The Meridian at 910 Beach

Located in the cool West End neighborhood of downtown Vancouver, the Meridian at 910 Beach is a great alternative to some of the other full service hotels in the area. Built as condos and then turned into hotel rooms for short and extended stays, 910 Beach offers a somewhat unique stay.
No they don’t have a lobby bar or restaurant or even a sundry, but what they do have are decent sized rooms (the queen suite was perfect for two), super clean facility, great location (very close to the water; walk or short cab from all of the desired DT locales; neat «pirate» pub just outside), really reasonable prices compared to other nearby choices (@ ~200/​night, quite the deal), and a washer and dryer in your room if you require. :) The rooms are less sterile than typical chains; they feel a little more «homie» which can be a nice touch if traveling a lot.
There’s coffee available in the a.m. and some fruit and/​or a muffin to start your day. No bells and whistles; however, no major complaints either — except maybe the birds. Ermagosh! Lol! [See tip below]
Overall: Simple. Affordable. Needs met.
TIP: Be sure to take ear plugs if you’re a light sleeper, as seagulls flock in-​between the buildings at the crack of dawn and they’re very boisterous upon wakening. Seriously. I know the hotel can’t help it, but where’s a BB gun when you need one? Had to deduct one star because not the most quiet place to try and hang your head. I guess the compromise you make if you want to stay near the waterfront. Huh.

They should have greeted me with this song from Les Miserables playing in the background… «Charge ‘em for the lice, extra for the mice — Two percent for looking in the mirror twice — Here a little slice, there a little cut — Three percent for sleeping with the window shut» *For the record, there was no lice or mice. It was very clean.
The location is great, but the amount of nickel and diming that takes place is ridiculous. I booked online and it said $ 120 American per night. I stayed two nights in a junior suite, which had decent space, but very outdated compared to a modern hotel (think upscale hotel façade with Motel 6 furniture) — Squeaky bed, squeaky couch, small standard definition TV from the early 90s connected to a DVD player.
The bath towels were comparable to old dish towels both in feel and size. They are so thin, the steam from the shower actually made them damp prior to drying off.
The breakfast was a stack of bagels layed out on a table in a back room by the front desk.
Parking is secure and in the garage, but there is no mention of the expense until you check in. It is about $ 20 per day of use, so a two night stay will run you about $ 60 for parking.
Internet is in the room, but once again, it will cost you for access — about $ 10 per day. I’m not sure if that is per device.
Upon checkout, my bill was nearly $ 400 for two nights. I just want to reiterate that it is NOT worth that price. Save your money and get a nice meal or two somewhere.
There are definitely places in the area that will cost less and offer more bang for your buck. Obviously, if you need a small kitchen, your options are harder to find, but I will not be returning.

I spent two nights in a blandly functional, very tight junior suite on the fourth floor. The furniture (one bed, a two-​person sofa, a coffee table, and an armless stuffed chair) occupied ALL the space except for the one-​person cooking space (and a large storage closet, relative to the size of the room itself, that contained a fan). The bed (the hardest I’ve ever slept on, and still comfortable) was situated directly across, and only a couple steps from, the stove.
The hotel is nicely situated, making a trip to Granville Island easy to accomplish both on foot across the bridge and at the Hornby Street dock for the Aquabus. Still, I wasn’t enthused by because it was just so tight and bland.
The people at the desk, though, were warmly friendly and the hotel did offer a little high-​carbohydrate food in the morning. I remember apples. I don’t remember if they also offered bananas. Muffins, coffee, and orange juice. No protein at all.
The room was very clean and was surrounded by towers of apartments, giving it a living-​too-​close-​in-​the-​city feel and no view except the neighboring buildings and a patio below. The parking garage was tight but not scary, which was nice.
It was worth what I paid to stay there but just that: value for money spent ($ 15/​day for wifi, but it was absolutely reliable and fast) with no particular charm and no personality, but it did have the convenience of being fully equipped to cook, if it had been necessary, and it was very clean.
I think I’m just wearying of places that aren’t really full-​service hotels. The facility advertises its strengths fairly; I just wasn’t that into it and when the heavy rain set in on Sunday morning and I was pinned down, that was the straw that sent me home early.

