Business Travel Guide Vancouver, Canada
Vancouver is transforming itself yet again. The upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics has created a building boom as new sports facilities, deluxe hotels, condominiums and a dazzling convention complex rise along the shores of the city.
While British Columbia's economy has long been based on the province's rich endowment of natural resources, primarily forestry, mining (including oil and gas) and fishing, preparing for the Olympics has diversified the economy. Industries supported by non-resource activities such as film and hi-tech, including software and biotechnology, are also finding a strong foothold. In fact, Vancouver is now home to some of North America's most cutting-edge animation, Internet and software development firms. Add tourism to the mix and you have a robust and dynamic economy. According to a recent assessment, tourism ranked as the third-largest money-maker in the province after wood/paper and energy products.
Blessed with a magnificent natural setting, Vancouver is encircled by seas and mountains, a setting that makes it a major Pacific port city. Situated on the Burrard Peninsula, surrounded by the Georgia Strait (an inlet of the Pacific Ocean), and the Coast Mountains, the city boasts spectacular scenery, the mildest climate in Canada and a compact downtown core ideal for business travelers. Asian tycoons, film industry moguls and throngs of conventioneers are regularly enchanted by the cleanliness and civility of this modestly proportioned city of half-a-million sophisticated inhabitants.
As a world-class city, Vancouver offers a plethora of first-class hotel rooms and an outstanding diversity of restaurants. Add up-scale shopping, public markets, progressive architecture, a visitor-friendly culture and award-winning wines from British Columbia's Okanagan Valley, and this city consistently earns repeat visits from business travelers and tourists alike. Accommodations in Vancouver reflect its status as a significant Pacific Rim destination and the city's importance as Canada's largest West Coast metropolis.
Facts to Know Before You Go |
Currency: Canadian Dollar
The Canadian dollar is constantly being measured against its U.S. counterpart. In the fall of 2007, it finally reached parity with the American dollar, the first time the Canadian dollar was at the U.S. $1 dollar mark since 1976. No need to hunt down an exchange office, however. The U.S. dollar is accepted almost everywhere and reasonable exchange rates are offered. The Canadian dollar itself is no longer paper; it's a large gold-colored coin nicknamed the "loonie" because it features the Spotted Loon, a beloved aquatic bird of northern lakes. A distinctive two-tone $2 coin, larger and heavier than the $1 coin, goes by the nickname "toonie" because it rhymes with loonie. Debit and credit cards can be used in virtually all retail shops, restaurants and fast-food eateries in Greater Vancouver.
Transportation
The modern and spacious Vancouver International Airport is located nine miles south of downtown on Sea Island. The Canada Line (www.canadaline.ca), an automated rail-based rapid transit service, is scheduled to begin service in November 2009, right on time for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Taxis, shuttles, limousines and public transit are all available curbside in front of the terminals to take you anywhere in the city. Taxis from the airport to downtown cost about $30. For about half the price, you can catch the YVR Airporter (604-946-8866; 800-668-3141; www.yvrairporter.com ). The distinctive green buses pull up outside the arrivals level and operate from 8:20am to 9:45pm daily, stopping at approximately sixteen hotels.
Alternatively, you can board Translink's #424 Airport bus (604-953-3333; www.translink.bc.ca), which offers connections to the downtown core.
Newspapers
The Vancouver Sun, the city's main English-language daily, is published every morning except Sunday. The Province is a tabloid newspaper with an emphasis on sports and entertainment. Business in Vancouver is Vancouver's weekly business tabloid—and an excellent resource. BC Business, the city's business magazine, published monthly, provides behind-the-scenes coverage chronicling major deals and putting faces to the players.
The city also has three daily Chinese-language newspapers: Sing Tao, Ming Pao and the World Journal, each offering news to Vancouver's large Chinese population. |
Considered Vancouver's grande dame of lodging based on its 1887 origins, the Fairmount Hotel Vancouver provides business travelers with state-of-the-art efficiency matched with a charming Old World atmosphere. Centrally located, the hotel offers high-speed Internet access (complimentary for President's Club members) and wireless Internet access in all meeting rooms and public spaces. Guests are accommodated in 556 spacious rooms and suites, and can take advantage of a business center with secretarial services, 24-hour technology support, and a health club with a lap pool beneath skylights. The 900 West Lobby Bar with oversize club chairs is where Vancouver's power lunch types meet for afternoon tea.
