Sylvia Hotel

I’m currently living at the Sylvia for a few weeks due to a flood in my home. Overall, I’m pretty happy with it. The location is perfect (the only time an average person like me gets to live on English Bay), the room is nice enough, and the staff are kind to me and my dog.
Because of the length of my stay, I chose a suite with a kitchen so I can cook for myself. The kitchen is small but clean and all the basic amenities are provided (coffee maker, kettle, dishes, flatware, a few pots and pans, etc.). It’s survivable until I’m able to get back into my own rather well-​equipped kitchen. It would be nice to have a baking sheet, though.
The bed is massive. I’m pretty sure I’m in a Queen Suite, but the bed has to be a king. I also have a pull-​out couch, which came in very handy when I had a friend coming into town for a night who had planned to stay with me before my house flooded. My suite is on a corner so I have lots of windows, and the bathroom is tidy and functional (though the water does take a while to heat up — par for the course in such an old building).
My biggest complaint is with the Internet. It’s free, but it’s absolutely terrible. Painfully bad. When it works (which is not all the time), it’s excruciatingly slow. I don’t understand why they’d let this problem stay as is for so long when it would be so simple to upgrade the routers. I also don’t recommend room service — I only used it once but it took well over an hour to get to my room.

My review for this hotel is long overdue. Simply put, I love it here. It’s one of my favorite hotels.
I had to go to Canada on short notice, and to make things even more complicated, I had to take my dog with me. Needless to say, finding dog-​friendly hotels that didn’t charge a fortune in pet deposits and fees last minute was difficult, but I found Sylvia on Hotel Tonight, and I am a fan for life. I was in an extremely stressful situation when I had to be in Vancouver, and staying here gave me a good base to work out of.
First of all, they really like pets here. Many hotels seem to only accept dogs on the premise of making money off pet fees, but not Sylvia. I genuinely felt that my dog was welcome just like any other guest, and he got treats and plenty of attention upon checkin. That alone is always a huge plus for me, it says a lot of the character of those who run the hotel, and it’s one of those things that makes me a returning client, with or without my dog.
The people working here are awesome, from the front desk to the cleaning staff, everyone were genuinely friendly.
I love the building. The rooms are huge. Fair enough, it’s not a top modern hotel, but it has so much character, and the rooms are clean and comfortable. Growing up in Europe we would go on holiday to the UK, and Sylvia reminds me so much of seaside British hotels, so for me this was also a retro trip. I can imagine how awesome it must be to stay here during the summer when the weather is nice.
Overall, this is a great hotel, and I will stay here next time I’m in Vancouver even though my dog is staying home this time. The location is great — it’s close to everything while still being in the somewhat calm part of the City. Robson isn’t far away and everything is within walking distance. You won’t regret staying here.

We stayed here as part of our honeymoon trip. We were upgraded to a suite room for our first stay and a more deluxe king room for our last night as we headed out of town on our way home. They did everything to make us feel welcome and to help us celebrate.
Yes, it is an older hotel but the beds and furnishings are comfortable and made for a nice place to stay in a beautiful location. Only downside for us was wifi that really needs an upgrede.

What happened? We’ve been coming here for years and the last two times have been disappointing. Who cleans rooms at 4 pm as part of standard procedure? Rooms are not cleaned thoroughly; dirt on moldings and ledges — where else? The bathroom door would not shut and the room was so tiny for the price.
It is the perfect location, but management needs to put more attention into the hotel.

Wonderful location, spotless. An older hotel with an older clientele. Great front desk staff. Would stay here again. WiFi was not very good

We had a wonderful suite, courtesy of a free upgrade, with views out over the sea.
The rooms were clean and very comfortable. We will be booking our next visit on the way out.

