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We just got back from our 2 week trip to Vancouver, Rocky Mountaineer Train Tour, Victoria, and Seattle. We flew on Alaska Airlines from Ontario, California to Vancouver on Thursday, August 9th, 2007. We stayed 3 nights in Vancouver at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel. We then left on the train tour from Vancouver on Sunday. It was the Rocky Mountaineer circle tour from Vancouver - Kamloops - Jasper AB - Quesnel - Whistler - Vancouver. We stayed another night at the Fairmont Waterfront in Vancouver We then traveled to Victoria on Pacific Coach Lines. We stayed 3 nights in Victoria at the Marriott Inner Harbour Hotel. We then traveled to Seattle on the Victoria Clipper. We stayed 2 nights at the Grand Hyatt in Seattle. We then flew home from Seattle to Ontario on Alaska Airlines.
Unfortunately we were again blessed with bad weather as we were on our 2 week trip in Alberta in August 2005. I will just give our general observations as it would take a book to give all the details. I will post details later. If anybody is interested they can ask questions or e-mail me for more info. I took approximately 1200 photos on the trip. Seattle turned out to be the high point of the trip for us. We were told by the folks in Whistler and Victoria that tourism is off quite a bit this year which is probably due mainly to the rise in the Canadian dollar. Everything is certainly very expensive in Canada.
Vancouver - Our room at the Fairmont Waterfront was on the 23rd floor ( top floor ) with a view of the harbor. Our high point was watching the cruise ships come in each morning at 6:00 am. I walked out on the pier 3 times to watch them as well as observed them from our room. The service at the hotel was excellent but the room was not what I would expect for a deluxe room at a luxury hotel at $450 /nt. The room was average size with a tiny bathroom with a tub/shower combination. We walked all through Gas-town in the afternoon which we didn't find very impressive except for the steam clock. There are a lot of aggressive pan handlers there. We did the "Hop On Hop Off Bus Tour" which is a great way to see the city. As the name implies, you can get on and off wherever you like. It is a 2 day pass. I don't know what it costs as we had a voucher for it. We took the False Creek ferry to Granville Island. The ferry is included in the bus tour. We walked around Granville Island which was nice and visited the Market where we consumed a number of delicious scones. We walked all over downtown and went to the top of the tower which is great for viewing the city and taking pictures. We took the Grayline 6 hour tour to Capilano and Grouse Mountain. It was included as part of the Rocky Mountaineer package. I do not recommend this tour.
Rocky Mountaineer - We booked the Gold Leaf Service with Luxury Hotels which is their top class of service. We were quite disappointed with it. The service was hit and miss and the trip was very exhausting with having to get up at 5:00 - 6:00 am every morning to go from the hotel to the train. The meals left a lot to be desired. The train only travels during the day. The first 2 days were good. The Jasper stop was not good at all. We arrived at 6:30 pm where we stayed the night at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge. The Jasper Park Lodge was a major disappointment and we were hustled out of there at 5:30 am so we had no time at all in Jasper. We did see some large Elk grazing on the lawn at the lodge. The most scenic part of the trip was from Whistler to Vancouver. We stayed at the Fairmont Château in Whistler. The service was not nearly as good as the Fairmont Waterfront and the room was about the same. We walked all around the village at Whistler which is very nice. In retrospect I would definitely not recommend taking the Rocky Mountaineer. This was pretty well the consensus of most of our fellow travelers.
Victoria - The Marriott was just OK. Service was good but the room again was average with a small bathroom. The Marriott is boxed in by high rise apartments and new construction. I would choose the Grand Pacific with a view of the inner harbor. We were quite disappointed with Victoria after all the hype. Bear in mind that I was born there but hadn't seen it since 1968. I feel it has lost a lot of its charm due to the high rise apartments etc. There are a lot of tourist souvenir stores with big sales. We did the "Hop on Hop Off' bus tour which was just OK. I would probably just take a city bus. We also did both the Gorge and Harbor Ferry tours which was interesting. The ferry tours cost $80 ( $60 for seniors ) for 2 people. We took the Grayline Butchart's Gardens Illumination Fireworks tour on Saturday evening. The gardens were awesome and the fireworks display was spectacular. However, I definitely would not recommend taking the tour. You do not have enough time to see the gardens properly.
Seattle - We stayed in a deluxe room on the 23rd floor at the Grand Hyatt. The service was excellent and the room was very nice with a large bathroom with separate shower and tub. The Grand Hyatt was what we expect in a hotel of this class and the price was $185 cheaper per night than the Fairmont Waterfront. We had an awesome view of the Space Needle, Harbor, and Union Lake. We were very impressed with downtown Seattle. Very nice stores, tree lined streets with hanging flower baskets. There is a lot of history. We did a city bus tour that was great. We also did the "Ducks" tour which was very entertaining and a great tour of Union Lake. We also rode the Monorail to the Space Needle and back. You get the Ducks tour right next to the Space Needle. We walked all over downtown and visited Pike Place Market where we had breakfast at Lowell's. Pike Place Market is awesome. It is an absolute must see. In retrospect I wish we had cut our stay in Victoria and added the time to Seattle. To be very honest, we would have preferred just traveling to Seattle for a week.
