Secret Vancouver

Surviving Boxing Day in Vancouver

December 22, 2015 by Chateau Granville Leave a Comment

Boxing Day Shopping Survival Guide

Always hold her hand in the shopping mall! If you let go…she shops!!! 🙂

Are you planning on hitting the shops in downtown Vancouver on Boxing Day? We have provided some tips to help with surviving Boxing Day in Vancouver.

The popular downtown shopping streets and department stores are guaranteed to be bustling with eager shoppers hoping to bag the bargain of the year! There is plenty to choose from, try Robson Street, Granville Street or the downtown department stores. Let’s not forget that there are plenty of malls just a few minutes drive from downtown. Read on to find out the hotspots to maximize your boxing day shopping this year!

Surviving Boxing Day in Vancouver — Photo Credit: Travis Nep Smith – Flickr

Robson Street

Robson Street is one of the popular shopping street, you will be spoilt for choice with the variety of shops on this street. The range of shops include Gap, Roots, Guess, Club Monaco, Tommy Hilfiger, and Banana Republic to name but a few. The BEST WESTERN PLUS Chateau Granville Hotel & Suites & Conference Centre is just three blocks away so you can shop till you drop and head on over for a well deserved rest!

Granville Street

This street is aligned with a number of department stores such as Nordstorm, Pacific Centre, Winners and Hudson Bay. The department stores are always a great option to shop for everything under one roof!

Can’t face the craziness of downtown, you can always venture out to the large department stores located outside downtown.

Metropolis at Metrotown

Located in Burnaby, and is accessible by Sky Train roughly a 15 minutes ride from downtown Vancouver. Metropolis at metrotown holds nearly 400 stores and services, and is British Columbia’s largest shopping centre.

Park Royal

Park Royal is located in West Vancouver. It is the second largest shopping centre in Metro Vancouver and provides a unique shopping experience due to its indoor and open-air shopping combination.

Here a few shopping tips to help with surviving Boxing Day in Vancouver!

Make a list of items you wish to purchase and stick to your list.
Plan your shopping route.
Do up a budget and stick to your budget.
Bring cash if you are looking for a speedy transaction at the register.
Set your alarm early and hit the shops.
Bring a backpack, so you can keep your hands free to browse the sale rails!
Wear comfy shoes and clothing.
Eat a good breakfast, don’t feel like cooking, enjoy breakfast in our restaurant, the Edge Social Grille & Lounge we will be serving breakfast from 7 am.

Happy Shopping and we hope you bag a great bargain!

Explore Vancouver Attractions

August 20, 2015 by BEST WESTERN PLUS Chateau Granville Leave a Comment

Your Downtown Vancouver Hotel

If you’re searching for a downtown hotel in Vancouver BC, look no further! The BEST WESTERN PLUS Chateau Granville Hotel & Suites & Conference Centre is conveniently located in the heart of downtown and puts our guests’ moments away from the city’s best neighbourhoods including the trendy Yaletown district, famous shopping on Robson Street and many of Vancouver’s top attractions.Our guests can enjoy Vancouver’s shopping, spectacular scenery and explore the eclectic streets of vibrant Vancouver. There is do much to see and do so go ahead and explore Vancouver’s attractions!

Explore Vancouver Attractions

Canada Place

Canada place acts as a national landmark with it’s unique five white sails that adds to the Vancouver skyline. Hosting over 3 million guests annually, Canada Place is home to Vancouver’s cruise ship terminal, Port Metro Vancouver and Vancouver’s newest attraction, FlyOver Canada. FlyOver Canada is a 4D ride that takes you on a thrilling flight soaring from the east to west of Canada over some of the most amazing scenery across our beautiful country.

Vancouver Lookout

Take a trip to the next level at the Vancouver Lookout where you can enjoy a 360º aerial view of Vancouver. You are taken on journey up with a 40 second glass elevator ride to the panoramic observation deck where you can admire Vancouver.

Science World

Telus World of Science, Vancouver is a science centre run by a not-for-profit organization that engages British Columbians in science. It’s a great attractions with many interactive activities and learning experiences for the kids and the whole family.

BC Place

BC Place is home of the BC Lions Football Club, Vancouver Whitecaps FC and the BC Sports Hall of Fame. If you are a sports fanatic or not it is still a great Vancouver attraction worth visiting.On your next trip to Vancouver, stay in the loop with their line up of live concerts, entertainment and exhibitions taking place at BC place.

Rogers Arena

A landmark of downtown Vancouver, the Rogers Arena is know too be the “hub for Hockey”. If you are a Canucks Fan you will definitely enjoy this arena. Check out their schedule and catch a game in our premier sports and entertainment facility.