The Sylvia Hotel located at the most attractive part of Vancouver, the location was the main reason why I ended up booking Sylvia. The second reason we needed two queen size beds and you don’t find that very often.
Our room was very large but very old, we had partial ocean view as well but there was no heating or AC in the room, we found small heater in the closet, luckily we didn’t need it. The weather was very nice ! There were neither a microwave nor refrigerator in the room. The coffee maker was extremely small and useless. Out of 6 days we stayed there, 3 days there was not a room service. We would leave at 9:00 am, come back at 3:30pm to find our room was not made up… In a minutes after arrival we would get a knock on a door, the cleaning lady shows up at 3:30pm to clean our room ! Apparently they have a shortage of cleaning stuff.
WiFi is free but it is very slow.

I have had the pleasure to stay at the Sylvia more than once, and it has yet to let me down. The rooms in the front of the hotel have a wonderful view of the beach, and on firework nights during the summer, it is quite handy to have your hotel only a street away. The drawbacks I would have are that there is no air conditioning, due to the fact that it is usually in a colder climate (although they do supply fans) and on the bottom floors there might be a bit of «night noise» from the street. Hint: If you are renting a bike (which I would highly recommend, since Stanley Park is a quarter or a mile away) they do have a room where they house bikes for free, just ask at the front desk.

Loved this hotel. Charming old rooms. We stayed in two different rooms. First was a little small but still cute and comfortable with a great bathroom. All the rooms have fantastic bathrooms. The other room we had was huge with a couch setup and everything. Parking situation is good, right next to a lot of great attractions. Being across from the beach was awesome. Staff was all very friendly and nice. I loved that they allow dogs and are excited to have them. They have a Facebook page for doggie guests. The bar and lounge was nice and the brunch looked delicious however we didn’t eat there.
Everything was extremely clean and fresh smelling. It’s the perfect location to be close to the action but not right in the middle of it. Nice to have a quiet spot to sleep and relax. Loves going to the beach everyday. You also get a fantastic sunset and sunrise everyday. Perfectly situated on The Bay. Cheap comparably and very nice. Would stay here again for sure.

The Sylvia Hotel is a charming old, comfortable hotel built directly across the street from a much loved beach park. It also happens to be a block away from the entrance to the stunning Stanley Park.
The staff was friendly and efficient. In fact, when my husband accidentally left behind an item in the room they found it and got it back to us.
Our room was comfortable, clean and spacious. The view was not the best, but it was shielded from the street noise so it turned out to be a plus for us.
We sat on the outside bar deck for their Happy Hour and enjoyed some great appetizers and local beer and wine. The view could not be beat!
All in all, a great experience for us!

No porter service, carry your bags from the curb, up the steps into the front lobby and go back in time, front desk staff friendly and informative. Amazing that this hotel/​building was originally built in 1912, only 2 small elevators, enough to squeeze in 6 people at the most, fortunately only 8 floors to travel.
No in room safes, all valuables can be left at front desk which has a bank security vault box system just like hotels in the old days.
No a/​c in the rooms so beware if you visit during the summer months.
I stayed due to a recommendation from a friend, so I fully knew what I was getting in to. No bells and whistles, just pure enjoyment and living for the moment knowing you’re staying in a building over 100 years old!
5 stars for the location, across the street is the English Bay Beach Park and further up the road is Stanley Park. Hungry, walk to Denman street and pick your choice of the many restaurant and bars.
One of the most unique and memorable hotels I’ve ever stayed in, do it and you won’t regret it

OK, it’s old, and it’s on the waterfront. Once we get past location, this place fades badly. The rooms are spartan, there is no air conditioning, and since the «heat had been turned off for the summer» even though it was rainy and in the 50s, we had to use a space heater to heat the room. The coffee maker was plugged into an extension cord that ran on top of the baseboard heater, which probably violates several building codes. The furniture was shabby and didn’t look particularly clean. The bathroom was uninviting, and not particularly clean. I would not stay here again, nor recommend this to anyone who wanted anything above youth hostel lodging.

