djtsukasa

Hey guys, I'm trying to head up to Vancouver soon and really wanted to stay at a Hilton. The Metrotown looks nice and sounds nice from what everyone's said here. MY concern is the location. Is Burnaby safe?? Not too worried about the daytime, but nighttime? OK to be walking around, or using the train at night?

Sorry to the residents of Burnaby, just wanted to get a feel of the place..

arlflyer

At this property now, so reporting back.

That's how it panned out here for me as well - room upgrade but no lounge. Suite is nice. Not sure who the main clientele in the hotel is right now - doesn't seem to be businesspeople judging from dress - but the place is very busy. Seems like the property is suite-heavy from looking at the floorplans.

This must have changed as the in-room property guide gives weekend hours (both breakfast and evening). This jumped out at me because I think it is like the first time I've ever seen the existence of an EL acknowledged in public hotel materials. Usually there's no reference anywhere.

On the breakfast front, vouchers given for continental side of buffet only. One sort of strange thing we noticed is that while on the printed menu the difference between continental and full buffet is only $2.50 they want $4 as the upcharge to upgrade from the same thing on vouchers. And then on the printed bill (for $0, which they just bring to ply you for a tip), the continental is listed as $10. Seems like some odd accounting stuff going on.

Will also add that the package tourists, of which there are seemingly thousands, all get the full breakfast. I realize that they are paying for that as part of their package rates, but I can't imagine said rates are higher than rack rates paid by individuals. Would be nice of this property gave elite members with dozens of paid nights a year at least the same treatment as the package tourists. Before the apologists jump all over me, I realize that Hilton is playing by the rules, but the optics of it are kind of saddening.

This property has seemed to be a good value for the price so far. Judging from the crowds I'd say their business model here is one of competing on price and putting bodies in beds - high volume. Still, this city could use a proper Hilton or Conrad (or even DT) in a decent location.

Gagravarr

I'm here at the moment (Saturday night). Welcomed as a Diamond, given an upgrade to a suite on a high floor and details of the lounge hours. Lounge wasn't huge (smaller than the Hyatt Regency in downtown), but had 2 hot food options, a few salady things, some sandwiches and some cakes. Probably could've skipped dinner and eaten there if I'd wanted. Ended up having a bit in the lounge, then down to the bar/restaurant for a bit more. Prices not bad there, food nice, fair selection of interesting beers.

Hotel is a short walk from the skytrain metro station, but it isn't signposted

sfgiants13

Any recent experinces with this hotel? I'll be there in a couple of days as a HH gold and considering the rate just dropped to $122 CAD I'm guessing it's not very full so I was hoping for some sort of upgrade.

zwkchong

My parents stayed here last year as golds (I live a couple of blocks away) and no noticeable upgrade was given. Breakfast is continental with up charge to hot breakfast. Rooms are clean but the property is old and tired. Unless you're tied to Hilton, would recommend the Element by Westin across the street if you need to be in the area. Rooms are much newer and breakfast is provided to all with a decent if healthy spread.

raidersfan1

I stayed here last weekend on points as a Diamond member. No upgrade. Room was medium-sized and like earlier poster stated, rooms are a bit tired. Lounge on top floor is TINY but is open 24 hours/day and offers breakfast and evening canapes even on weekends. No where to sit in lounge at 9 am on Saturday morning with people standing all over the place. Offerings were decent, though, including multiple hot items for breakfast. Parking garage is crowded and shared by others. Gym is tiny. Elevators are frustrating as card reader doesn't always work to activate the lift. Location is decent if interested in shopping or need to be in Burnaby. Decent experience.

storewanderer

Stayed as a Gold. Reserved cheapest room, was upgraded to a suite on a mid level floor. The suite was large and spacious. The room was comfortable, quiet, clean, and in great shape. Decent sized refrigerator. I was very satisfied.

I did not receive lounge access and was told to take breakfast in the restaurant on the third floor.

