Sweet Willie

Searches for this hotel and Vancouver did not provide feedback for the Sheraton Guildford Hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Anyone stay here? experiences?

wormwood

I stayed here a few years ago. It's quite a bit of a way out of the West End (city center) but only a mile or two from the terminus station of Skytrain. The hotel itself is very standard suburban Sheraton, nice but nothing special. The downtown properties, however, all great in their own ways and there are plenty of opinions on them here (there are 4, 2 Sheraton, 2 Westin). There can be some great rates at Guildford but I would consider paying at least 40-60 CDN more for downtown because it is such a great neighborhood just to walk out your door and be a part of. In summer prices go way up in West End and Guildford can be an economical SPG alternative, but as I said, downtown is such a great place I would do what I could to arrange to stay down there.

nobody-elite

Sweet Willie.... FYI, Guildford, is in Surrey and not in Vancouver proper. It is quite a distance out of Vancouver. If at all possible, I would suggest STRONGLY to move to a Vancouver DOWNTOWN hotel.

I am not sure of how long you will be in town, and whether it is for business or pleasure, but I know that you will have a great deal more to choose from if you are in the city of Vancouver.

Also are you going to rent a car or depend on local transportation?

I live in Vancouver, it is a beautiful city and would gladly answer questions for you if you want to e-mail me.

Brendan

The Guildford is about 25-30km (15-18 miles) away from downtown--probably closer to the US border than to downtown. Main advantage is that it's a Category 1, while all downtown *woods are Cat. 3. However, you'll need a rental car if you stay at the Guildford but not if you stay downtown, which will neutralize some of your savings on hotel rates.
Just like choosing a Schaumburg hotel vs. a Loop hotel.
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Flyertalk.com ...because miles & points don't grow on trees!

[This message has been edited by Brendan (edited 05-05-2002).]

Abby

I am staying there early next week, and my boyfriend has stayed there a couple of times. What kinds of things would you like to know about?

I have also stayed at the Westin Bayshore, the Westin Grand, the Sheraton Soleil, and the Sheraton Wall Centre and can make recommendations if you are interested.

seiko

nice property for not being close to downtowm. If you need to stay in surrey, rather than dowtown, sheraton is the place to stay. Great view of mountans from club lounge. They have six suites, all located on top floor.

Sweet Willie

Got a great priceline rate, so this is where we will stay.

What I would like to know about is the public transportation systems. Is there a subway or train from/near the Guildford Sheraton to downtown Vancouver?

edited to ask, "What is the travel time if the train or subway exists?"

[This message has been edited by Sweet Willie (edited 05-06-2002).]

Abby

Just out of curiousity, what kind of rate did you get?

Yes, there is a rapid transit system called Skytrain which goes from Surrey to downtown. However, you would need to catch a bus (#320 or #501) from Guildford Exchange (near hotel) and transfer to Skytrain at the Surrey Central Station. Travel time on bus would be 5 - 10 minutes and travel time on train is an additional 30 - 35 minutes, depending on which part of downtown you are going to.

Cost of transit is $4 per person each way, unless you are travelling in the evening or on weekends, then it is $2. You can get a DayPass for $8 per person. Information on transit routes and schedules is available at:

http://www.translink.bc.ca/

You can probably rent a car for about $30/day Cdn, so you might want to think about that, although parking downtown can be tricky at times.

Some general info (from boyfriend's stays):

- Guildford Town Centre (very big shopping complex) is right next to hotel
- ask for a room with a view of the mountains (best is north end of the east side of the building, quieter there, also)
- south end of west side is noisier due to traffic and has limited view
- hotel has a nice heated pool, part of which is outdoors
- staff are very friendly and helpful
- rooms are pleasant but not standouts
- if you are Starwood Preferred Guest, ask about possibility of upgrade to Club level room

Oh, and consider a day trip to White Rock Beach and/or Crescent Beach, which is a bit further south (about 10 km or 6 mi) from that part of Surrey. It is a beautiful beach area and has some great restaurants and cafes. I quite like the Boathouse Restaurant in White Rock.

