My family (a total of 6 people) stayed at Tina's place over Christmas. The location was amazing and was easily walkable to everything we needed. We never needed to use our car during the 5 days we were there. We had 4 adults and 2 kids staying there. Tina's place had enough space that we didn't feel cramped and we were able to cook up Christmas dinner in the kitchen without issue.
A few notes which future guests may find helpful:
- You access the unit through on alley. It's a pretty wide ally which provides access to parking garages, loading docks and the valet service of a large hotel. One advantage is you can park for a few minutes directly in front of the unit (it's marked as a loading zone) to offload luggage. Much easier than dragging it though parking garages and waiting for elevators.
- Noise level was reasonable. I honestly found it a bit quieter than a condo unit on the 20th floor we previously stayed at in the Yaletown area. As with anything downtown in a large city, there is going to be some noise.
- One of the bedrooms is pretty small. Pretty much the whole room is taken up by the bed and it would be difficult to storage any luggage there. We used that as a kids room, so it wasn't be issue for us, but keep that in mind if you plan to have 6 adults in the unit.
- Overall condition/quality of the unit was average. Everything was functional though there were some signs of wear and tear (scuff marks on walls, kitchen sink faucet was lose, towel rack/TV mount which had been removed, holes plastered over, but not repainted, etc). All minor things and nothing which would prevent us from wanting to stay here again, but if you're seeking 5-star luxury this probably isn't the place for you.
- We did have a water leak from the 2nd floor bathroom into the kitchen during our stay. Tina responded quickly and was able to get something to come fix it within a few hours with minimal impact to our stay (this was on the afternoon of Dec 24th when I'm sure plumbers are in short supply).
- The parking provided is not secured by a gate except during the times the garage is closed (11pm - 6am). We didn't have any issues, though Vancouver does have a high property crime rate, so do be prudent and ensure there's nothing valuable left in your car.
- Food suggestions: 49th Parallel Café & Lucky's Doughnuts at the corner W Georgia and Thurlow is a great place to grab breakfast. Thierry Chocolaterie Patisserie Cafe on Alberni is great for dessert and is generally open pretty late. CinCin on Robson is excellent for Italian (and is owned by the same restaurant group which owns Thierry). Damso Modern on Bute for Korean. Fritz European Fry House on Davie to get your Poutine fix.