booked prior to our trip), and getting the most for our money - This hotel allowed us to meet our criteria.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Would I recommend this hotel to my best friend?
absolutely!
I recommend this hotel for:
People with disabilities, Older travelers, Tourists
I do not recommend this hotel for:
Young singles, An amazing honeymoon, Great pool scene, Pet owners, Families with young children, Families with teenagers
I selected this hotel as a top choice for:
Other