First, the neighborhood: The location of this apartment could not be more convenient for firsttime visitors to Vancouver. It's right in the heart of downtown, and its close proximity to the Burrard Skytrain station as well as many bus stops makes it a great base for exploring the city without a car.

Another bonus: Epic Rides and Snowbus (two companies offering express bus service to/from Whistler) both have stops next to the nearby Burrard Station. Very convenient, especially for early morning departures.

The immediate area is dominated by corporate offices and pied-à-terres, which means that it's fairly empty in the evenings and on weekends, but that didn't bother us at all. The nighttime quiet was conducive to sleep, and whenever we wanted after-hours diversion, we just walked to nearby Gastown.

The Indian restaurant on the building's first floor was excellent! And during weekdays there are plenty of food trucks around for cheap eats.

Our host Josh (a.k.a. Jonah/John?) outfitted the apartment with everything we could want and more: snacks, coffee and tea supplies, flatware and dishes, cleaning supplies, an umbrella, robes and slippers, toiletries, tourist brochures, etc. It was the most thoughtfully appointed AirBnB I've seen yet!

A few days prior to our visit, Josh emailed us a very thorough guide which contained a plethora of useful information -- including the wifi password, which proved itself extremely useful when we arrived in the lobby and had to use my phone's Skype app to get in touch with Josh (since the building's front desk wouldn't contact him for us). Definitely make note of this if you're traveling without a Canadian SIM card.