Wanderlust

I came to Wanderlust because it was the only place that I could find close by that was selling Pelican cases. I needed some for work, so I bought three Elite Weekender cases for over $ 700 a piece. As I run a mobile service that is on the road every day, my company goes through cases like toilet paper so I thought it would be a worth-​while investment to go with a more expensive option that has a lifetime warranty.
I was really happy with the cases… that is until the left wheel fell off on every case that we had purchased! It only took 2 weeks for one of them to fall apart — 2 months was the longest I could get one to last. Initially, I dealt with Pelican directly. Their service is great but they take a while to send you a new case so I eventually tried to claim my warranty at Wanderlust in order to remedy my downtime. So I phoned Wanderlust about the issue but instead of giving me a new case they immediately deferred the issue to Pelican, saying they would have to wait to get replacement parts from them despite the fact that they clearly still had new cases in stock. You’d think when you spend $ 2100 on 3 cases, you’d get a little bit more customer service.
OK fine, so I went back to dealing directly with Pelican. At least they’ve been good to me. After 6 months of them sending us wheels and new cases to try to remedy the problem, the wheels kept falling off time and time again. So they sent me some completely different cases (I ended up getting the Storm iM2720’s) which seemed much better suited to our work. But then as I did a little research after the fact, I realized these cases are much cheaper than the $ 700 cases I bought at Wanderlust! In fact, I also found out that I overpaid for the cases and would have been much better off ordering the same cases from the Internet.
After a lot of back and forth with Pelican, they have basically now told me that I can’t get any money back, but they’re happy to send me more free Pelican gear to make up the difference (which I no longer need). I’d much rather just have cash but now I guess I’ll be taking them up on their offer and trying to sell off a brand new Pelican case (of your choice!) on Craigslist to get back my lost funds.
I realize my gripe has been just as much with Pelican as it has been with Wanderlust, but if Wanderlust cannot stand behind their products and offer me direct customer service without passing the buck, I have no choice but to leave them a poor review. The only reason I’m giving them more than one star is that they had the option to buy Pelican in the first place.
If anybody wants a brand new Pelican case of about $ 350-​$ 400 in value, please private message me.
Thank you for wasting so much of my time, Wanderlust!

The two stars are for how big the store is. There’s quite a big selection of travel related products and accessories if you’re not on a budget. If you can find a better travel store I would greatly encourage you to go there instead just to avoid the breathtakingly patronizing staff. I can only assume the two older white guys I encountered are owners because I don’t think you can get away with treating people the way they do if the threat of being fired is a reality for you. The first guy seemed miffed I was bothering him with product questions/didn’t really have any answers and very much didn’t care. Cool, that’s fine, I can respect apathy to a certain extent. The second guy was just flat out rude and it took every Canadian bone in my body to stay civil. I suppose my expectations are partially to blame here because I was honestly expecting peaceful hippies with a name like Wanderlust.

Great store that I only just found out about, plenty of travel books and tonnes of great quality luggage.

I came here ’cause my best friend and I are going on a big holiday to Barcelona Spain for Primavera 2014. We needed some supplies that weren’t already in our collection of travel items. We came here based on the fantastic reviews.
The store is $$$, however, we did get everything we needed/​wanted. certain things are way too over priced than what they should be.
The store is open until 7 pm making it easier to visit after work (we need to work a daily 9 — 5 job in order to pay for that vacation).
I initially came in here for a plug adapter and walked out with that and more.
They have everything that you could want on your trip beyond luggage. There were things that I didn’t even think that I needed but bought ’cause I was convinced that I needed it.
In addition to the Euro plug/​voltage converter I bought: a mini flat iron that is universal with all voltages (i am not vacationing with bad hair, that’s just not an option for me), a money belt with super security against the best of pick pockets, vacuum air pressure bags (the kind that compress your clothes by 75% so that I have more space in my suitcase) and jet lag pills. I had a large bill, however, these are things that I can use frequently.
The customer service was really good. They guy opened some of the money belts for me from the package for me to try on. He was also patient with me in answering all my questions.

Go to the Travel Bug on Broadway. Wanderlust staff will make you feel like a shoplifter. They don’t greet you they just dog you and pretend to organize the shelves while peering out of the corner of their eyes. Hilarious experience.

Started as a great travel bookstore so the basis of it is totally legit IMO. Staff helpful with questions, but let you be too.

Worst customer service I’ve ever seen. Walked in, there were THREE employees behind a desk doing what appeared to be nothing, did not even make eye contact with me as I walked passed them so I’m not shocked they didn’t say hello. I was the only customer in the store, not even a single attempt to help me (again, three useless employees standing at the till). I left not wanting to purchase anything out of disgust. Guess they’re used to an empty store.

great product and good service

Travel is their business & they really are very helpful folks to get to know. We love their great selection of travel guides & travelogues. The amazing collection of maps is terrific. Travel necessities such as different power plugs, money belts & so much more all there. And there are a wide variety of luggage to suit. owners are into travel. Staff is great.

Wanderlust has an excellent selection of reasonably priced travel products but comically terrible customer service. I have been to the store twice and have had the same experience both times.
Step one: you walk into the store and there are usually two or three gentlemen standing behind the counter, all of them staring at you blankly;
Step two: you feel awkward because you’re being stared at, and since you were raised right, you say hello;
Step three: the blank stares continue through complete and utter silence; and,
Step four: you proceed to browse through the store, and none of the staff make any effort whatsoever to acknowledge your presence or offer any assistance.
There is a fine line between being artfully left alone to shop at your leisure and being completely ignored. Wanderlust has yet to find that balance. Too bad.
PS: I did have better luck when I actually called and spoke with a salesperson on the phone; that experience was far more pleasant than my in-​store visit.