Just stayed here for our first night in Canada and would definitely recommend to others.
The staff were friendly and while there was no bellboy service, we had a lot of bags so they did send someone with a trolley to assist us. Personally we loved the room with its vintage charm. It was one of the cheapest hotels we could find at short notice and you couldn’t ask for a better location. The restaurant downstairs was a real hidden gem, with great food and ludicrously big 20 ounce wine glasses (maybe this is a Canadian thing, but was certainly new to us). Checkout time is 12pm which is great in itself, but the staff were also happy to extend us to 1pm at no charge, which since we were extremely jet lagged was a huge relief. Ability to open the windows was also a plus, particularly with the great views of English Bay.
There was only really one negative, in that I am heavily dependent on internet access for work. We specifically chose a hotel with free wifi, and the wifi service was horribly unreliable. Particularly at around 10pm when I was keen to get a lot of work done, it was pretty much unusable. Seems their wireless setup can’t handle peak loads. If internet access is important to you I would probably look elsewhere.

After reading many of the reviews here, I was a little concerned about staying at Hotel Sylvia, but we had a great experience!
The staff at the hotel was friendly and helpful during our check-​in and check-​out processes, and also when we asked for suggestions on dinner.
Our room was very clean, and the bedroom appeared recently updated. The bathroom did not appear as newly renovated, but it was still very clean and quite acceptable.
The biggest draw of Hotel Sylvia is that it’s right on the waterfront! Great location, and lots of restaurants nearby too. Would stay here again.

This is my second time staying at The Sylvia in just over a year. It’s hard to beat the location, directly across from English Bay and 1^st Beach.
It’s a basic hotel. Clean, comfortable beds, reasonable sized rooms. It doesn’t offer much in luxuries, which is fine with me. I don’t travel to stay cooped-​up in a hotel room. I just need a bed to sleep in and a bathroom to get refreshed and ready for the day. The Sylvia offers that.
There are plenty of good restaurants on nearby Denman St. If you’re willing to walk just a bit further (10−15min) to Robson St, there are some outstanding restaurants there that make the walk very worthwhile (see my review of Guu with Garlic!).
Overall I’m happy with The Sylvia and it will likely be my goto-​home whenever I travel to Vancouver. I’m not sure about the summer though, as I don’t believe it is air conditioned (both my stays have been in the fall).

Death at the Sylvia Hotel
One night, we heard some squeaking. I thought it was perhaps the bed. But it happened when we didn’t even move. My husband, in charge of general animal affairs and spider-​squashing, searched our hotel room for the source of the sound.
To our amazement, he found a poor little mouse stuck in a trap beneath one of the wardrobes. We called the front desk and some dude removed the mouse from our room. Unfortunately, the mouse did not have a Hollywood ending since the trap was laced with poison.
Not only was this extremely unpleasant, but everyone at the Hotel was obviously well aware of the ongoing mice problem. It was as if their motto should have been «Mice happens».
Anyways they offered nothing in light of the fact of what just happened … No discount… No room switch… Yeah
We didn’t make a big deal considering the mouse got the bitter end.
Other than location, the hotel doesn’t have much to offer. So thanks but no thanks.

Oh Sylvia, you weren’t what I wanted you to be.
When we first arrived and checked in, I hated it. It was old, but not in a charming way. Travelzoo is loaded with reviews saying how charming it is, but I did not see the charm. I love old buildings but this place just felt very sad, even though it seemed they had just repainted and refreshed some areas. The halls were dark and dimly lit and the housekeeping cart lived in the hallway the whole time we were there. The elevators are small and dark and noisy. The wifi is terrible. The vanity under the sink was painted plywood and there was a pipe sticking out of the wall. There were decorative sconce lights on the mirror but we couldn’t figure out how to turn them on. There was painted plywood covering the pipes next to the toilet. There was little to no art on the walls for added décor. There is no a/​c, so you have to have the windows open, but there are no screens, so you may have bugs fly in — which is in addition to the noise that comes in from the street below. Fortunately for me, I had brought earplugs. There is no coffee in the morning, no in-​room coffee either.
On the upside, it seemed clean and it was not terribly expensive (though it still seemed a bit much for what you get, or don’t get). The bed was comfortable. We enjoyed being right by the beach and the park and had a decent view from our room.
The staff was hit or miss. Once we stopped to ask for a bus map at the desk. I had heard another staff member talking to another guest about it. However, the person I asked pulled out a hand drawn map of the area and highlighted two streets telling us either bus would work. This didn’t seem like enough information to get us where we needed to go. On our way out I stopped at the desk again to ask if the bus had a name or number and how much would it cost. I still had the map in my hand and the person I asked (different from the one who’d given me this map) took it and handed me a new map. It was still an hand drawn map (is there not something more official?) but it had the route names and numbers on them and was much more useful.
They do offer parking @ $ 15/​night.
Somehow by the third and final day I guess I’d adjusted to it and it didn’t seem as terrible as when we first got there. Bottom line, if you want to stay in this area but don’t want to pay a ton, go for it, but it’s not a luxury hotel by any means.

