When travelling, scouring the web for useful links and asking random people for advice, well….sucks! To help you make the most of your stay, the Concierge Team at the Pan Pacific have put together a practicial guide you can use to make sure you can say you’ve been there and done that! Included are: Sights to see, what to do for Free, the best city tours and the better spots to eat.

Also included below are a few useful links you can check out if you’re looking to dig a bit deeper. Remember, there’s tons to do in Vancouver and these are only a few highlights. If you have any questions or feedback, just drop me a line in the comments!

Sights to See

First on the itenerary are some of the main hot spots of the city. If you’re looking for the meat and potatoes of Vancouver, here are a few of the more popular sights to visit (and for good reason!).

Stanley Park

This is Vancouver’s version of Central Park…only better!

Stanley Park Seawall | Photo: PabloTrejo

Stanley Park is arguably Vancouver’s defining outdoor playground with a vast 1000 acre urban park located smack in the middle of Downtown.

Known for being one of the world’s best parks and hosting over 8 million visitors per year, Stanley Park has a lot to offer. Enjoy the views as your roller-blade, bike or walk around the famous 9 km seawall which circles the park.

The park also contains tennis courts, an 18-hole pitch and putt golf course, a seaside swimming pool at Second Beach, and the Brockton Oval for track sports, rugby, and cricket.

For entertainment inside the park, there’s the Vancouver Aquarium, Canada’s first and largest aquarium since it opened in 1956, and the Malkin Bowl – home to the local Theatre Under the Stars.

Grouse Mountain

Known as the “Peak of Vancouver”, Grouse Mountain provides an exceptional view of the city and has loads of exciting outdoor activities to choose from.

Grouse Mountain | Photo: Wikimedia Commons

In the winter you can pound the slopes on your skis or board and hit over 26 local runs. If you want to try something different, you can go snowshoeing, take a sleigh ride or even ice skating on the outdoor pond.

When the weather improves, I recommend taking a hike up Vancouver’s favourite trail, the Grouse Grind.

The Grind is a 2.9 km trail which runs up the face of Grouse Mountain, commonly reffered to Vancouverites as “Mother Natures Stairmaster”. More than 100,000 hikers a year take on the challenge of the rugged terrain and steep climb, up an approximate 56% slope (30°), which starts at the Valley Station of Grouse Mountain and finishes at the Peak’s plateau.

The average hiker takes approximetly 1.5 hours to complete the Grind and for a $5 fee, you can take the tram on the way down.

For a full list of activities, click here.

Granville Island

A living, breathing urban oasis filled with fine waterfront restaurants, theatres, galleries, studios, unique shops, cafes, and a famous fresh food market.

The Granville Island Market has fresh local ingredients to choose from as well as dozens of arts and craft stalls where you can find unique clothing, jewellery designs and fine art. Be sure to check out the the famous Granville Island Brewery, where you can take guided tour and sample some of the latest and freshest brews.

The Island is also a true fun for the whole family hot spot with a Kids Market, an indoor Adventure Zone and Canada’s largest free outdoor Water Park.

The Public Market is open until 7pm, 7 days a week.

What to do in Vancouver….for FREE!

In my opinion, the best things to do in Vancouver are free! When you have a city as naturally beautiful as Vancouver, the best places to be are outdoors.

Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge

Hidden amongst the forest in North Vancouver is the beautiful Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge.

The Park officially opened to the public in 1912 and has been a popular destination among tourists and local residents ever since. Lynn Canyon Park is a great location for a family picnic, a leisurely hike, or a refreshing swim in one of the many popular swimming holes.

The main attraction is of course the 50 meter high (and frightening) suspension bridge. A definite thrill if it’s your first time. Don’t forget your camera for this one!

The Vancouver Art Gallery

The Vancouver Art Gallery stands in the centre of a city and is recognized as a nurturing ground for artistic talent. While on the inside there are plenty of events and exhibits, the front entrance is a beautiful place to eat outside, people watch or take a few photographs.

Gastown

If your into doing touristy stuff in Vancouver, a good idea might be to start in Gastown.

Gastown Steam Clock | Photo: bluegoose0fox

This was Vancouver`s first downtown core and it offers a wack load of historical buildings and monuments to snap cool photos with to make your next profile pic. Take a stroll down the cobbled streets to find some of Vancouver’s newest and trendiest places to eat, shop and people watch.

A few of the more popular sights include the famous Gastown Steam Clock, the Gassy Jack Statue and the Hudson Bay Warehouse.

