Shangri-La Hotel, Vancouver

This 61-story, sleek and modern hotel towers above Vancouver as the city’s tallest building. The property opened in 2009 and is the first Shangri-La hotel in western Canada. Ample rooms (many with a balcony) have a multitude of modern conveniences including state-of-the-art entertainment centers. But they don’t seem stark or harsh like those at many ultra-contemporary properties. The hotel is ideally located in the heart of Vancouver near the Vancouver Art Museum, Stanley Park, and designer boutiques of Gucci and Hermès. However, amenities such as the year-round outdoor heated pool, keep guests happily entertained.

The 119 guest rooms are a techie’s dream although chocolate-toned B&B Italia furniture gives them warmth. Lighting and curtains can be operated at one control panel by the bed. Lutron blinds, silently operated by a remote, help make the room light free. Every room has a personal entertainment system with a 40” Sony LCD flatscreen TV, a surround sound DVD player and device to record and pause shows. Other nice touches include windows that partially open, Nespresso coffee machines, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a 150-square-foot bathroom with a separate toilet and glass-enclosed shower with three shower heads.

Three-star Michelin chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten opened MARKET restaurant here, designed to evoke four different dining venues: a bar, a cozy casual café with a fireplace, a seasonal heated outdoor terrace with city views, and a fine dining room with white leather banquettes and walls covered with cascading gold beads. The menu showcases British Columbia’s finest local seafood, cheeses, and produce. Rice-cracker crusted tuna from the raw bar offers an explosion of flavor and creamy tomato soup with aged cheddar is heaven. So is warm chocolate cake with Tahitian vanilla ice cream.

The property can accommodate up to 100 guests at a sit-down affair in its Conway room, which contains floor-to-ceiling windows on two sides. For an outdoor gathering, the 1,800-square-foot terrace offers peak-a-boo views of the North Shore mountains and downtown Vancouver. The Blue Moon Theatre with surround-sound and a Stewart film screen (the same one used for the Oscars) holds 46 seated guests (or can accommodate 350 for cocktails). One wedding couple exchanged vows while clips from their favorite romantic films were projected onto a screen behind them.

Pure romantic pampering is found in the 750-square-foot couples suite at CHI, The Spa at Shangri-La. Their private space operates like a spa within a spa complete with a personal steam shower, fireplace, and relaxation area. Each treatment is individually customized, so guests don’t have to opt for the same one. Treatments begin with a warm footbath as guests sip tea from Himalayan jade teacups amidst soothing décor featuring soft lighting, Asian artifacts, and Tibetan bowls.

In addition to CHI, the Spa, the hotel has a 5,000 square foot health and fitness center that never closes. The fifth-floor facility has 20-foot floor-to ceiling windows, a private yoga and Pilates studio, and a juice bar. Guests can work out on state-of-the-art equipment (each station contains TV and internet access) while enjoying views of tony Georgia and Thurlow Streets. The outdoor heated pool, Jacuzzi, and sundeck are open year around. And there are separate sauna rooms for men and women.

Couples can hike the nearby local mountains in the morning and recite their vows under a Shangri-La chandelier in the afternoon. Granville Island Market, offering endless overflowing stalls of edibles, from produce to pastries, is quick boat ride away. Famed Stanley Park is just 15 minutes by foot. It’s a 1,000-acre oasis filled with towering cedar, hemlock, and fir trees, a lagoon, and miles of biking and walking paths along the sea. Rent one of the resort’s bikes (which includes a lock), grab a picnic, and linger in the beauty.

The Shangri-La brand, famous throughout Asia, is known for its gracious and unobtrusive service. (In fact, the staff-to-guest room ratio is 2-to-1.) Yet some of the fine service is lost in communication. The property offers special touches such as in-room check-in. So when this writer entered the main hotel lobby to check in, there was no obvious reception desk. Instead, an employee graciously led her to a couch to wait — and didn’t explain that check-in was done in the rooms. Who wants to wait to check in? What was supposed to be seamless seemed to bog down the arrival experience.

For people who have dreamed of experiencing the Shangri-La brand without leaving North America, this is their chance. The warmly colored high-tech guest rooms with all their bells and whistles are impressive and don’t feel cold. The private state-of-the-are spa suites are extraordinary. However, sometimes the property misses the mark. Most notably, at the spa, there is no common relaxation room for lingering before or after treatment. It seems a shame to enter that state of nirvana and not be able to relax on a chaise lounge afterwards. It takes the bliss out of the experience.

Shangri-La Hotel, Vancouver
1128 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, BC V6E 0A8
Canada
604-689-1120 or 888-818-1120
Official Hotel Web Site

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As is common in the travel industry, the writer was provided with complimentary accommodation and meals for the purpose of reviewing those services. While it has not influenced this review, About.com believes in full disclosure of all potential conflicts of interest. For more information, see our ethics policy.