After searching Unilocal for a cheap, viable option for my out of town conference in Vancouver, I was super excited about a star review for 910 Beach. All my colleagues were staying at the Fairmont or the Marriot Hotels. There are some great hotels in Vancouver, and if you like service and Wi-​Fi and a bellman, this is not one of them. If you want to move to Vancouver and feel like a local, here’s your place. The location is great for long walks/​jogs along the beach, quick transportation to Granville ‘Island’ and saving money on food by cooking at home.
From the Conference Centre, I walked just once and it was about a 35 minute walk, with a rolling carry-​on bag, and heavy purse in tow. The #22 bus stops about 2 blocks away, up a steep hill, and will take you within a block of the conference centre for $ 2.50.
if you have mobility limitations, this is also probably not the place for you, the Beach is down a hill or stairs from Burrard Street. But, if you want to visit Yaletown, Granville Island, and spend some time on the beach, the location here is great. The bed was basic and covered in polyester flowery bedspread (Yuck!), The bathroom is a little old and small, but clean and soap, shampoo and a hair dryer were supplied.
Oh– there is a free breakfast spread every morning that I found to be more than sufficient– bagels and pastries, juice and fruit. Great pre and post early morning workouts!

Absolutley loved this place. The rooms were very spacious and they came equipped with so much. I loved the fact that they had a private deck… I almost wanted to move in. Every morning I was greeted with a USA Today newspaper. This was in a quite convienient location to get around anywhere. If I go back to Vancouver anytime soon I will probably come back here!

I’m not picky about my accommodations, but I thougt 910 Beach House was marginal, at best. The space was small and poorly laid out. There was enough deck space to fit 50 people but not enough room in one of the bedrooms to fit a suitcase. The breakfast consisted of some Costco muffins and watered down OJ. And, those threadbare towels were like drying yourself with a dinner napkin. The place had a soul-​less feel — from the efficiently detached front desk staff to the functionally bland décor. If you’re looking for a place to stay in Vancouver, you can definitely do better.

The Meridian is a great condo-​converted-​hotel. It is a hotel without all the fluff like room service and in-​house services like salons and masseuses that can come to your room. There’s no dry-​cleaning offered but if you’re looking for a comfortable, affordable, clean place to stay this is it!
Things our unit had:
— Washer/​dryer (I brought my own detergent/​dryer sheets, it’s not provided.)
— Dish washer (our unit came with dish washing detergent under the sink)
— Iron and ironing table
— Hair dryer
— Fridge/​sink/​electric stove (all worked well!)
— 2 each of basic kitchen utensil (forks, knives, plates, wine glasses, etc.)
— 1 each of things like a cheese grater and scissors, etc.
Other Things:
–The place is very kid and family friendly and totally affordable for business travellers and couples.
— You get a great deal and it’s within walking distance to Robson Street and a few minutes to the waterfront. There is also a little boat ($ 3.00 one way, $ 5 round trip) that goes to Granville Island.
–There are also buses you can easily catch to Kitsilano or to the Canada Line (goes to the airport and Richmond).
— Yaletown is a few blocks away, and there is a Capers natural food store in Yaletown that I went to for snacks.
— You get daily room service: clean towels each day and cleaning of your room.
The front desk service people were nice and even called a cab for us on our last day. You can check out at your regular time (11:00 am) and have the front desk hold your luggage if you are leaving town later in the day.
This is the place to stay if you don’t need all the amenities of a hotel that can bring up $$$ and want a nice home-​y comfortable place to relax.
If you’re coming with a family with small kids, avoid walking down Granville on your way to the condo since there are porn shops and some questionable looking folks (i.e. hold your purse tight and avoid 2 am walks). This is a few blocks from the condo but far enough that you can walk a street down and feel safer with your kids.
Some travel sites have reviews saying the towels here are thin, but they absorb great and my boyfriend who is 6’0 was able to dry himself just fine and if you’re looking for plush thick towels, you might want to go to another boutique hotel that specializes in that stuff. The pillows were soft and comfy and the cable channels were great. They had TSN (Canada’s version of ESPN) and some U.S. news and basics like CNN, etc.
I’ll definitely be back because it was a great deal cost-​wise and close to everything in terms of transit when you don’t rent a car. We also had a decent view of the bridge and great morning sun each day. :)
p. s. There is an additional $ 100 security/​safety deposit that you have to put down when you check in but you won’t be charged as long as you don’t throw your TV out the window when you leave (you just pay your hotel rate and regular hotel taxes. Taxes can also be refunded through the Canadian government — see the link on the Meridian’s website).