There also plenty of cool places to get your eat and drink on. Two of my favorites include:

• The Chill Winston: A relaxing restaurant lounge with a killer patio in the core of Gastown.
• The Irish Heather: An authentic Irish House with the best drink menu in the city. A great atmosphere to have a pint with friends.

Vancouver Waterfront

One of the more beautiful areas of the city is the Vancouver Waterfront. Great for a stroll, with plenty of great coffee shops, parks and trendy real estate which is easy on the eye.

Be sure to visit the surronding areas, including the Vancouver Convention Center, (home of the Vancouver Olympics). Here you can check out still standing Olympic cauldron and the eye catching Digital Orca. Just around the corner you can also watch the Sea Planes leaving the Vancouver Harbor.

Tours

The Vancouver Trolley Company

The Vancouver Trolley Company is Vancouver’s only fleet of San Francisco-style Trolleys for a sightseeing tour of the city at your own pace. Vancouver Trolley offers Hop-On, Hop-Off Vancouver attractions tours and seasonal tours such as the Sunset Tour including trips to Capilano Suspension Bridge and Grouse Mountain, the Haunted Halloween Tour and the Karoake Christmas Lights Tour.

Vancouver Trolley Company | Photo: My British Columbia

For a closer look at each of 30 stops on tour, check out their cool new photo blog.

Black Gloves Vancouver

The ultimate in luxury at an affordable price.

Black Gloves Transportation is a chauffeured vehicle for hire service. But did you know they also do guided tours of the city as well? I’ve been on a few of their tours and believe me, they’re worth it!

On this tour, you call the shots, decide what you want to see and let the chauffeured guide show you around in a car fit for a king. There are several tour options including the Whistler, Sea to Sky Tour – guaranteed to be one of the more scenic rides of your life!

Also, be sure to follow them on Twitter or Facebook for 25% off the hourly rate.

Harbour Air Sea Plane Tour

If you’re willing to spend a few extra bucks, a Harbour Air Sea Plane Tour is your best bet take in the beauty of Vancouver.

Hop on a local sea plane from the Vancouver Harbor for a bird’s eye view of the city. Choose from a wide range of tours including a spectacular flight around the high towering peaks of the Olympic Mountains and glaciers, or along the incredibly rugged shorelines of Vancouver Island.

If our weather is friendly, this is a tour you won’t forget!

Where to Eat

Seriously…there are way too many great restaurants in Vancouver to narrow it down to just a few. Not only is our culture insanely diverse (thus making for some delicious authentic eats) but we also live on the West Coast, offering some of the freshest seafood you can shake a fishing rod at.

Here are just a few reccomendations:

The Salt Tasting Room

Looking for someting a little more unique? Try the Salt Tasting Room, located in a corner alley of Gastown (Blood Alley!), just a few steps away from the Pan Pacific Vancouver.

This restaurant offers an atmosphere of cheese, meat and wine pairings. The knowledgable staff knows their stuff and the food is worth the markup. The Salt Tasting Room offers an intimate atmosphere and a modern feel. Try this if you’re feeling adventurous!

The Cafe Pacifica Restaurant

OK, obviously I have to give a shout-out the Pan Pacific’s Cafe Pacifica Restaurant!

The Cafe offers a West Coast flavor with plenty of great dishes like our famous Sable Fish Platter, Chef Paul’s Curry and the Ahi Tuna Tar Tar (shown below).

They also have plenty of delicious daily features and perfected West Coast Fusion items. On the weekend’s, be sure to check out the Italian Opera Buffet which feature lives Opera music and a gourmet Italian Buffet Spread.

For more information on what to do in Vancouver be sure to check out Tourism Vancouver’s website and my list of 101 Ways to Explore Vancouver. If you only have a limited time in the city, be sure to look at the 2 Days in Vancouver Tourist Guide.

Hope this helps and enjoy your stay!

To celebrate this historic milestone, the Hotel recently held a special anniversary party to bring in the occasion.

Not only was this a special day for the Hotel, but 20 hotel associates members were also given longstanding service awards for being with the hotel since opening day. January 8, 1986!

Not lost in the highlights was an award for the 2010 Leader of the Year. The leader of the year award is the Hotel’s own “MVP” Award and goes to the associate who sets the tone and leads the hotel associates by example.

Meet Cameron Johnson

The 2010 Leader of the Year Award was awarded to the Hotel’s Director of Catering and Events Services, Cameron Johnson.

Cameron exudes all the qualities that come with being a great leader: Hard-work, passion, integrity and dedication. Cameron sets the example each day to his associates and treats them with the same courtesy and professionalism that he does with his clients.