The provided breakfast was either the continental breakfast or upgrade to full buffet for $4 extra. The other option was to apply the value of the continental breakfast ($18) to any menu item(s). Most menu items were $12-$14 so you could add a drink and still come out that way vs. doing the upgrade. Very good food, even better service; very good waitress.

Hotel is a great location if you need to be in that immediate area, easy to walk everywhere around there including the Sky Train station and if you cut through the Petsmart/Best Buy/Bed Bath and Beyond center (just walk to the middle of it and up to the second level; there is an escalator) most of the walk to the Sky Train is sheltered.

The hotel may feel a little dated but it did not seem tired. Maybe I got lucky.

The mall down below it was quite a trip.

roneyc

Staying at Hilton Metrotown at the moment on points and extremely disappointed. This hotel is in dire need of a downgrade. The neighborhood is not the greatest and the nearby restaurant selection is meager unless you love Korean and Chinese cuisine. The hotel itself is quite dated and worn. The elevator controls are loose and malfunction with the card entry - often your elevator is redirected while you continue to push the desired floor button without it registering. Chatted with several other visitors who also have status and their opinion matches - not at all what you expect from a Hilton.

More evidence they are price competitive to keep the hotel full. No upgrade available for my 4-night stay as a Gold. They could do 2 nights, but that's all.

sfgiants13

I have another stay tonight for 1 night as a diamond and was upgraded originally yesterday to a high floor and later last night to an executive suite.

How are lounge offerings these days? Does anyone know what drink prices are in the lounge and some typical hot food offerings? I'm trying to decide if it's worth it for me to get there a bit earlier and check out the lounge.

dave1013

Am here now for a few nights (Boxing Week 2018). No upgrade, assigned a room on the 15th floor. It was small and the entrance was partially blocked by the closet and, to a lesser extent, the counter on which the coffee machine is located. Made access and egress a bit tricky. Speaking of the closet, it is very shallow, not deep enough to hang a winter coat without it sticking out into the hallway and preventing closure of the door.

Not much has changed here since our most recent visit. This hotel is a popular venue for weddings and a lodging favorite, it would seem, for hockey teams. We love sushi and there are three good places within walking distance of the hotel.

You could have breakfast in the small executive lounge or the restaurant on floor 3. We opted for the latter. It was easily a more comfortable/less crowded place and there was much more to choose from. As Diamonds, we had unfettered access to the buffet. Egg lovers can help themselves to the scrambled egg cauldron - the eggs were pretty runny and got a thumbs down from us and those seated nearby. We could order eggs from the restaurant at no additional charge. The wait staff was very pleasant and accommodating.

We normally drive here from Seattle but this time, we flew. Getting a cab was never a problem. We took the nearby Skytrain downtown on one of the days - cheap, easy, and fast transportation to Chinatown, another favorite place of ours.

The hotel's web site says they are going to renovate the property in 2019. I'm anxious to return afterward to see what improvements and upgrades were made.

Friendly Traveling Deathmerchant

Necro-post, but the website now says

"Newly upgraded hotel in central Burnaby, Hilton Vancouver has recently completed the first phase of its $10 million makeover. As the hotel celebrates its’ 20th Anniversary you’ll find reimagined guestrooms with custom designed features, updated bathrooms, and in-room technology....Completely reimagined in April 2019, our 283 guest rooms and suites combine classic comfort with modern design."

Anyone been here to comment on the updates? I thought the exec lounge food selection was pretty darn good last time, and got a kick out of the Asian market that was directly below the hotel garage. Want to schedule a revisit this month, but haven't heard what's changed / if it's for the good or not.

TDM

bamboola

wantan

Not really clear to me, is April 2019 the start or completion date for the "First Phase" of renovations ?

handuk

Staying 2 nights as Gold. Did not prepay to request an upgrade. Hoping to see good breakfast and room offering.
Will write a review here this weekend!

ORDnHKG

Where is the review ? it had been almost two months already, lol