Capilano Suspension Bridge

Explore Vancouver Attractions — Photo Credits: Tourism Vancouver, Capilano Suspension Bridge

If you plan to visit the Capilano Suspension Bridge, you are bound to have an amazing time. Follow in the footsteps of the millions of visitors who have crossed Capilano Suspension bridge since 1889. There is so much to discover at this attraction and they offer a great variety of activities to choose from with their unique cliffwalk to their treetop adventures.

Granville Island

Granville Island was once home to factories, plants and sawmills. It has changed drastically since the early 1900s! Granville Island is now filled with fantastic shopping and offers an interesting experience for both locals and tourists. Be sure to visit the public market which offers an extensive range of fresh produce, ocean fresh products, baked goods, hand -made chocolates, sweet delights, home-made goods, tea ,wine, books, pottery and hand crafted jewellery. If you are travelling with kids we recommend that you visit the Kids Market for a fun filled experience. The BEST WESTERN PLUS Chateau Granville Hotel & Suites & Conference Centre is just a couple of blocks away from all the excitement!

Vancouver Aquarium

Vancouver Aquarium is a Marine Science Centre and is a public aquarium located in Stanley Park. It features exhibits, galleries, and aquatic shows all revolved around sea animals and aquatic life.

Parks and Gardens

Queen Elizabeth Park

Perched atop Vancouver’s highest point is the Queen Elizabeth Park. It is home to some of the most beautiful and well maintained gardens in the world!

Van Dusen Botanical Garden

Plan your next visit to the Van Dusen Botanical Garden and catch a glimpse of what’s blooming in their garden.

Dr Sun Yat Sen Classical Chinese Garden

It is an oasis of serenity in the heart of the city and provides a world class garden experience with a significant cultural heritage to local and international visitors.

Stanley Park

Stanley Park was named the best park in the world by Trip Advisor this year! It is a park enjoyed by both locals and tourists. It is a great location to bask in the sun, stroll on a bike or take a nice long walk along the scenic seawall and the Stanley Park Gardens.

Historical Districts

Yaletown: Where Next Begins

Yaletown is a historical district of Vancouver which combines numerous restaurant, boutique shops and a cosmopolitan atmosphere. It is popular for its industrial edge and it is famous for showcasing the hip and happening upscale clothing stores, designer furniture outlets, and fashion accessories. It is the downtown hot spot for all things trendy!

Gastown- Rich with History and Culture

It is the home to the high end independent fashion boutiques and has a great directory of shops for everyone’s liking. It also features many amazing art galleries, antique and interior design shops. If you are a tourist looking for a great spot to buy souvenirs or look at First Nations Art, Gastown is the place to be. Gastown is also famous for its excellent restaurants and if you are willing to stay a little later into the night, you can catch some of the most dynamic nightclubs, pubs and live music there is to offer in Vancouver. It’s easy to get there; once you reach Cordova Street it will lead you past the astounding waterfront station building and down Water Street. You will notice the cobblestone road as well as the famous Gastown steam clock, giving you the indication that you are now on the main road of Gastown.

Theatres

Vogue Theatre

Locally owned and operated the Vogue Theatre is one of the last remaining theatres from the famed “Theatre Row”. A quick walk from our hotel, the Vogue annually hosts over 200 events and continues to be one of Canada’s premier venues for live music, cinema and corporate and community events.

Queen Elizabeth Theatre

The Queen Elizabeth Theatre is a performing arts venue in downtown and is now the home of the Vancouver Opera and Ballet BC, in addition to hosting various other musical events year-round

Orpheum Theatre

Granville Street at Night clayton perry — Photo Credits: Clayton Perry

Orpheum has a magnificent concert hall is one of North America’s finest and is a designated National Heritage Site. The theatre is home to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Bach Choir, Vancouver Chamber Choir and Vancouver Cantata Singers. Grab a bite to eat at the Edge Social Grille & Lounge before heading to your show at the Orpheum theatre, we are just 2 blocks away!

Our Accessible Location

We are commended for our ideal location and we take pride in being located only three blocks from the Canada Line Skytrain and Expo and Millennium lines at Granville Station. Our location provides a quick, direct access to Vancouver’s International Airport and others areas such as Metropolis at Metrotown shopping centre and the cities of Surrey and Coquitlam.

The BEST WESTERN PLUS Chateau Granville Hotel & Suites & Conference Centre is just a short walk or drive to all the attractions listed!

With our close proximity to the city’s attractions, shopping, restaurants and public transportation, what are you waiting for…go ahead and explore our magnificent city!

Secret Vancouver: Filming Locations

June 11, 2014 by BEST WESTERN PLUS Chateau Granville Leave a Comment

Have you ever watched a movie and suddenly realized that the scenes featured in the movie seemed so familiar that you could call it home?