Cameron has been at the Pan Pacific since 1988 when he started as a server on the banquets team at the young age of…..well, I won’t go there! Since then, he’s moved his way up the ranks and now holds the title of Director of Catering and Events Services since 2007. This is his second Leadership award in the last 6 years.

Earlier today I caught up with Cameron and asked him what it takes to be a leader in his line of work and what this award means to him:

Leadership is something i strive to excel at. Each day I work hard and dedicate myself to my clients and my colleagues. I try my best to treat our associates with respect and encourage team work within the group.

Behave as if you are part of the team, not only the leader of it, then pitch in and do actual work along side them…people appreciate that you are there to help get the work done. Help people achieve their goals, reward them along the way and do what you say you’re going to do! It’s really that simple. We always bring a team effort to our job and make sure we work hard and play equally as hard! We’re a tight knit group and are very much like a family.

Cameron is described by his clients as: professional, makes life easy, takes initiative and is genuine and warm.

In one of the more stressful positions in the hotel, Cameron handles his job with tremendous professionalism and dedication. He’s the ideal recipient of the 2010 Leader of the Year Award.

Congratulations Cam!

I still vividly remember the anticipation and excitement (as well as the nervousness) as we awaited the 8 year plan to make its final countdown.

Meanwhile, as the days were leading up, I was sitting in a meeting at the Pan Pacific Vancouver where an idea was proposed to try something totally new. An idea was presented to embark on the magical world of Social Media; the unchartered waters of the Hotel. Buzzwords like Facebook, Twitter, and Blogs we’re being thrown around with reckless abandon! OK, maybe that’s a bit dramatic, however a few of us thought it would be a good idea to start a blog as the Hotel had lots to talk about and plenty of stories worth sharing.

In the end, what turned out as a trial project during the Olympics, eventually blossomed into a blog which has reached thousands of people across the world and has given our Hotel an ability to engage with our fans and guests in a way we never thought possible.

As of today, the blog has been live for exactly 1 year.

In the past 365 days, I’ve had the chance to post everything from meeting Akshay Kumar to the Presdient of Argentina as well as my awkward photo with rapper Drake.

I’ve covered the Olympics, noteworthy events and attractions in Vancouver and interesting facts about the Hotel you definitely wouldn’t have known about. And there certainly hasn’t been a shortage of giveaways…

Other than the occasional writers block, the past year has been a pleasure to cover the stories, events and promotions that take place in and around the Pan Pacific Vancouver.

Here are a few blog posts that meant something special to me in the last year.

If you’re new to the site, be sure to check back as I cover everything that goes on at the Hotel and notable events that occur in our backyard, beautiful Downtown Vancouver.

The 2010 Olympics was undoubtedly a special time for Vancouver. The Pan Pacific was in the center of the action as it was right next door to the Olympic Couldron and home to the entire staff of NBC.

On Monday, February 14, Alex Bilodeau won the first gold medal ever on Canadian soil for Freestyle Men’s Moguls. 2 days later, he came to the Pan Pacific to spend some time with his family. The scene at the Hotel was a media frenzy and a proud moment for those who got a chance to meet and greet with him.

Alex Bilodeau visits the Pan Pacific Vancouver

The Canada Day Photo Contest

Before July 1st came around, we invited everyone with a camera to show their Canada Day Spirit for a chance to win a 2 night stay at the Pan Pacific Vancouver.

The winning entry was Lisa Choi from Parliament Hill, Ottawa

This is my 5 year old daughter, Amelia. We are celebrating at Parliament Hill in Ottawa where we live.

In the end, we received a ton of responses and some inspiring photos from around the country.

The Canada Day Photo Contest Winner

Kyle Bailey Visits the Pan Pacific Vancouver

Throughout the past year, I’ve made numerous friends through some our various social media channels, including our Flickr page. One photo-stream I particularly enjoyed was Kyle Bailey’s, as he’s one of the better HDR photographers in the biz. One day I called him to the Pan Pacific to hang out and take a few photos.

Photo: The Vancouver Convention Center, seen from the Pacific Club Lounge

Kyle and I chatted up on our perspective on social media and he gave me a few pointers on how to take better photos. This was just one many new friends I made through engaging with our readers.

Kyle Bailey visits the Pan Pacific Vancouver

Christmas Wish Breakfast

For the last 22 years, the Pan pacific hosts an annual Christmas Wish Breakfast where thousands of toys and cash are donated to the Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau. All of those who donate as well are invited to a complimentary buffet breakfast in the Cafe Pacifica Restaurant.

