Don't be fooled by the elegant and clean decor of the restaurant and bar, or the cosy reception area and helpful staff. Once you get to your room you will find outdated, shabby decor, dis-functional room layouts and some serious doubts about whether to stay or not. Get over them. The Sylvia hotel is one of those hotels you would love to restore to it's former glory with style and features which you know are in there but you just cant dig them out. What the Sylvia has is a great location - just over from the beach and a minute or so walk from Stanly park. Our party had 3 rooms each with their own querkyness. In one you could not stand up at the toilet because the sink unit was behind you. (great for the traveling businessman because they can sit their laptop on the vanity unit and work while sitting on the toilet). In another the windows would not stay open and slammed down (luckily not on anyone's fingers). One room consisted of a small single room plus 2 doubles in the adjacent room which would have been better knocked into one large room to allow for space. In a third there was a kitchen and separate lounge which also had a lack of anything to use in the kitchen. Towel sets seem to be given out sparingly as both rooms with 4 people only ever got 2 or 3 sets of towels. During our stay new furniture arrived in our rooms daily, firstly coffee tables, then chairs, then the pictures all got replaced. It became fun to guess what would be replaced next and I still wonder if this is part of the weekly entertainment at the Sylvia but I assume it is an attempt at updating. It would be better to spend some time decorating rather than changing the furniture. So if you are the type who likes clean modern hotels or elegant old world hotels then then this is not for you. But if you have a sense of humor, treat the hotel as a place to sleep rather than a home away from home, have a sense of adventure and want to be near the beach then this may well be the place for you. I saw many happy faces during my stay which is more than I can say for some hotels. PS Everyone who stays at the Sylvia for more than a few days learns that the older lif sometimes gets stuck before the door closes but a swift nudge on the sensor strip down the edge soon gets it goiung again. PPS Watch for the racoons on the vines...

The Sylvia is either to your taste or not. Glitzy it's not. The decor is distinctly anti-modern and rooms and hallways exude a well worn comfort. But the rooms are also large and bright, the housekeeping just fine, the views can be excellent, and the location, on the fringe of downtown but nestled up against English Bay, fabulous. The lobby is a friendly circus. The breakfasts are very good, provided you avoid the continental one. We would go again, and again.

This appears, on first glance, to be a perfectly charming, slightly run-down boutique hotel. It is that--but it is also a place where, in broad daylight and in the space of five minutes as I was checking out, a thief managed to slip through the small and sparsely populated "cozy" little check-in area and swipe my iMac from the spot where I had placed it, not five feet behind me and leaning against my suitcase, in full view of the desk clerk. I'm an experienced traveler--not paranoid, but careful. There was only one other person sitting on a sofa, somewhere behind me. The desk clerk should have seen everything, but claimed not to have. You may imagine my shock. It turns out that Vancouver, although possessing a low violent crime rate, has a staggeringly high petty theft rate due to the preponderance of junkies. In any case, my trip--and year--were ruined by my brief stay at this thieve's nest. Management was unhelpful and of course denied any liability. There was no signage warning guests about the possibility of theft. I found out later that the lobby of the Sylvia is a known pass-through for thieves with precisely this sort of errand in mind. Appearances can be deceiving. I can't tell you not to stay here; I can warn you that you should assume that every single piece of luggage you bring with you is up for grabs the moment you set it down anywhere in the lobby. If that appeals to you...well, be my guest.

The Sylvia is not for everyone. Only those who want a perfect location, amazing views, mellow atmosphere, friendly staff and a comfortable room at a great price. It is not posh, plush or first class. It's a bit worn around the edges but feels more loved and cozy than tattered. Sort of like your grandmother's old house from the 40's that may have been redecorated on the 70's but hasn't been touched since. It's spectacularly located on English Bay, in our favorite part of Vancouver. A few minutes from Stanley Park, Cole Harbour and downtown. A short aqua bus ride from Granville Island. There's a Starbucks about 30 seconds away, and some decent restaurants on Denman Street around the corner. The weather was perfect when we were there (end of August)- so I don't know if the hotel would be too warm in the hot weather or chilly in Winter. For the bargain room rates, one doesn't get down pillows, Italian duvets or gold faucets. If that's want you want, head to to Fairmont or Pan Pacific. You won't have a better location, but you'll be paying three times as much for those down pillows. We travel with our own and it saves a bundle!