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Built atop the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre for Expo'86, the Pan Pacific features 504 rooms and suites—all with high-speed Internet access. Business services also include videoconferencing, photocopy and fax service, as well as cell phone and pager rentals. Guests can work out in the state-of-the-art health club and dine in the serene Five Sails restaurant, which offers breathtaking harbor and mountain views.
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This boutique property at the Terminal City Club (a private business club) offers a sanctuary in the heart of Vancouver's bustling business center. Each of the 60 guestrooms and suites is tastefully decorated and many offer outstanding views. All have flat-screen TVs and Internet access. The extensive club facilities available to guests include one of the city's best fitness centers, squash courts, swimming pool, historic billiards room, library (with wi-fi) and private restaurants.
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Each of the 397 sound-proof rooms and suites in this sumptuous hotel have furnishings that are museum-quality reproductions of European antiques. There are plenty of spectacular original pieces throughout the hotel's public spaces as well. All guestrooms include flat-screen TVs, wi-fi and super-plush beds (premium rooms have iHome radios with iPod docks). There's also a 24-hour self-serve business center with an airport kiosk offering early flight check-ins. Elegant meals, a civilized tea and a chocolate buffet await those who venture into Fleuri restaurant. For after hours communing, the richly paneled Gerard Lounge is ranked among the city's most popular watering holes.
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A small, urban luxury hotel located across from the gardens and waterfalls of Robson Square, the Wedgewood is a favorite with U.S. filmmakers who have turned Vancouver into Hollywood North. The 83 luxurious rooms and suites have wireless high-speed Internet and are furnished with fresh flowers, genuine antiques and original art. There's a business center with secretarial services, Pentium computers and a laser printer. You can dine in Bacchus—an elegant retreat with a contemporary French menu, or grab a bite in the Bacchus Lounge where you're likely to recognize one of Vancouver's star hockey players. The day spa is state-of-the-art.
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HOTEL SPECIALS
 Hyatt
Regency Vancouver
Located in the downtown this hotel offers spacious guestrooms, floor to ceiling windows with amazing views of the city's skyline, or the beautiful mountains or the park. Official Site- Downtown Vancouver Hotel. Stay at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver. Book Online and Save! |
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Gotham Steakhouse & Cocktail Bar
Steakhouse
615 Seymour St.
Vancouver, BC V6B 3K3
604-605-8282
www.gothamsteakhouse.com |
14/20
$$$$$
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Business dining is a top priority at Gotham. The king of Vancouver's steakhouses, David Aisenstat, turned his attention to creating an upscale Hy's (one of Canada's first steakhouse chains) and the result is a room with well-executed lighting, unhurried but efficient service and plush leather banquettes conveying an image favored by corporate types. Meat is the main course here, Triple AAA Canadian Prime to be precise. From the New York strip to the 24-ounce porterhouse ($49.95), it's a cattle drive for the taste buds. At $5.50 to $7.50 per order, you can share interesting sides—Lyonnaise potatoes, sautéed baby beets or thick-cut beer battered onion rings. For sheer entertainment value, take a seat at the bar and engage in some of the best people-watching Vancouver has to offer. Gotham also has two private dining rooms—the eight to 18-seat Boardroom with a cozy fireplace, and the Club Room that accommodates 30 for a sit-down dinner and comes complete with a bar and audio-visual capabilities. One note: this place is priced with the assumption that everyone has a limitless expense account. |
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This two-story Italian restaurant situated on a prime piece of downtown real estate is a vibrant spot for a business lunch or dinner. On the ground floor, there's an open kitchen and a 60-foot white marble bar named "D.O.C." The upstairs lounge features a second bar and a 50-seat dining room for private functions. It's an asset not lost on the high-energy patrons—a mix of young professionals and stockbrokers. Chef Ryan Gauthier deftly combines the flavors and influences of Italy's regions to put together a family-style feast. His antipasto platter resonates with the freshness and simplicity of grilled calamari, jumbo prawns, eggplant Parmigiana, fennel-crusted ahi tuna, spicy meatballs, osso buco risotto, deep-fried pouches of zucchini blossoms stuffed with burrata, and a caprese salad that shines when heirloom tomatoes are in season. Crisp pizza crusts with savory toppings emerge from the imported gas-fired brick oven. The meat platter includes chicken saltimbocca, beefsteak Florentine, veal piccata, mushroom risotto and roasted vegetables. Classic pastas include a choice of pomodoro, aglio olio, Alfredo, carbonara, bolognese and pesto. The cellar is stocked with solid Italian vintages and new- and old-world offerings, and enthusiastic service adds to the dining pleasure.
