Last month I had a great HOG World Tour leg up to the American northwest. I stopped by the great new Salish Cliffs Golf Club and Chambers Bay Golf Club as well as staying at Little Creek Resort in Shelton, Washington. After tooling around in the Seattle area I headed up north across the border for my first ever time in Canada, aye? What’s that all aboot? I stayed in one of the coolest hotels ever in Vancouver called Inn At The Quay. Technically the location is in “New West Minister” but it is essentially a suburb of Vancouver as I understand it.
Inn At The Quay – New Westminister (Vancouver), BC, Canada
Location
30 minutes from the heart of metro Vancouver, Inn At The Quay calls itself a “chic boutique” full service hotel. The hotel is located on the Fraser River boardwalk in New Westminister. From my room’s balcony I watched the waterfront activity of boats and ships coming and going. Sitting out on the balcony at night and watching that activity with a nice glass of vino is very relaxing.
The Fraser River boardwalk, which runs literally right through/under the hotel is a neat area. The walk is about two miles and has all sorts of great shops and restaurants. One attraction by the hotel is the world’s largest tin soldier (below), which is a fantastic bonus, aye? The River Market, right next door, has a coffee shop, bakery and grocery store. Everything one needs is within walking distance of the hotel.
World’s largest tin soldier at the Fraser River Boardwalk – click to zoom
Very close, within walking distance, is a train station. A short train ride of less than 30 minutes goes right to the heart of Vancouver and eliminates having to find a parking space. And let me tell you, parking in Vancouver is tough.
Rooms
There are 126 guest rooms at the Quay. My room had a great water view and a balcony. In fact, all the rooms have a water view. The bathroom/shower was roomy enough and had great, hot and high pressure water. That’s a big deal for me.
“Chic” room. See nighttime water outside the window? click to zoom
The “chic” design of the room was nice and modern with all the comforts I needed (coffee maker, fridge, bottle of wine and munchies). The bed was comfortable and the room had the ever important free wifi so I could do blog updates.
Angelina’s restaurant as seen from my balcony. Click to zoom.
Amenities
The hotel has parking below, which is an extra cost. The Boathouse restaurant is connected to the hotel lobby and has great, locally caught seafood. Next door is a neat little place we went for breakfast called Angelina’s.
The hotel offers weddings, events and meeting space as well as a business center. There’s a fitness center but no pool.
Vancouver Activities
Metro Vancouver is a hell of a city. The waterfront is home to so many great places to see and activities that I couldn’t list them all. My lovely lady and I did a few during our short stay, including:
- Capilano Suspension Bridge – An amazing suspension bridge and park, in a deep rain forest. (photo below)
- Downtown Vancouver – lots of shops, restaurants, boating, seaplane travel and center for the Olympic caldron. Notable areas: Robson Street, Columbia Street, Vancouver Aquarium.
- Stanley Park – A fantastic and giant park with amazing gardens.
- River Cruise – We enjoyed a river cruise on an old paddle boat. Great historic information learned about Vancouver.
Conclusion
When I get back to the great city of Vancouver, and I will soon, I’ll be staying at Inn At The Quay again. Loved every minute.
Vancouver Photos Highlights
Here are a few photo highlights of the area with captions. Click any of them to see larger versions. All photos © copyright 2012 – Tony Korologos.
Vancouver night skyline, shot from North Vancouver across water. Click to zoom
Just starting across the Capilano Suspension Bridge – click to zoom
Vancouver harbor – click to zoom
Vancouver view from paddleboat cruise. click to zoom
HOGWire – Golf Industry News
Wow that looked like a great time .. I want to visit there one day Hook up with my Canadian buddies…
Beautiful city. Can’t wait to get back up there and play some golf. Didn’t get to play golf while I was there.
C’mon, Tony. It’s “eh”, not “aye”. Get with it. 🙂
What’s that all aboot, hoser?
Beautiful location. Barry Studer