We are currently staying two nights at Sylvia’s, in their «new» wing, in a supposedly «upgraded» room. We knew when we chose to stay here that we were choosing an historic hotel, not a modern, 4 or 5-​star establishment. However, I am very disappointed, and will not stay here again.
We kept our reservation after seeing the room because of the West End location, and to experience the hotel overall. We had previously had drinks in the bar, and enjoyed it.
Many low-​cost amenities could be improved or added to our King room to make it a nice experience, rather than a chintzy one. The shower has a showerhead you would find in a high school locker room. The sink faucet is old, the basin is cracked and the caulk if failing. The floor tile is a hideous design. There is just one piece of art in our room, above the love seat, otherwise the walls are bereft of character. The ceiling is a drop ceiling of the sort you would find in an office! I’ve never seen such a terrible choice for a hotel ceiling — I feel like I’m staying in a hospital.
The walls are cracked in places in the corridors, and in our room, and the paint is poorly done everywhere.
The staff are half as friendly as staff just about everywhere else we’ve visited in Vancouver, which simply adds insult to injury.
Also, Vancouver has an excellent recycling program, and The Sylvia seems not to participate. There’s no recycling in our room as there should be, and from the dumpsters I can see in their parking area, it appears they only recycle cardboard — very uncool. It’s 2013, after all! Get with it!
The only saving grace of this hotel is the bar, with the bubbling atmosphere even on a Sunday at 3pm.
We would stay at the Listel Hotel again — same price as The Sylvia in the off-​season, much friendlier staff, and the rooms are at least 3x as nice. The Sylvia doesn’t even provide a coffee maker!

Sigh.
I am relocating tomorrow for 2 – 3 years and now i has the sads. I am really going to miss living in the West End.
So here’s the story… I had 3 nights I needed to be in the city but not in my old apartment. I scoured all pet friendly hotels in Vancouver for options and found myself very limited.
I have a cat and in a city as large as Vancouver, the Sylvia was the only hotel I could find that embraced the fact that «pets» includes more than dogs and that my cat is well behaved enough to not have to be supervised ²⁴⁄₇ or kennelled when alone. They also didn’t charge extra for having a pet. All of which I VERY much appreciated.
The Sylvia also has a certain charm. No, it isn’t a skyscrapper (although it once was), it isn’t super modern and sterile. It has quirks. Actually it reminds me a lot of my old apt building. It’s got funky levelled floors, an odd staff, but at the end of the day, everyone is friendly, truthful, accommodating and honest. They don’t pretend to be in the «perfect» place. Which is why to me, I feel best here.
Yes, there were a few issues, but all in all, the price was right, the location ideal and the attitude to me and my family, unparalleled.
I will miss you West End.

Okay, I’m giving this place 3 stars, just because…1) We didn’t encounter bedbugs. 2) The windows opened just enough to let the natural gas smell out of the little kitchen area. 3) The view of the water, from the lobby, is not to be missed!
Granted we stayed here but once, and that was quite a while ago. I just looked at the website and from it I’d guess a few things have changed. As in they have taken out the little kitchen areas in the rooms and the bed spreads have changed from the 50’s to the 70’s era.
For an adventure, meaning being really close to Stanley Park, bring your camping gear and check this place out…