Sharing Guy's Journey

Thoughts, comments, observations, reactions, enthusiasms

  • Personal History
  • History
  • Art & Architecture
  • Music
  • Nature
  • Travel
  • Current Events
  • Journal
  • Knowledge Services

Vancouver: A Very Welcoming City

October 29, 2022 By Guy St. Clair

A New Favorite Hotel and Perhaps a New Favorite City

When we made our plans for visiting this lovely city (which we had visited in 2014 for a professional conference), we chose the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, falling in with the Fairmont chain just as we had done for Toronto and Victoria.

And as I say, Vancouver is a very special place. Even when we were here eight years ago we found ourselves particularly taken with the friendliness of the people, the cleanliness of the city, and the overall look of what seems to be a healthy prosperity in the city’s downtown. Perhaps it has to do with the size of the city, for Vancouver’s population is only a little over 650,000 people in the city proper. It’s also recognized as a very livable city (and no, we’re not going to move to Vancouver).

Hotel Vancouver

Certainly Vancouver provides a different kind of “city life,” and there is also a lifestyle that is very attractive. For us, we love where we live, and we are often caught up with how many people say that New York is a fine place to visit but they wouldn’t want to live there. We’re just the opposite. Wherever we go, we find ourselves in places that are fine to visit, but we probably would not want to live there.

That’s pretty much the case for these New Yorkers visiting Vancouver. Our hotel, Hotel Vancouver, is located right in the heart of the city (and like other Fairmont properties, it’s just generally referred to by its original name, the Hotel Vancouver). Another of the many Canadian Pacific Hotels built in the first half of the last century, Hotel Vancouver is both grand and welcoming.

Renaissance-Style Entrance

The hotel was designed by Canadian architects John Smith Archibald and John Schofield and construction started in 1929, but because of funding issues (not surprising at that time in history), it was not completed until 1939. Like many of the other “railway” hotels, Hotel Vancouver has that typical “Chateauesque” look found throughout Canada but this one also incorporates several Renaissance architectural details such as gargoyles and relief sculptures, as shown here.

Yet there is more to appreciate than just the hotel. In other “postcards” we’ll share some thoughts about other points of interest in Vancouver, such as the city’s harbor, some of what we’ve learned about Northwestern Ocean Art (and the places where it is shown), and some of the city’s special architecture.

Filed Under: Art & Architecture, Journal, Personal History, Travel Tagged With: Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, Vancouver, Vancouver (Architecture)

Guy St. Clair is a writer and editor living in New York City. In his blog, Sharing Guy’s Journey, Guy writes about any subject that crosses his mind (some friends refer to the blog as “Guy’s online journal”).  In his professional life, Guy is the Series Editor for Knowledge Services, from De Gruyter Saur in Munich and Berlin. 

Comments

  1. Deb Hunt says

    October 29, 2022 at 9:51 pm

    Thanks Guy and Andrew for a lovely trip narrative and pictures. Can’t wait to see more of what you saw in Vancouver. Welcome home!!

    Reply
  2. Athlyn Fitz-James says

    October 30, 2022 at 3:26 am

    Wonderful to follow along on your travels. Vancouver is very dear to me as my father was born there and I have great childhood memories of taking the train across Canada from London Ontario to visit my grandparents. I loved their grand house on Southwest Marine Drive (now a golf club) but the highlight for us all was Stanley Park with its wonderful Totem Poles. Looking forward to more postcards.

    Reply
  3. Guy St. Clair says

    October 30, 2022 at 2:36 pm

    From Joan and Dave Williamson in Madley, Herefordshire, England:

    We loved this ! Only been to Toronto and Niagara Falls. Many years ago. Vancouver still on the wish list.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

  • Vancouver: The Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art March 14, 2023
  • Vancouver: Bill Reid’s Monumental Sculpture March 6, 2023
  • A Concert for Ukraine February 27, 2023
  • Vancouver: Northwest Coast Art February 15, 2023
  • Applied Knowledge Services: A New Approach to Management and Leadership February 8, 2023
  • Humanist Management and Knowledge Services: What Do We Get? February 8, 2023
  • Tim Wood Powell on The Value of Knowledge February 8, 2023
  • Frances Hesselbein: A Friend of the Heart, Forever January 23, 2023
  • Personal History: Knowing Frances Hesselbein January 23, 2023
  • The Power of Purpose January 19, 2023
  • The Hours: A Follow-Up December 16, 2022
  • A New American Classic from The Metropolitan Opera December 6, 2022
  • Vancouver: A Very Different Work of Public Art November 13, 2022
  • Vancouver: Christ Church Cathedral November 3, 2022
  • Vancouver: A Very Welcoming City October 29, 2022
  • Crossing Canada by Train (4) October 19, 2022
  • Crossing Canada by Train (3) October 19, 2022
  • Crossing Canada by Train (2) October 18, 2022
  • Crossing Canada by Train (1) October 17, 2022
  • Aboard Amtrak’s Maple Leaf to Toronto October 10, 2022

Copyright © 2023 Guy St. Clair. All Rights Reserved.