Fairmont Pacific Rim: Best Hotels in Vancouver

If you’ve been visiting the blog for awhile, you know we love to travel.  Homeschooling the kids really allowed us to be a lot more flexible and travel in the off-season. When John has a work trip, we are able to tag along, which allows us to see much more of the country each year. Traveling off-season also enables us to visit places, have experiences, and stay in hotels that during peak season might be more out of reach cost wise for a family.  On our most recent trip to Vancouver, Canada, we had the good fortune of being able to stay in the Fairmont Pacific Rim.  This gorgeous hotel sits right on the waterfront downtown. 

I have stayed in a lot of nice hotels, but this particular hotel is definitely at the top of my list of favorites.  The Fairmont Pacific Rim is definitely one of the best hotels in Vancouver.  The location is perfect. Across from the convention center and surrounded by restaurants in the heart of downtown, it’s a quick walk to Gastown (a fun area of town full of great shopping and restaurants) and just about anywhere else you want to be in the city.  

Stanley Park is a gorgeous urban park just a quick bike ride away from the hotel.  The Pacific Rim has free bikes available for guests, which opens up a whole new area to explore while staying in town.

No detail was overlooked when building the Fairmont Pacific Rim. It’s clean, cool and modern and could not be more beautiful. The cavernous lobby is full of beautiful marble, exquisite chandeliers, and is home to the Fairmont Pacific Rim Lounge, one of the most happening nightspots in town.  John and I spent an evening watching the weekend activity from a sitting area on the second floor. 

Upon arrival we were taken to our room for in-room check in and while being led to our 10th floor suite, we were told about all of the different features of the hotel–the Fairmont Pacific Rim spa hours, the restaurants, fitness center etc.  Because we were traveling with the kids, we booked a suite. This was one of the nicest suites I have ever stayed in. When we opened the door to our room it was more like a luxury apartment. As you entered the room you walked into a short hallway that was nothing but closet space, into a living area with a couch, chairs, coffee table, and an entire wall of desk and media set up. What was most amazing, however, was the view. The walls of this suite were floor to ceiling windows and since we were on the corner, those windows wrapped completely around the living room, bedroom, and bathroom.  It was absolutely breathtaking. The wall of windows in the living area overlooked the pool on out to the water and the mountains behind.  The windows in the bedroom, which again, being on the corner two of the four walls in the bedroom were floor-to-ceiling windows, overlooked the city. Skyscrapers as far as the eye could see out every window in the bedroom. 

The kids couldn’t get over the fact that there was a TV inside the mirror in the bathroom.  I seriously think they spent more time in the bathroom than anywhere else in the suite.  You can see here they are eating breakfast while watching TV in the mirror.  So funny!

I had the chance to visit the Pacific Rim spa for a massage while we were staying at the hotel. I have visited several Willow Stream spas during my Fairmont stays, but this one, like the Pacific Rim itself, was a cut above the rest.