Rosewood Hotel Georgia, Vancouver

I stumbled upon this hotel by chance when looking for a place to stay downtown Vancouver while visiting family and I am glad I decided to stay.

Location of the hotel in central Vancouver: (copyright Google Maps)

Details of the hotel and room itself are further down in the sections below so jump to those if you aren't interested in the history or other info on this hotel.

I love buildings with character and historic buildings and this is one of them that is still standing in the heart of Vancouver. It represents old style charm, service and style in a gleaming modern glass world.

The hotel first opened in 1927 and has been renovated in 2011 and has many of the original touches that made it a place to behold throughout that time. The hotel is in excellent condition as of 2017 and I would very happily go back and stay again.

I was celebrating my birthday and wanted to enjoy it in style so did the unthinkable (for FT) and paid cash for a two night stay here (at least it was on a special offer that gave 20% off on a two night stay). Rates are not cheap but I certainly did not regret paying to stay here and would do so again.

If you are tired of the usual North American hotel quality, style and features and can stump up the cash...there is no better choice in Vancouver in my mind.

I was already in the city staying at the Hyatt just a block away so could easily walk over and checked in during the early afternoon after a walk along the excellent harbour here.

The building has a few entrances so it is hard to tell you where everything is located but if you enter via the main entrance it is on Howe Street. Once you enter the reception is straight ahead, usually with two staff always present. The concierge desk is to the left opposite the reception and again, someone is always there and ready to help.

The main entrance and concierge desk (photo courtesy of the hotel's own website so their copyright):

The lifts are just to the left of the reception desks (opposite the concierge desk) and have a wonderful old school arrow indicator to show what floor the lift in question is currently on. (they used to have a photo of the lift floor indicator on their website but have since removed it, a shame as I didn't get a picture of it while I was there, suffice to say it exuded class and a forgotten touch in today's world.

Anyway, there are several areas off the main area, mainly to food venues or meeting areas. (the area to the right as you enter was to the spa and if you went further along to the right and then up the stairs to the left you would get to the meeting/occassion venues.

The reception clerk was very friendly and welcoming and provided all the info I would need to maximise my stay. She did mention that they were a member of the Amex Fine hotels and resorts program (which I didn't use as I could get a better deal for my stay direct on the website after checking what benefits I would actually use) which was nice in case I hadn't known. The key is a modern RFID credit card type room key and so some things here are very modern but only where it adds convenience!

The lifts were fairly small and you'd struggle to get a family of four in them, let alone with baggage but for two and bags it would be fine. There were two lifts after all!

A floor plan of one of the floors (here the 11th floor where I was staying):

The hallways are quite wide and nicely decorated with small touches to make it warmer and more 'lived in' with flowers in appropriate places.

The room I had booked was one level up from the entry room category, a deluxe room with a king bed. (you can get each room with two double beds as well I believe). The room was quite large and I loved it (around 38m2).

The bulk of the pictures I do have are from the room and really do show you that this is a stunning room, especially the bathroom (compared to most hotels in North America at least). So, a few points before the pictures do the talking;

-I found it interesting (but good) that they provided a flashlight in the wardrobe for emergencies. Why don't more hotels do this for when power can get cut?

-Nice to have a Nespresso machine in the room, given the general state of 'coloured water coffee' in North American hotels (Vancouver and the West Coast in general are exceptions with amazing Java culture I know but still...)

-all the things you coud want were there, umbrellas, slippers, bathrobes, two sinks (even physically separated to allow all the space you could need when priming yourselves for the day or winding down for the night) again, this is a chain but this was a fairly basic room here.

-I loved the mix of classic and modern, for example the bedside table has a pull up power point area to charge your smart phone or watch, etc...but there is an old fashioned wind up alarm clock on the table as well, you can choose, also the general room style compared to the bathroom which is very modern and dare I say it 'European'.

Old fashioned meets new: (lighting and power point pull up, alarm clock):

-the hotel has its own bath amenities, which were apparently the original blend from 1927. They were lovely and I took them all home! Very nice to have proper bath salts as well in a suitable size for that lovely deep and stylish bathtub.

