The Westin Bayshore, Vancouver

Pros: Great location, good value. Fun to be in that part of the city, a real attraction for us.

Cons: Exterior is rather dated but interior was fine. Not a concern for us.

Cons: Usually when I travel and get to a hotel I want to be checked in as quickly as possible. You'd think the young guy checking me in would have understood this, but he kept stopping what he was doing to answer questions from one of the other hotel workers. The other worker was maybe 50 or so, the kid's senior, so I understand his respect for the older man, but they should both know that whatever questions/answers either of them have for each other, should have been both posed and answered after the guest is checked in. Sounds like a very small detail but this level of attention to detail is what I expect from a 4-star hotel. Aside from that and the location being fairly removed from much of what I wanted to see, no complaints.

Awesome view, terrible building

Pros: The view from our tower room (18th floor) was very nice. Both in the day and at night, the view was great. The hotel lobby area and pool are also pretty nice. The staff was mostly friendly. In particular, the front office manager Jason Wei was incredibly professional and accommodating. He really cared about our experience and made an effort to keep us happy.

Cons: The hotel itself is quite old, and feels that way. The fixtures and room layouts do not match the expensive price tags for the rooms. You're basically just paying for the location. The rooms and hallways and generally everything seems dated and worn out. At one point we were moved to a junior suite (9th floor) in the original building (not the tower) and were not all that impressed with that room either. On top of that, there were hundreds of birds outside chirping and wailing all day and night. We barely got any sleep.