Conference kaosws::canada

Hmm...Well lets see...

Are you looking for, a hotel, an appartment, a house or are you not too 
particular about what you stay in?

Places of interest depends on what kinds of things you like to do.  If you
like museums and art galleries, you would probably try to get something
close to town.  If you like outdoor type stuff, you might like to stay out
of the down town core.  Give me some parameters.

One thing to warn you about: Vancouver has a terrible public transit system
(IMHO).  It is not well suited to tourists.  You would be best off to rent a 
car, or in your case, a van.

For the last two years, the weather in mid-July has been wet, but that has been
due to the Alnenio (sp?) that's paid us a visit each of the last two years.  
The weather usually is wet up to mid-July and then dries/warms up.  From then
until about late October you can count on sunny dry weather. BUT, out here,
anything could happen....


Cheers,
Dave.

    If we're going to be picky,  El Nino is a warm water current in
    the Pacific Ocean.
    
    Robin

Is that how its spelt??

Okay, El Nino (<- with the little thing over the "o").

.3 is correct, it is a warm ocean current that normally flows further south
(around California, I believe).  It is suppose to come our way every 25
years or so, but for some strange reason it has shown up here two years in
a row.  With it has come some odd weather patterns and some sea life that
we normally dont see.  Eg: in the last two years the new hatch of salmon
and steelhead smolts have been almost wiped out by schools of mackeril that
we normally never see in these waters.

Cheers,
Dave.

    Hi,
    I am also flying out to Vancouver this Summer on July 16th. I am
    looking for a hotel for one night that has a courtesy bus to and from
    the airport. My flight from the UK doesn't arrive until 7:45pm so I
    just want to get to a hotel easily and flake out. I'm planning to visit
    downtown Vancouver to see the sights for the day on Sunday and then
    return to the airport via the hotel to pick up a hire car.
    
    On Sunday night I thought I would stay somewhere east of Vancouver
    within about a two hour drive as I'm not picking the car up until 5pm
    at the airport.
    
    I am travelling on my own and will be heading out to Edmonton Alberta
    via the mountains over a few days. I am quite depressed at the cost of
    hotels in Vancouver, typically I'm getting quotes of $100 + tax!!
    
    Can anyone help me out with good reccomendations on reasonably priced
    accomodation?? Please.
    
    Thanks Al

    There is a Hotel in the Richmond Area, that is very close to the
    Vancouver Airport, and also has a courtesy bus. The last time I
    checked, rooms were going for around $55-$70/night, and I know that
    Digital has a special room rate with them.
    
    Were you looking for a Hotel in the Downtown area ?? If so, forget
    about the $100 limit.
    
    Regards
    Brian
    

    Re -1 
    
    Any idea if I could contact this hotel from the UK? Do you have an
    address or tel/fax no? As I'm travelling on a personal holiday do you know
    if I can take advantage of a Digital discount?
    
    Thanks for the response.
    
    Al

Try these.  They are all located about 10-15 min from the Airport and all
have shuttles:


	The Delta Pacifi Resort
	10251 St Edwards St.
	Richmond, B.C.
	V6X 2M9

	Phone : 604-278-9611
	Fax:	604-278-2909


	Delta Vancouver Hotel and Marina
	3500 Cessna Rd.
	Richmond, B.C.
	V7B 1C7

	Phone:	604-278-1241
	Fax:	604-276-1975


	The Richmond Inn
	7551 Westminster Hwy.
	Richmond, B.C.
	V6X 1A3

	Phone:	604-273-7878
	Fax:	604-278-0188



Cheers
Dave
(Located in Vancouver)

    Thanks for the replies.
    
    Al

Al,

If you want a good place to stay after you pick up your car, you should 
stay in Hope.  It is about 2 hours east of Vancouver and is the junction of
4 highways.  It's quiet and the accomodations are reasonable.  You should
book in advance as or plan to head there right away as motels tend to fill
up quite quickly that time of year.

I can probably get you rate information if you like.  I went to high school
in Hope and my father still lives there.

Cheers,
Dave.

    Thanks for the reply Dave. Rate info would be welcome. Any idea how I
    can book this up from the UK, I think the international tel code to
    Canada is 010-1-BC?-motel. Could you fill in the blanks for me or tell
    me if there is likely to be an agent in the UK. I guess as I'm
    travelling on my own I'll be hit with a supplement or full room rate
    for a twin?
    
    Only four weeks to go, I can't wait. Canada here I come.
    
    Thanks again 
    
    Al

Generally, accomodation rates in Canada and the US are kinder for single
rooms than they are in Europe.  Generally, there is a "room rate"
for single, double, twins, double double, queen etc.  The larger and the
more beds in a room, generally, the higher the room rate.  If the occupancy
of the hotel/motel is low, or the place doesn't have single rooms, you
usually get an "upgraded" room for a single room rate.

Classier hotels often advertise "specials" for $n per person "Based on
Double occupancy".  Their rate for singles will be less than a double,
but more than the advertised rate.

Stuart

Al,

I'll see what I can find and let you know.  B.C. area code is 604 (the
BC? part of the number.)  As mentioned in .-1, your are charged by the
number of people so you wont get hit with any extra charges.

Another, cheaper, alternative it to stay at provincial camp sites.  There
are plenty of them, they'er clean and their rates are reasonable.  It would
mean bringing (or renting) some camping gear but it would be worth it.


Cheers,
Dave.

    Thanks again folks for being so helpful. 
    
    regards Al