I had to fly out during the recent cold snap in Vancouver, and as a hedge for the ongoing weather delays I booked a room at the Four Points by Vancouver Airport, which turned out to be a very good decision in hindsight. By the time I made it to the airport, the hotel was booked out. It was snowing quite a lot for Vancouver, and you could tell by the absolute sea of left luggage that a lot of people were at the end of their temperments.
 

I had stayed at the Four Points previously, though during those visits the weather was not nearly as harrowing. This was a good chance to see how the property handled under pressure. Because of the weather and the flight cancellations, there was much frustration to go around.

I admit going into the stay my expecations were not high. The typical Vancouver reaction to even a centimetre of snow on the ground is to shut down completely. I'm pleased to say I was pleasantly surprised by how the stay turned out.

Room

I checked in during the early afternoon rush. It was snowing more than usual outside, and the front desk was a bit overwhelmed. There was also a lot of people milling about from the airport due to delayed flights.

They did upgrade me to a king bed room, which I appreciated. This is what it looked like.

I always appreciate the coffee and water in the room, it's a real shame that hotels have been cutting these basic amenities back because of covid and hasn't reinstated them yet.

Sadly, this being Richmond and the Four Points property being a condo, there was no view to speak of.

I wanted some extra towels, so I called down to the front desk and was told that I had to go get them in person. Other than this minor inconvenience the stay was pretty typical. Wanting to warm up, I headed across the street to the korean barbecue restaurant, which was thankfully open and did the job nicely.

Overall

Overall it was a decent stay at a no-frills hotel. Nothing out of the ordinary, the location was pretty good for the price and the airport shuttle ran often enough. No complaints here.

The property surprised me in how efficient they were even though it was completely sold out. All in all the quality of the stay was not affected by the weather all that much, and

In terms of flying I think I got off easy - my flight was rescheduled very quickly. I knew two acquaintences who were flying to London on the same night, by the time their flight was cancelled and rescheduled to the next afternoon, they had boarded and deboarded the plane three times, and they were out of accomodation space.