When are you travelling?

seiko

just one correction, I believe the entire pool is outside

TexasRoxy

Looking for feedback on the Sheraton Vancouver Guildford. Just made reservations today for June 15-17 stay. Only Sheraton in area that had non-smoking, room with two beds available. Good Lounge? How do they treat plats? What are chances for an upgrade? What is the "neighborhood" like?

Braindrain

Guildford is located in Surrey, one of the suburbs of Vancouver. While there have been a great many jokes about Surrey, the Guildford area is a commercial area of the suburb. However, it is FAR away from the business and shopping center of Vancouver. Unless you have a reason to be in Surrey, I suggest you not stay there.

As for your other questions, I'll let someone else answer since I've never actually stayed there.

yyznomad

Agree with Braindrain. I've stayed there several times in the past and it's not close to Vancouver. (I will withold my Surrey jokes)

As for the property itself, the top floor is where the club lounge is and the suites are (AFAIK, no suites on any other floor just deluxe corner rooms). I'm not sure if they've renovated those suites as they were outdated and didn't even have sweet sleepers as of September 2004 - you might want to call them to see if they are now indeed renovated. The more I stayed at that property, the less I liked it. I never stay there anymore as it is not convenient to Vancouver and it's the lowest Category *wood in all of the Greater Vancouver Area.
There's the Guildford Town Centre across the street... that's where you can find some hoochies (oh damn, Surrey joke).

They treat plats alright -- food in club lounge (open only on weekdays) is so-so with finger food and wraps, etc. There's an hono[u]r bar as well (can't give away alcohol in BC). On weekends, they have little tickets/vouchers that you show to the waitress in the lounge/bar beside the lobby. The food they offer there is much better as it's directly off their menu (it's free for plats - I think you get two free dishes off the menu).

Underground parking. Free for plats. If you arrive in the late hours of night, you have to speak into a intercom with your surname and room number before security lets you park your car in the underground garage.

During heavy rains the underground lots floods quite quickly and easily.

Club floors also exist other than the top floor. These rooms are renovated and have the Sweet Sleepers... there is the usual bottle water as an amenity, but not much to write home about.

It's about a 35-50 minute drive to get into the heart of downtown Vancouver on a good day (we're talking not much traffic). Most of the time though (even on weekends), trying to get onto Highway #1 (Trans-Canada Highway) towards Vancouver from the 108th is a pain in the a$$.

I probably forgot stuff but hope that helps.

If you want a "quality" Starwood in Vancouver, I'd suggest the Wall Centre Sheraton -- one of my favourite *woods by far (and I've stayed in some damn fine ones). Many celebrities stay there quite often. Also, the Westin Bayshore Marina and Westin Grand are in downtown as well, and they are alright (for Westins).

cattle

Update: August 2006

I just checked into the hotel and the have renovated it and WOW what a difference ^

The rooms feel fresh and the colours are neutral with mahogany wood throughout. I spoke with a bell hop tonight and he said that the SPG floors (16-21) will be getting flat screen/plasma(?) tv's in the next little while. Actually, he thought the 21st floor was already outfitted with them. I'm not on that floor tonight so I don't know


The showers still have mold in them but the same bell hop said that they were just getting to them so it's on the list to get done.

Once they fix the bathrooms they will have done a really great job with the reno's and I would recommend this hotel to anyone who has to be in the Surrey area ^

Also of note is that the wireless internet access is currently $9.95 CDN per 24 hour period. I'm on the club floor in room XX01 and the signal is "very good".

Taiwaned

You need a vehicle at this location because nothing is very convienent. The Guildford Mall is just down the street however it is just a standard surburban mall. If you are into fine dining, there is very little in Surrey. The commute to Vancouver is awful, it can take upwards of an hour during rush hour.

The actual hotel isn't bad. We got married in that hotel and they worked very hard to keep us happy.

IrieDame

I am also in this hotel now and have been for the entire summer as I work on a project here...very pleased with it...nice rooms that are renovated. Corner roms are nice and rooms are quite large.