Talk about one-​stop shopping for all your travel needs! Everything from luggage to jet-​lag pills can be found in this store.
In preparation for an upcoming trip, I visited Wanderlust at the recommendation of a friend. I picked up some guide books for the cities I plan on visiting, along with the necessary universal adapters for charging my devices abroad. One of the employees was exceptionally helpful in assisting me when I couldn’t decide which adapter to get. I ended up choosing a combination USB/​universal adapter which will be very convenient for charging my iPhone at the same time as my camera battery.
They have an excellent selection of travel bags, suitcases in various sizes, maps, guidebooks and travel accessories galore. I like that they also carry items like travel size hair dryers, flat irons, etc. for those who want to pack extra-​light.

From the outside, Wanderlust looks smaller than it is. Once inside it’s magical doors, you’re exposed to a world, literally!
From suitcases to mosquito nets and fast drying underwear (17 countries, 6 weeks, 1 pair of underwear is what the label said) this store has everything for any style of traveler. Sure, the prices are a bit high, but all of those convenience sized travel aids are a pretty penny.
I was buying a wall map and the shop clerk was super helpful. They opened maps and laid them out for me to look at as I made my decision. And the prices on the maps? Less than I expected. Mine was only $ 10… although the huge one they have behind the desk, I’m sure would put a bigger dent in the pocketbook.
But the part of the store that had me checking my airmiles balance? All the novels laid out next to the travel guides of different regions. I wonder how many points it takes to get to Italy!

I stopped by this store randomly on my trip to Vancouver and it was amazing! It had a cool feel to it and there was a ton of books and guides for every country imaginable! I also love reading travel literature, so I was glad to see there was a nice selection of books. The woman at the counter was really nice and helpful too.

I am officially a fan of this store. For my upcoming Europe trip I was only after a simple Paris idea guide, nothing in depth or touristy. Just some ideas of where to go to kill time and of course they had it, thank you TimeOut. What I wasn’t expecting was the Berlin moleskin notebook that has maps of Berlin along with note pages, a pocket, tracing sheets and more. This travel store has more than just tourist guides, I am now more than ever to inspired to live like a Berliner not just trinke Bier und esse Wurste.
I was also able to find a nice little zip compartment for dirty undies. We ALL need one of those, don’t we? Yes, I think it was worth mentioning.

If you are looking for a travel guide for some off the map place, well ok they don’t exist anymore but good guides to Inner Mongolia are hard to find, they have it or will get it. They have evolved from the best travel guide and travel literature store in town to a wide selection of travel luggage and even obscure electrical transformers. The staff are very knowledgeable and low key, no pressure, if you need help ask for it and its forth coming, just the way I like staff in store created to get you browsing.

Whether you’re looking for something specific to guide you in your travels, or just need some ideas for your next trip (local or the far corners of the world), Wanderlust will answer all your questions.
The store is separated into two main sections, the travel book section and the travel gadgets section. The book collection covers every travel region/​topic you could imagine, geared toward anyone from the travel virgin to the most seasoned backpacker. I’m moving to another country soon, and I know this is where I will come for any resources I may need for traveling/​living/​surviving abroad.
The second and equally impressive section is the gadgets section, with anything and everything to help you make your trip more efficient/​enjoyable. You could go to other stores for this stuff, like Mountain Equipment Co-​op for example, but Wanderlust has it all in one place at one time. If you’re looking for bags, money-​belts, vacuum-​packs, first aid kits, etc etc etc, Wanderlust can be your one-​stop-​shopping location. You will most likely pick up a few items you never thought you needed, but they are sure to save you a lot of trouble while traveling around.

Where can you find me before a big trip to the exotic lands or just before a quick jolt to Maui let’s say?
At Wanderlust of course. I drive all the way to Kitsilano just to go check out the wide selection of suitcases, other luggage, maps, language books and guidebooks. For more exotic travelers they have water purification pills and those hidden pouches for money and passports. I think the best part is the majority of people working here are well-​traveled and they can give you tips about where to go and what to do.

The worst thing about going into a travel store is answering ‘nowhere’ when the well-​traveled sales folks ask where you’re off to. Other than that, Wanderlust is travel savvy-​ness at its finest, with every type of guidebook, map and inspirational travel novels by such authors as Tony Wheeler, one of the original founders of Lonely Planet. This is but one half of the rather enormous store, the other consisting of every travel gadget and wizardry you can think of, including luggage, travel tags, money belts and water-​tight cases for everything else.
I need a destination just to have an excuse to purchase shiny new luggage!

Wanderlust certainly inspires just that. Half the store is filled with travel guide books and maps for locales around the world. The other half has luggage, toiletry cases, luggage tags and other items that you might want for an upcoming trip. You might just be inspired to buy a guidebook, a language book, a couple of pieces of luggage, and a water purification kit and then hail a cab to the airport from 4^th Ave.
When I visited Wanderlust they had a «help wanted» sign up that specified that they wanted to hire «well traveled» people so you can expect the employees to know a thing or two about travel.