Club Intrawest – Vancouver

I had the unfortunate experience of staying on a night when the fire alarm went off. I already provided feedback to Club Intrawest but the main issue is the fire alarm going off only for a minute, and leaving everyone on my floor confused as to whether or not we should continue to evacuate. Normally, I would, but then a series of PA announcements told us to wait for further instructions — at 1:30am, my brain could not tell if that meant it was a false alarm or if we should run for our lives. Since this location is run by the Sheraton, which occupies the floors below, there’s definitely some back and forth as to whose fault things are.
I’ve stayed with CI at this location a few times now and here is my general feedback:
*The HVAC system in the rooms are really loud. The one in the bedroom is so loud and turns on and off so suddenly I could not sleep with it on.
*The walls are pretty thin and so when the neighbors decide to have a party on a Sunday night at 12:30am, you’ll hear everything.
*Be sure to turn down the ringer of the room phone — the same night the fire alarm went off at 1:30am, the room phone rang at 4:30am. The hotel staff couldn’t track the call down.
Now onto the pluses:
*Really appreciate the alarm clocks that have USB, Lighting and legacy iPod/​iPhone connectors for charging
*Water from the taps looked clean to drink
*View is good — great close in location helps!
If CI members have questions or concerns, better call the main CI number rather than CI Vancouver. I first called CI Vancouver with my feedback above and the lady had no interest in my feedback and directed me to comment cards that get mailed to us. She have must been the CI employee on the 29^th floor of the hotel who was more interested in watching Football on TV than running the club!

If they call you up offering you a discount or free holiday with the exception that you do the time share presentation… don’t go. They almost hold you hostage against your will until the presentation is over even if you want to leave well before then. I am not sure how they got my phone number ‘in the first place cause clearly I’m not in their financial demographic who can even afford time share or benefit from it. The presentation was nice, we got food, however, I made it clear from the first moment that I was not interested at all nor ’cause I afford or want part of it. I initally agreed to the «holiday» as I was promised that there would be no pressure and that I could leave at any time during the presentation.

Over the years, my wife and I have enjoyed staying in this beautiful Intrawest Club on the mid-​upper 3 floors of the Shearaton Hotel. We love this place for (1) the spectacular views of the city and harbor right out of the floor-​to-​ceiling windows of our unit; (2) its convenient locale to various businesses and attractions. FREE wifi in room and the Club Lounge. Yes, they have fitness and swimming facilties.
Club Intrawest is mainly for members, but non-​members can also stay when there is vacancy. The place is well appointed, although a bit dated. It can be noisy if the upstairs unit is occupied.
DETAILS (YOU CAN SKIP)
1. CONVENIENT LOCALE TO FUN PLACES
This place is conveniently located in the Wall Center business district, walking distances to various attractions such as Yaletown, Gastown, Stanley Park, Waterfront to Granville!
The famed Capilano Suspension Bridge Park is located in North Vancouver. One can take the SEABUS (a ferry boat) accross the water to N. Vancouver.
— Indeed, my wife and I visited all those places and had a wonderful time!
2. ALL ROOMS HAVE SPECTACULAR VIEWS
The types of units vary from studio to 1-​bedroom suite with 1 or 2 baths, but ALL come with spectacular views of the city, harbor and mountain ranges — the «wall» facing the city and harbor is ALL floor-​to-​celing glass!
Our «1-​bedroom, 2bath and notch» unit has a relatively spacious, nicely furnished living room, which has a great view, of course; a kitchenette with a large island-​counter, small fridge, microwave, dish washer, wet bar, cabinets for cups an dishes; but no stove. The front entrance closet has a safe bolted on the floor. A hot water pot is provided for coffee and tea. Free wifi in the room. The bedroom suite is small with a queen size bed; has a corner sitting area, a cloth closet, a cozy bathroom, AND another small, charming area with bathtub and a bench seat; AND YES, a VIEW from the bathtub through the glass wall, too! For the view, each unit comes with a telescope for good measure! The small guest bathroom is has a shower stall.
Its small Club Lounge on the 29^th floor has a very comfortable sitting area, and of course, spectacular views! During business hours, it offers free coffee and concierge service. The concierge in this lounge and at the lobby are very friendly and helpful with good info on various attractions, hiking, dining, happy hours, entertainments.
Unlike typical Intrawest Club Properties located in a golf, ski, or water resort, this particular Club is within the Shearaton Hotel in downtown Vancouver. We have stayed in different Intrawest Club Properties in several states in the US, as well as in Canada and Mexico, and we like them all; this one in Vancouver is one of the few we frequently come back to.
3. A FEW MINOR POINTS:
— The unit can be quite noisy, if the one above yours is occupied.
— Although the property is quite well furnished and maintained, it is a bit dated.
— The bedroom is quite small and only has a queen size bed.
— The SAFE is placed too low to the floor, a bit difficult to access.
— Unlike most other Club Intrawest properties, this one does not have free self service laundry facility.
Mar 2014

The two most important things in the room (#2960) left something to be desired: the bed sagged in the middle and the chairs sagged too! (The chairs were wood framed with wide leather strips loosely woven, causing them to sag over time)
Everything else about the room and our stay was really great. Nice bathroom, nice kitchenette, nice TV, great view, good climate controls.
Unfortunately, a sagging bed and sagging chairs led to our backs going out (I’m still dealing with that two weeks after!). Not a great endorsement. If C.I. –Vancouver fixed those two things, I could have given them 5 stars.

Any hotel that provides telescopes in the room automatically gets five stars from me! The fact that you can point the telescope at any number of things out of your sweeping panoramic view of downtown Vancouver makes the flat screen TV seem trivial.
From my room I could see two separate bodies of water, a huge tree lined hill/​mountain, a few intersections, the museum steps that act as a forum for some of the more colorful citizens, and The Four Seasons hotel. It was really easy to see nature through the telescope, and watching people at the intersections was a breeze, but actually seeing into other people’s homes and private lives was near impossible. Guess that’s a good thing… for them.
The gigantic walk-​in shower was made of the coolest looking earth green tiles and the dark gray slate like floors made you feel like you were in a spa.
It also helped to have a little kitchenette where you could store cereal, milk, and microwave some popcorn. There was even a toaster! And, who doesn’t like toast?
The only things missing from this room was a robe, daily maid service, and complimentary coffee. There was a coffee maker but they didn’t provide you with coffee.
The reason some things were missing, and I got this fancy schmancy hotel for the price of a Holiday Inn was because it was sold as excess inventory on Expedia. The «hotel» is really a part of a time share family and takes up the top 3 floors of the Sheraton Hotel. It’s a bit odd, a little confusing, but if you get it for a steal it’s totally worth it.
Plus, they have telescopes!!!