Heather and Ben’s airbnb at Fortune House is centrally located in Vancouver’s downtown and walkable to adjacent neighborhoods in the Davie Village, West End, Granville and Yaletown, and it's about 8 minutes away on foot to the nearby Skytrain station under The Bay department store on Granville. Their second-floor room is a minimally relaxed and sparsely furnished unit that's clean, comfortable and faces towards the lively entertainment scene along Granville Street, Vancouver’s popular nightlife corridor.
Our hosts offered a seamless key exchange and friendly communications via airbnb’s messaging service. We also appreciated the distinctive framed wireless login credentials in the room, and the resourceful guest manual covering everything from building info, laundry and gym, and emergency numbers.
Although we enjoyed a pleasant stay, we had stumbled upon a few mild issues. We were somewhat disappointed in the strict check-out time on our last day, having to carry our packs with us until we needed to return to the train station. Our train departure to leave Vancouver was later in the afternoon, and we had to pack up and check out early instead of extend our stay briefly through mid-day. Additionally, the Insignia television remote required a tight grip on the power button to boot up which took almost 30 seconds before responding. And as the Granville nightlife scene was in full swing, we were happy to have brought our own ear plugs which came in handy at bedtime to muffle the lively crowds at night.
That said, our stay coincided during the opening weekend of the Vancouver International Film Festival, which was our primary ticket to be in town. The airbnb’s location is perfect, and it was a short walk to nearby participating film festival venues including Vancity Theatre and The Cinematheque. The neighborhood’s urban village setting outside the apartment building offers many great casual dining options, markets, retail, and cafes to kickstart and refuel throughout the day. Overall, our stay was mostly pleasant and comfortable in the unit, and the coffee available was appreciated by morning.