-I received a lovely note and cupcake as a welcome gift in the room as I had mentioned it was my birthday during the stay. Picture:

-obviously they do a turndown service here in the evenings and freshen things up for you.

-very nice touch to the lighting options in the room with several mood lighting options and night lights for the bathroom so as to not disturb your partner.

Enough, the pictues can say it on their own:

The main attraction: (king bed):

A view back from the bed side of the room:

The entrance:

And back to the door: (wardrobes on the left)

Wardrobe contents:

The desk (to write old fashioned letters perhaps and enjoy a time honoured tradition?)

The seating area between the desk and the bed:

And the real area of luxury in the room: (The bathroom, giving just a sneak preview at first:

That stunning bathtub:

Separate very large party shower cubicle:

Complete with Rain shower head: (and plenty of pressure)

Bath amenities:

Two completely separated sinks and vanity areas to keep the peace:

A separate WC cubicle:

Very nice indeed...I didn't want to leave...

Service was wonderful and personal here everywhere I tried. The staff at the 1927 lobby lounge bar/casual eating area were the best though I found.

You could arrange for all sorts of personalised assistance from a questionairre they send you once you have made a reservation to a transfer in a Bentley to the airport. You name it, they would arrange it.

There are several (5) areas to enjoy food or drink in the hotel, from a casual 'coffee shop' type pastry and beverage in Bel Cafe (the entrance that many may first see when approaching the hotel), to the formal dining restaurant called Hawksworth restaurant (the other side of the entrance many people will choose to enter, opposite from Bel Cafe. (the left hand side of the ground floor of the hotel). A special venue is available called Prohibition for a few nights a week (Thursday to Saturday only) that has a 1920's atmosphere.

I tried the 1927 lobby lounge one evening for lighter fare and a more relaxed atmosphere and loved it, pictures below: (here a general picture of the upper area of the lobby lounge);

The cocktail named after the hotel, with a lovely gin base. It was stunning and I had trouble holding myself to one only!:

A snack until my starter arrived, a tray of marinated olives (which were very nice and large and ripe so beautiful texture and taste):

The beetroot salad starter with goat cheese:

A good portion of Penne Arrabbiata (a nice spicy little number):

Followed by a lovely little lemon tart to be chased down by an Espresso:

I had a glass of some red wine but I can't remember which now sorry! (likely a local BC wine to try it)...All was very tasty and quickly gone...my waist was not the better for it but someone has to suffer in the name of FT do they not?

I also tried the Hawksworth restaurant for breakfast one day and found it good but expensive to be honest. I enjoyed walking the city and finding independent venues for a small bite and some cappuccino with a real kick to it the other days.

I did get some small take away bits from Bel Cafe one afternoon and the variety of beverages and snacks was quite nice so could recommend that as well. Descriptions of each venue and menus with pricing are available form the website for the hotel, which can be found in post 1 of this thread as I don't seem to be able to find a way to paste a link into this hotel review form.

Great choices and one never really had to leave the hotel during the stay if you didn't want to!

Very central location in Vancouver. Excellent links to the sky train to the airport and other parts of the city for very reasonable fares. The station was across the street so couldn't be more convenient. (although the elevator and  escalators did not work when I was here so those with large or heavy bags will not be best pleased if that is still the case)...obviously taxis would be easy to come by with the help of the concierge and they can arrange for truly luxurious transfers or tours as well if you so desire and have the pocket for it.

I walked to most places and explored Vancouver on foot over the week I was in the city, it did mean walking around 12 Km each day but with my eating and drinking regime, that was par for the course!

I loved the location of the hotel to get anywhere I wanted to be downtown.

A great stay in a truly remarkable hotel and one I hope to visit again when I am home visiting family. Highly recommended.

I do plan to try a few other unique venues this small chain has and may approach the next one in London, UK for our wedding anniversary if I can find a decent deal.

Hope the review was of interest and use, do stop by and at least visit the hotel and look around and enjoy a drink here as these type of places are not so common anymore and without custom they will fade to grey....