Vancouver is known to be the third largest hub for the film industry in North America and is often called by its nickname “Hollywood North”. Vancouver sets the perfect scene for many movies and television series and is often used in disguise to portray other cities around the world.

Have a look at our list of filming locations around Vancouver. You would be surprised that some of your favourite movies were actually filmed right here in our own backyard!

Vancouver Art Gallery

The Vancouver Art Gallery was once the former courthouse. Its intricate architecture has acted as a marvellous set for over 100 film productions. Some of your favourite TV series like “Scooby-Doo 2” and “Smallville”, and movies such as “X-Files”, “Life unexpected”, “X-men: The Last Stand”, “Night at the museum” and “The Accused” were filmed at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Marine Building

The Marine building, built in 1930, was once named the tallest building in the British Empire. The beauty of this building is featured in many productions for its terracotta tiled entrance, elaborate revolving doors and majestic lobby. This building has appeared in “Smallville”, “Fantastic four”, “Life or something like it” and many more films.

Orpheum Theatre

The Orpheum Theatre’s beauty was captured in many famous movies & TV productions and has become one of the busiest filming locations in the city. Productions such as “Battlestar Galactica”, “Fringe”, “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1” were filmed here. We are so lucky as the BEST WESTERN PLUS Chateau Granville Hotel & Suites & Conference Centre is located just steps away from the Orpheum Theatre.

The Pacific National Exhibition

Buildings like the Pacific Coliseum and the agrodome have been featured in recent blockbusters such as “The rise of the planet of the apes”, “Happy Gilmore” and “Final destination 3”.

The Simon Fraser University

Movies like “The 6th Day”, “Fallen”, or “The day the earth stood still”, are just a few of the many movies that were filmed in the beautifully crafted SFU Campus in Burnaby. The building was designed by the architectural Vancouver guru – Arthur Erickson.

White Pine Beach at Buntzen Lake

One of Vancouver’s hydro lakes, Buntzen Lake has been featured in “Twilight: Eclipse”, “Smallville”, “Supernatural” and “Life unexpected”.

Fort Langley

Although Fort Langley is about 45 minutes out of Vancouver, we feel it deserves to be on this list. Many movies and television shows have captured its famous community hall in their scenes. Fort Langley has become a popular filming spot due to its scenic beauty. TV series such as “Vampire diaries”, “Supernatural” and the movie “Are we there yet?” were all filmed in Fort Langley.

University of British Columbia

The UBC campus is a popular film location with a great combination of both new and old buildings. UBC has been lucky to showcase themselves through some great films including “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”, “Taken”, “The Exorcism of Emily Rose”.

Gastown

Its rich culture, cobble –stone road ways can act as a perfect setting for any movie. Many film directors have maximized Gastown’s unique neighbourhoods for their films. “The final cut”, “21 jump street”, “Murphy’s law”, “Supernatural” and “The wise guy” were all filmed in Gastown.

Granville Island

Granville Island is home to many famous films such as “Good Luck Chuck “,”Saving Silverman” and “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol”.

The city of Vancouver truly is one of the top picks for the silver screen industry, with some of the best movies having been filmed here. Vancouver has the perfect scenic beauty, culture and personality to host any movie genre from comedy to romance, action or thriller.

Our list just mentioned a few of Vancouver busiest filming locations. Do you know of any other popular filming spots in Vancouver? We would love to hear from you.

Discover secret Vancouver –Off Grid Parks

May 24, 2014 by BEST WESTERN PLUS Chateau Granville Leave a Comment

Open grassy parks, lush vegetation and pure scenic beauty is what you will see when you visit Vancouver’ parks! Escape the city’s hustle and bustle and hop over to our list of off grid parks around our beautiful city!

Alexandra Park

Deep in the heart of beautiful downtown Vancouver lays Alexandra Park. It is a welcoming green space and the perfect place to relax and watch the sunset over English Bay. This little park was originally known as English Bay Park and was later renamed in 1911 after Queen Alexandra, Britain’s King Edward VII’s consort. The park is rather small but it is ideal if you are looking for a quieter spot to enjoy a summer day. The best kept secret is that you can experience lovely free entertainment with a variety of bands playing in the Haywood bandstand. It’s a great way to spend your Sunday during the summer.

Lighthouse Park

Lighthouse Park is an amazing park in Vancouver that boasts about the largest old growth forest in the Lower Mainland. It offers an unusual experience that allows you to walk through acres of first growth Douglas Fir trees. You will certainly enjoy this forest of dense vegetation and scenic walking trails.

