Right off Davie Street is the Burrard. The hotel was originally built in 1956 and ran as a motor inn. Several years ago, they did updates throughout the building and modernized the rooms, but left some of the ’50s and ’60s charm still intact.

The design of the building makes it feel like it should be in California or Florida, or maybe used as a set on a TV show or movie. From the outside view, you would assume that the building was just your standard hotel with indoor hallways, but after you check in and go to your room, you see a courtyard above the secured parking lot. There are lots of large trees, including palms, as the focus. If the weather is nice, there is seating and a fireplace available to gather at. The building is four stories high, but some of the trees reach above the fourth floor. All rooms face toward the courtyard; you walk outside to access your room. At night, the courtyard is lit up with lights, so you can enjoy the outdoors without going far from your hotel.

Entering the room, you can see a mix of modern alongside things from the ‘50s and ’60s. It is a refreshing look since, when most hotels do their renos, they make changes from the ground up. The art deco, Miami style makes this hotel stand out from other boutique hotels.

The bathroom has been updated but the sink is a little on the small side. I assume they did that since the bathroom itself is not that large compared to all new buildings, it is it manageable. The rooms all come with those high-end Nespresso coffee makers for those who want high end coffee during their stay.

I found the artwork in the rooms and common areas constantly grabbing my attention: Disney/fairytale type photos with a dark twist. I swear I came across at least one where the princess was a drag queen, and other gay themes. They also display photos that look like they are from the ’50s and ’60s with the current renos in the background.

Unlike most places that I have stayed at, there is no free breakfast. The hotel has a coffee shop called Elysian, on the main floor but, with our time constraints, we did not get a chance to check it out. Beside the Elysian, a restaurant called Burgoo was under construction, which opened a couple months after our stay.

For those who don’t like driving around Vancouver, or take the plane or bus to get there, the Burrard offers free bike rentals to guests. I think this is a great feature: the traffic can be a nightmare. If we did not need to drive to Richmond, we would have biked around Stanley Park.

I do love the location – just off Davie Street – making it easy to get to any of the gay bars as well as downtown. The cost of the stay is reasonable, depending on the time of year you go. Though noise can be an issue in Vancouver, I did not find it much of a problem here, but our room was not nearer the back.

During our stay, as you will see as part of this travel feature, we brought back a lot of left overs from the food reviews. With the variety of different items, including kimchi, we have a feeling that the smell might have been a little over powering in the fridge as well as the room. Hopefully it did not cause any problems for the hotel.

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Contributor Steve Polyak |

Locale British Columbia | Richmond | Vancouver |

Topic Accommodation and Lodging | Travel |

Photo Gallery Richmond, BC | Vancouver, BC |