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Sun Sui Wah Seafood Restaurant
3888 Main St.
Vancouver, BC V5V 3N9
604-872-8822
www.sunsuiwah.com |
15/20
$$$$$ |
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Grab a cab for the 10-minute cab ride from downtown to this Chinese restaurant and be assured it will be well worth the effort. With phenomenally fresh local and exotic seafood, plus super-attentive service, this award-winning restaurant is perfect for a business lunch or a celebratory dinner. A private room accommodates up to 90, and there's a VIP table in the dining room seats up to 20. The original restaurant opened in Hong Kong three decades ago, and the benchmark dish there - as well as here - is crispy, tender roasted squab made from a carefully guarded recipe. Everything else is modern, from the informative service and the décor to the menu where Cantonese masterpieces are sculpted. Among the dishes we can't resist are the luscious broccoli-skirted steamed chicken interwoven with black mushrooms and Chinese ham; deftly steamed scallops on silky bean curd topped with creamy-crunchy tobiko sauce; fresh Alaskan king crab in wine and garlic; lobster hot pot with egg noodles; and lightly sautéed geoduck paired with deep-fried "milk," fragrant with sweet coconut in a fluffy crust. Dim sum, made to order is also available daily from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
Tojo's
1133 W. Broadway Ave.
Vancouver, BC V6H 1G1
604-872-8050
www.tojos.com |
16/20
$$$$$ |
Indulge your yen for Japanese food and close the deal at Tojo's. Hidekazu Tojo has developed a passionate following with the city's sushi snobs for his surgically precise innovations. This location featuring an impressive soaring room with a bustling yet relaxed atmosphere is most apt for his sushi performances. If you're a duo, sit at the 15-seat bar and let Tojo-san dazzle your palate with his omakase. Among the best selections are Tojo tuna and "special beef" (thinly sliced beef wrapped around asparagus and shrimp). Tojo also created the "BC roll" (barbecued salmon skin, green onions, cucumber and daikon) now found in almost every Japanese restaurant in Vancouver. Every day specials are first-rate. If it's autumn, don't miss pine mushroom soup, steamed monkfish liver served from October to May, and scallops and sautéed halibut cheeks with shiitake mushrooms in the spring. The wine list needs some attention, but maybe that's why cold Masukagami saké is hot at Tojo's. |
Earls Paramount
905 Hornby St.
Vancouver, BC V6Z 3G4
604-682-6700
www.earls.ca |
16/20
$$$$$ |
| If you want to get down to business at lunch or dinner over a burger made with premium Canadian Angus beef, drop into Earls Paramount downtown. Generous, reasonably priced dishes, exclusive microbrews, and a wine list that focuses on hot producers and regional strengths make Earls a rare breed among upscale chains. Each pearl in this restaurant chain emphasizes high-quality, fresh only, seasonal ingredients, whether on pizzas (from the open-to-view wood oven), in pasta, or with burgers. It's fast food and it isn't—menu highlights include the grilled prawn tacos, smoked salmon and tuna rolls, Jeera chicken curry, authentic pad Thai, and pappardelle alfredo. Servers are young, bright and attractive. Bring the whole gang if you need to schedule a working lunch and head for the Hornby Street location where there's an upstairs loft that comfortably seats sixteen to twenty. It's available from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. or 9 p.m. to midnight with a $500 minimum order. |
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Stanley Park Seawall
www.city.vancouver.bc.ca
 Leave negotiations and business attire behind and head for one of the city's most beloved parks. It's a rite of passage in Vancouver to walk, run or cycle around the 6.5-mile seawall in Stanley Park. Watch seaplanes taking off and landing in Burrard Inlet, stop and smell the rose gardens, brace yourself for the Nine O'clock Gun, shout out at Hallelujah Point and gulp great breaths of cedar-scented air while trying not to disturb nesting Canada geese around Lost Lagoon. To escape the crowds, venture off the pavement onto easy hiking and walking trails inside the park's core. Many bike-rental shops are found near the Georgia/Denman Street entrance to Stanley Park if cycling is your passion or pastime.
