WHERE TO STAY
Airbnb.com
If you seek a quotidian experience while traveling, check Airbnb first. It can be a fraction of the price of a hotel room, and there’s a good chance that you’ll end up with some hospitable folks in a happenin’ part of town. Read the reviews, cross-reference the location with your itinerary and start a dialogue with the host to determine if it’s a good fit. You’re likely to see a side of town that you might not see otherwise if you book with one of the locals.
The Listel Hotel
1300 Robson Street
604.684.8461
If where you crash is as important as where you eat when you travel, then you’ll be at ease at the Listel Hotel. The business boasts its art collection, which also encompasses its farm-to-table restaurant Forage. The restaurant has received warm praise since it opened and is vocal about maintaining its sustainable dining practices at an accessible price. They have Monday through Friday breakfast and dinner menus with brunch on the weekends that, depending on the time of year, might include dishes like a stinging nettle gnocchi with beer-poached radishes, English peas and brown butter. They also have B.C. beers and wines, both bottled and on tap.
Fairmont Pacific Rim
1038 Canada Place
604.695.5300
The global Fairmont hotel chain is host to a unique establishment in the Vancouver restaurant scene: the city’s first sushi joint to achieve a 100 percent Vancouver Aquarium Ocean Wise approval. RawBar is mostly open for lunch (Monday through Saturday, lunch and dinner on Sundays) and favors British Columbia’s most environmentally friendly seafood options including West Coast sea urchin, giant Pacific octopus and geoduck. They also offer sake-steamed mussels seasoned with combinations like ginger and honey or bacon and dashi. Keep an eye out for daily specials.
Photo credit: Flickr/The Listel Hotel and Forage