This past November the Hotel received over 30,000 toys and raised $30,000 in cash. That morning 20,000 eggs and 25,000 sausages were served to over 4,000 Vancouverites for breakfast. It made for a humbling experience and a pleasure to witness a toy mountain grow to the ceiling.

Christmas Wish Breakfast 2010

These experiences were only a handful of great memories from the year that was. Since the blog’s inception, we’ve received loads of suggestions, comments, feedback (both positive and negative) as well as some notable attention.

Ultimately, the whole concept is a team effort that comes together each week with assistance from the entire Pan Pacific Staff.

A big thank you to everyone who continues to read the blog each week and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

The month of June will see plenty of exciting events and activities which we’ll be spotlighting this week, so be sure to check back for updates.

In the meantime, here’s a look at some of the best photos from the moth of May:

Vancouver Sun Run

On Mother’s Day, May 9, 2010, over 51,419 people took to the streets of Vancouver to participate in the Vancouver Sun Run.

Vancouver Sun Run | Photo: VS

This photo captures a wave runners, wheelers, walkers and joggers as they begin their 10km treck around the city.

First place Kip Kangogo of Kenya finished the race in a smooth 29 minutes, two seconds. Last place took 5 hours and 34 minutes to complete the race.

To get a feel for the race, check out this video shown by Vancouver Sun, This is what 50,000 People Looks Like.

BC Place Dome Deflates

On May 4, 2010, BC Place Stadium deflated its giant pillow-cushion dome which stood tall for 27 years in the heart of Downtown, Vancouver.

At 11am, all 16 fans were turned off and the bubble deflated in less than 50 minutes.

The dome was deflated to make way for a $563 million retractable roof which will extend the life of the stadium by 40 years. Next year it will be home to the Vancouver Whitecaps, the BC Lions and the 2011 Grey Cup.

This triptych photo portrays the deflation process in HDR. To watch a time lapse video of the deflation, click here.

Orca by Douglas Coupland at Vancouver Convention Centre

Here’s an image of the new Digital Orca which lies in front of the VCC West.

Orca | Photo: Susan Gittins

According to artist Douglas Coupland, the Orca “breaks down a three-dimensional Orca whale into cubic pixels—making a familiar symbol of the West Coast become something unexpected and new.”

The Orca is already drawing crowds and has received some mixed reviews. Personally, I think it’s pretty interesting.

Canucks Playoff Mobile

This one is still tough to digest…

Canucks Mobile | Photo: Susan Gittins

This year the Vancouver Canucks returned to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs with confidence and focus only to be bounced by their heated rival, the Chicago Blackhawks in 6 games.

Never the less, it was only a few weeks ago that Canuck playoff fever was at a high and the fans were out showing their colours.

This old Pontiac was the un-official Canucks mobile, often spotted downtown turning heads and hearing the honks and cheers of onlookers.

Until next year…

Vancouver Convention Center and Canada Place

Vancouver Convention Center | Photo: HDR Cafe

A pretty cool perspective image of the Vancouver Convention Center (left), the North Shore Mountains, and Canada Place (right).

Cruise Ship

The Canada Place Cruise Ship Terminal has been busy this May with thousands of travellers setting sail to their favourite getaway destinations.

This summer is cruise ship season and the Terminal will harbour almost 300 cruise ships carrying over 1 million travellers.

Norwegian Sun | Photo: Gosh@

This is a shot of the Norwegian Sun, a 1000 foot vessel with a passenger capacity of 2,300 travellers.

If you ever come across any interesting photos from around Vancouver, send me the links in the comments and I’ll feature them in our next photo set!

Welcome to the new blog Room With A View!  This is my first week at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Vancouver and I have been blessed with the fortunate position to capture some of the amazing events and interactions that take place in the Pan Pacific as well as in Downtown Vancouver.

Each week I will showcase everything from exciting exhibits taking place in our front lobby, to cultural events held in Robson Square.  I’ll scour the hotel for interesting facts and characters, sharing their personal stories and advice for visitors and locals alike. So while other people are doing REAL work, I will get to enjoy a waterfront view while updating this blog and our other social platforms with some of the coolest and most interesting events taking place in your city – beautiful Vancouver, B.C.

Also, with the Vancouver 2010 Games less than a month away, I’ll be able to offer an insider view on all the action downtown.

Keep up to date with what’s going on in your backyard by visiting our blog every week and joining us on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and Youtube!

I’m always looking for great story ideas, so leave a comment below and let me know what you’d like to hear.