Joe Fortes Seafood & Chop House
777 Thurlow St.
604-669-1940
www.joefortes.ca
 Don't leave town without a visit to the high-energy lounge area of this uptown restaurant, named after a colorful, turn-of-the-19th-century Vancouver lifeguard. On Friday afternoon, the place is packed with well-heeled movers and shakers clad in suits and well-cut business attire. The mood is jubilant at the U-shaped bar where martinis and single-malt scotch are in equal demand. Don't miss the oyster bar either, where dozens of faultlessly fresh bivalve varieties are dispensed, all sold individually. Attentive service and a solid wine list round out this favorite spot.
The Grouse Grind
6400 Nancy Greene Way
North Vancouver
604-984-0661
www.grousemountain.com
 Take your colleagues on a hike or go on an after-hours adventure and head for the Grouse Grind, the city's sweatiest see-and-be-seen hiking strip. Each year, approximately 100,000 enthusiasts scramble up the rocky 1.8-mile incline from the foot of Grouse to the beer and nachos nirvana of Altitudes Bistro. The Grouse Grind is particularly popular on summer evenings when the Skyride parking lot fills by 5:30pm. Within an hour, 400-plus are normally cruising the trail. But don't join the flock if you're not ready for a workout. It's not called the Grind for nothing. We recommend sensible shoes and at least one water bottle for the trek; one and a half hours is the average hiking time. Those in a rush should know the record: 26 minutes, 19 seconds. It's free to hike, but if you don't want to schlep back down, spend $5 and climb aboard the gondola for the return trip down the hill.
Wreck Beach
www.wreckbeach.org
 For a break from business discussions, consider adding a nature walk to your agenda and head for Point Grey, Musqueam Reserve and Spanish Banks West. Somewhere along the steep, winding bluff that leads down the University of British Columbia's western bluff, the social fabric loosens and the tight stitches of inhibition unravel. By the time you're at the bottom of the bluff near the edge of the staircase, you can disband with all modesty and step onto clothing-optional Wreck Beach. Aside from a few bundled-up rubberneckers scoping the shoreline, most Wreckies take full advantage of Canada's only Speedo-free beach. The 3.6-mile-long stretch of sand and rock, washed by the currents of the Fraser River, Strait of Georgia and English Bay, has become a mecca each summer for an estimated 100,000 sun worshippers determined to avoid tan lines.
 Whether you're seeking a glass of sake or 5,000 tonnes of foundation-ready cement, Granville Island is the place to go. Originally called "Industrial Island," it was once an assortment of factories and warehouses. This changed in the mid-1970s when two local visionaries decided the mudflat had development potential. The federal government also got on board with the idea and those warehouses haven't been the same since. Out went the bolts, anvils and boilers, and in came the art supplies, organic fruit and vegetables, artisanal bakeries and flame-juggling buskers. Canada's first sake winery, Artisan SakeMaker Studio, can be found tucked between a goldsmith and a potter. Stop in to sample the three handcrafted sakes, labeled as Osake—Junmai Nama, Junmai Nama Genshu or Junmai Nama Nigorit.
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* Wreck Beach image by Arnold C; Granville Island image
by Flying Penguin of Pacific Spirit Photography; Grouse Mountain image by Chris Stubbs; Stanley Park image by
Michael Rogers
P020899 |
(Updated:
09/04/08 SG) |
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