Check-In/Check-Out: The Four Seasons, Vancouver

Source: By Elizabeth Haggarty, AOL Travel

Posted: 09/18/09 4:53PM

Filed Under: Canada Travel Guide

Boutique hotels, with their hipster apartment feel, may be all the rage, but the Four Seasons sticks to what they do best, creating the old-style-high-end hotel experience. For those who want to avoid the piercing aesthetics of a hip or ultra-modern room, the Four Seasons is for you. A sleekly overstuffed suite greets guests as they roll their luggage over the threshold. The plump king size beds, beautiful linens, plush carpets, and polished wood furniture with upholstery ready for the manor house will leave any traveller ready to sit down, have a drink and relax.

Room to Roam: The Four Seasons is located downtown, attached to the Pacific Mall and across from the Vancouver Art Gallery. Robson Street, The Sea Wall, Canada Place and many other tourist attractions are all within walking distance, or a short bus or taxi ride away. With the opening of the new SkyTrain rapid transit link from the airport, the Four Seasons is in a prime location for travellers. You can take the train directly from the airport terminal to the hotel in 25 minutes, without having to step outside.

From my window in one of the Four Seasons’ Executive suites, I have a great view of downtown Vancouver streets with the North Shore mountains looming behind. The suite houses a bedroom, spacious living room and two bathrooms. Light floods through the wall-to-wall windows that extend from the bedroom to the living room, and the room laden with lamps make it a great place to read or do work. There’s also an iPod docking station in every room where you can blast your favourite tunes. Listening to my iPod from the station was not a problem - figuring out how to turn off the radio after each maid’s visit was.

As for the two bathrooms: If you were on a business trip and hosting guests in your living room, they make good sense. But for tourists on a pleasure trip I’d much rather sacrifice one and have the remaining smallish bath replaced with a relaxing whirlpool.

Ambience: Warm wood, beige walls and soft lights all add to the sensation of being coddled and safe as soon as you enter the hotel. In a rainy city like Vancouver, returning from a day of touring the town to collapse in the Four Seasons feels like curling up near a fire.

Guests: The old, the young, the outward-bound yuppie couple and the shopping-machine ESL student can all be found at the Four Seasons. When I was there, a famous Korean actress and entourage were hotel guests and frequent diners at the YEW restaurant.

Food and Drink: If you visited the Four Seasons a few years ago, forget everything you remember about your dining experience. Enter YEW, with its infinite ceiling, sparse wooden chic style and tower of B.C. wines suspended in a glass display cabinet that surrounds its centre table. The cramped gloom of the past restaurant has been blown away by the $4 million dollars in renovations. The menu has been renovated as well:

Breakfast: The most popular choice with guests is the buffet, packed with fresh pastries, fruit, smoothies, smoked salmon and eggs, along with the normal fare, including eggs Benedict, which can be ordered from the menu. For coffee lovers the restaurant uses 49th Parallel beans exclusively, delivering a beautifully-frothy fragrant brew to your table, if you order the latte.

Dinner: Head Chef Oliver Beckert, who previously worked in the Four Seasons restaurants in Hawaii, knows how to work with fish. The halibut, with its basil and almond crust, summer squash, citrus and tomato butter will definitely go down well, and the chili-marinated octopus from the Raw Bar is a treat. Kick off your meal with the Red Salad, a concoction of fresh raspberries, beets, goat cheese, red leaves and roasted peppers that look as good as they taste. The restaurant also offers over 150 wines by the glass. Always check the back of the wine list because if someone opens a bottle it will be added on. At $35.00 per person for a meal, excluding wine, the restaurant offers a good deal for the smart-causal dining crowd.

Service: With room prices ranging from $245 to $545 a night you expect good service, and you get it. Along with prompt room service, immaculate cleaning staff and a helpful concierge desk the hotel will also work to arrange tours for you - from an Edible B.C. tour of Granville Market to Nordic Pole walking tours of downtown.

Extras: Make sure to test out the Bvlgari bath tea bag in your bathroom. It turns the bath water a tranquil green, and you really should experience the pleasure of steeping your body in a seemingly large cup of herbal tea.

If you want to book a room at the Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver visit their website or call 1 (604) 689-9333.