Crab Park at Portside

Did you know there is 3.3 hectares of open grassy field in the heart of Downtown Vancouver? It was once referred to as “Lucklucky” which is the Native phrase for Grove of Beautiful Trees! Consider yourself, lucky to be able to visit this spectacular park which is one of the largest parks along the shores of the Burrard inlet. CRAB park is not named after the crawly creature but gets its name from an acronym ‘Create a Real Available Park’ which allows downtown residents the chance to experience and enjoy the views of nature.

Panorama Park

This park is located east of North Vancouver and is a sightseeing destination for most nature lovers. Panorama Park has 2.5 hectares of open green space with waterfront views. It’s a perfect park to sit back, relax and gaze at the boats, yachts and birds. You can also enjoy many activities taking place in the Deep Cove marina.

Whytecliff Park

Whytecliff Park is a 15 + hectares seaside park in West Vancouver near Horseshoe Bay. This is Canada’s first saltwater marine protected area. It is a child- friendly park with a playground and many picnic tables making it the perfect spot for a family picnic or barbecue. Once you get there you will appreciate the views of the aqua marine waters, birdsong and a variety of wildlife.

Just a short drive within our city you can experience nature at its best. As the weather warms up we find ourselves tempted to be outdoors and enjoy the great surroundings!

Let us know which park is your favourite, we would love to hear your feedback.

Discover Secret Vancouver – Vancouver’s Architectural Gems

April 16, 2014 by BEST WESTERN PLUS Chateau Granville 4 Comments

“We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us”.-Winston Churchill

We present to you the amazing Vancouver architectural gems in our very own back yard -Vancouver! All the buildings featured have managed to capture the pure emotions of their time with their ornamental and expressive architecture that surely takes your breath away every time you set your eyes on it.

St. James Church

St James Church is a building that is classified as one of the very few major construction projects undertaken during the Vancouver Great Depression. Its spectacular architecture comprises of concrete walls and slate roofing. Located at Cordova and Gore on the Eastside, the architectural style adapted is a combination of styles from Romanesque Revival, Byzantine Revival, and Gothic Revival architecture. You will be mesmerized with its beauty.

Marine Building

Located at 355 Burrard street. It is renowned for its intricate details and at one time was named the tallest building in the British Empire. It was built in 1930. The talented architects Mccarter & Nairne are responsible for the beauty of this building with its terracotta tiled entrance, elaborate revolving doors, all themed in the colours of tinted sea-green and touched with gold. Its beauty was captured in many famous movies & TV productions and has become one of the busiest filming locations in the city.

City Hall

Constructed in 1935 and officially opened in December of 1936, Vancouver City hall still has the same charm as it did back then. Our modern city is known to love new buildings over the old; however our City hall still stands out for its magnificent Art Deco. The original light fixtures and elevators are full of expression. Next time you visit the city hall be sure to look out for the most delicate wood design you will ever see.

The Orpheum Theatre

The Orpheum Theatre opened in 1927 as Vancouver’s largest vaudeville house, providing a popular mix of live and screen entertainment. B. Marcus Priteca designed one of the most detailed decorative movie palace in Canada and has a unique demonstration of the 1920’s Spanish Baroque Revival architecture style. You will be in awe as you get to the entrances at 601 Smithe Street and 884 Granville Street. Just steps away from our hotel BEST WESTERN PLUS Chateau Granville Hotel & Suites & Conference Centre.

Stanley Park Pavilion

Right in the heart of the famous Stanley Park Rose Gardens, Since 1911 lies the oldest standing heritage building, the Stanley Park Pavilion. It is named as Vancouver’s outstanding Architectural gem.

Waterfall Building

Arthur Erickson’s The Waterfall building acts as an architectural landmark for the city since 2001. It’s lavish building structure features plenty of concrete, glass and open style lofts & courtyards. It portrays itself as a sophisticated venue and is one of a kind in terms of modern architecture.

The Sun Tower

The Sun tower is undeniably a proud icon of Vancouver’s history since its inception in 1912. It is an architectural beauty of defined symmetry and highlighted with a bold green dome roof to the 17 floors building. Modern Vancouver appreciated this fascinating work of art.

Evergreen Building

This building illustrates the architect Arthur Erickson’s masterpieces. The building ties into his fundamental beliefs to incorporate nature with architecture. It is referred to an overflowing concrete garden. The face of the building is designed diagonally to offer great views of Stanley park and north shore Mountains. It is an Architectural beauty

So there you have it, our list of astonishing Architectural Gems across our city!

Let us know your favourite!

Secret Vancouver

Boxing Day Shopping Survival Guide

Robson Street

Granville Street

Metropolis at Metrotown

Park Royal

Here a few shopping tips to help with surviving Boxing Day in Vancouver!

Your Downtown Vancouver Hotel

Explore Vancouver Attractions

Parks and Gardens

Historical Districts

Theatres

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