Fairmont Waterfront: A Girl's Weekend

After a busy start to September I was in need of a short vacation. Sadly I decided to cancel my original plans of a 10 day trip to Paris. While looking up activities closer to home I found that the Vancouver Convention centre is hosting a Van Gogh exhibit. I thought a short trip to Vancouver and a visit to the exhibit would make for a fun escape. While looking up hotels to stay at I was impressed by the Fairmont Waterfront. It had amazing views, a rooftop pool and is conveniently located by the Convention Centre.

Disclosure: This stay was kindly provided by the hotel. All thoughts and opinions are always my own.

ABOUT THE FAIRMONT WATERFRONT VANCOUVER

The Fairmont Waterfront is located on the downtown Vancouver harbour front. Since we were coming from Vancouver Island this was a convenient location for us since it is walking distance from the seaplane terminal and a short drive from the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal. We took the ferry over from Nanaimo and had a car with us. Self Parking is $56.00 per night and includes in-and-out privileges.

The hotel is also conveniently located next to Waterfront Skytrain station.

Address: 900 Canada Pl, Vancouver, BC V6C 3L5
Phone Number: (604) 691-1991
Website: https://www.fairmont.com/waterfront-vancouver

Check-in Time: 3:00 PM
Check-out Time: 12:00 PM

ABOUT OUR STAY

As I mentioned above access to the hotel is easy for those coming from Vancouver Island. Although check in is 3 pm, we had called the hotel earlier and they were able to accommodate an early arrival.

The check in process was smooth and the staff were very friendly which was a great start to our stay.

The hotel was so sweet and left us a welcome treat of wine, fruit and cheeses. The hotel has its own rooftop garden with four beehives that house 250,000 bees. They left us a bottle of the honey they make and it was delicious.

We stayed in a Signature Harbour View Room which has views of the mountains, ocean and the Vancouver Convention Center. I definitely recommend this room category! The room was a generous size for two people. These rooms are available on the 10th - 23rd floors.

ROOFTOP POOL AND GARDEN

One of the highlights of the hotel for me was the rooftop pool. The pool has gorgeous views of the city, harbour, and mountains. I enjoyed a morning coffee out on the pool deck followed by a quick dip. Even better the outdoor pool is heated so it was perfect to use even on a chill fall morning.

During the summer there is a cabana bar by the pool which serves drinks and food.

The rooftop garden which is accessible from the pool deck has a herb garden and bee hives. The hotel uses theses herbs and honey in the restaurant. There are tables and benches in the garden which are the perfect place to enjoy a coffee, drink or some food.

ARC RESTAURANT

ARC Restaurant is open every day for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch. The brunch sounds amazing and I will need to return to try it!

One of the highlights of our stay was our dinner at ARC Restaurant. The service was exceptional and the food was delicious. The restaurant uses fresh and local ingredients including herbs from their rooftop garden.

Currently the restaurant has a $49 three course dinner ($39 for 2 courses). We opted to order a la carte.

As with any Fairmont hotel, you cannot visit without trying a cocktail and ARC restaurant is no exception. Many cocktails feature ingredients from their rooftop garden including honey from their apiary.

For our starters we tried the Dungeness crab guacamole and the Baja ceviche tostada. These were both delicious. The seafood was so fresh and the flavours went well together.

For our mains we had the butter poached Haida Gwaii halibut (we substituted potatoes for gnocchi) and the spicy N'duja mussels and fries. Again the seafood in both dishes was delicious and fresh. The mussels were perfectly flavoured and the halibut was tender and flakey.

For dessert we indulged in one of the shareable desserts the Bee's Knees Sundae. I would say this is a must try dessert. The sundae features rooftop honey caramel, salted-honey pecan, torched honey marshmallow, vanilla ice-cream, cocoa brownie, and fudge sauce. As someone with a sweet tooth this dessert really blew me away.

EXPLORING VANCOUVER

The hotel’s location is convenient to explore many Vancouver sites.

During our stay we wanted to see the Van Gogh exhibit at the convention centre. This was another reason we chose to stay at the Fairmont Waterfront, it is located across the street from the convention centre. If you are a fan of Van Gogh this is a great way to appreciate his art. We wandered through a series of larger-than-life projections of some his masterpieces which were accompanied by immersive audio.

A short walk from the hotel is Gastown which is Vancouver’s oldest neighbourhood. Gastown is home to the whistling steam clock as well as many delicious restaurants and bars.

We went to Pourhouse for dinner, a personal favourite restaurant. They have delicious cocktails. My favourite menu item is the Pourhouse with foie grad added on for some extra indulgence. If you are able to go on a Sunday night they have live music.