Well that is enough for now as it is getting late, or should I say early.
Unfortunately we were again blessed with bad weather as we were on our 2 week trip in Alberta in August 2005. I will just give our general observations as it would take a book to give all the details. I will post details later. If anybody is interested they can ask questions or e-mail me for more info. I took approximately 1200 photos on the trip. Seattle turned out to be the high point of the trip for us. We were told by the folks in Whistler and Victoria that tourism is off quite a bit this year which is probably due mainly to the rise in the Canadian dollar. Everything is certainly very expensive in Canada.
Vancouver - Our room at the Fairmont Waterfront was on the 23rd floor ( top floor ) with a view of the harbor. Our high point was watching the cruise ships come in each morning at 6:00 am. I walked out on the pier 3 times to watch them as well as observed them from our room. The service at the hotel was excellent but the room was not what I would expect for a deluxe room at a luxury hotel at $450 /nt. The room was average size with a tiny bathroom with a tub/shower combination. We walked all through Gas-town in the afternoon which we didn't find very impressive except for the steam clock. There are a lot of aggressive pan handlers there. We did the "Hop On Hop Off Bus Tour" which is a great way to see the city. As the name implies, you can get on and off wherever you like. It is a 2 day pass. I don't know what it costs as we had a voucher for it. We took the False Creek ferry to Granville Island. The ferry is included in the bus tour. We walked around Granville Island which was nice and visited the Market where we consumed a number of delicious scones. We walked all over downtown and went to the top of the tower which is great for viewing the city and taking pictures. We took the Grayline 6 hour tour to Capilano and Grouse Mountain. It was included as part of the Rocky Mountaineer package. I do not recommend this tour.
Rocky Mountaineer - We booked the Gold Leaf Service with Luxury Hotels which is their top class of service. We were quite disappointed with it. The service was hit and miss and the trip was very exhausting with having to get up at 5:00 - 6:00 am every morning to go from the hotel to the train. The meals left a lot to be desired. The train only travels during the day. The first 2 days were good. The Jasper stop was not good at all. We arrived at 6:30 pm where we stayed the night at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge. The Jasper Park Lodge was a major disappointment and we were hustled out of there at 5:30 am so we had no time at all in Jasper. We did see some large Elk grazing on the lawn at the lodge. The most scenic part of the trip was from Whistler to Vancouver. We stayed at the Fairmont Château in Whistler. The service was not nearly as good as the Fairmont Waterfront and the room was about the same. We walked all around the village at Whistler which is very nice. In retrospect I would definitely not recommend taking the Rocky Mountaineer. This was pretty well the consensus of most of our fellow travelers.
Victoria - The Marriott was just OK. Service was good but the room again was average with a small bathroom. The Marriott is boxed in by high rise apartments and new construction. I would choose the Grand Pacific with a view of the inner harbor. We were quite disappointed with Victoria after all the hype. Bear in mind that I was born there but hadn't seen it since 1968. I feel it has lost a lot of its charm due to the high rise apartments etc. There are a lot of tourist souvenir stores with big sales. We did the "Hop on Hop Off' bus tour which was just OK. I would probably just take a city bus. We also did both the Gorge and Harbor Ferry tours which was interesting. The ferry tours cost $80 ( $60 for seniors ) for 2 people. We took the Grayline Butchart's Gardens Illumination Fireworks tour on Saturday evening. The gardens were awesome and the fireworks display was spectacular. However, I definitely would not recommend taking the tour. You do not have enough time to see the gardens properly.
Seattle - We stayed in a deluxe room on the 23rd floor at the Grand Hyatt. The service was excellent and the room was very nice with a large bathroom with separate shower and tub. The Grand Hyatt was what we expect in a hotel of this class and the price was $185 cheaper per night than the Fairmont Waterfront. We had an awesome view of the Space Needle, Harbor, and Union Lake. We were very impressed with downtown Seattle. Very nice stores, tree lined streets with hanging flower baskets. There is a lot of history. We did a city bus tour that was great. We also did the "Ducks" tour which was very entertaining and a great tour of Union Lake. We also rode the Monorail to the Space Needle and back. You get the Ducks tour right next to the Space Needle. We walked all over downtown and visited Pike Place Market where we had breakfast at Lowell's. Pike Place Market is awesome. It is an absolute must see. In retrospect I wish we had cut our stay in Victoria and added the time to Seattle. To be very honest, we would have preferred just traveling to Seattle for a week.
Well that is enough for now as it is getting late, or should I say early.
As a single mom and probably the "poorest" timeshare owner I know I love reading about how the "other side" (lol) lives. It just makes me cringe 
to think about all the money you must have spent only to not have a trip of a lifetime. I don't like to spend over $100 a night for a motel. It kills me when I have to pay almost as much as an exchange fee for a week. If I ever win the lottery we will take a trip and I DARE it to rain!! 
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