Searching for a Place to Stay

Have you ever stayed in a bed and breakfast before? How did you find out about it? Well, on the west side / south of downtown Vancouver there are no hotels, which is surprising since the university is nearby.

Well, when my parents mentioned that they are coming to visit and were looking for a place to stay that would be close to my home, I didn't know what to tell them. But I quickly found that with no hotels nearby the bed and breakfast business thrives. There are over 60 B&Bs in the area.

Over the last week I've spent hours flipping through websites, reading reviews, emailing inn keepers and visiting various B&Bs.

This is the Light Heart Inn located on the east side. It is close to public transit and Commercial Drive, but it's about a half an hour from my home. The front yard is sunken allowing for more privacy from the school across the street. There is a small metal table for four which would be a nice place for breakfast on a sunny day. The house has two rooms around the back that have their own entrances, private baths and queen beds. There is also a kitchenette for the guests along with a computer for surfing the internet. The house is clean but worn.

The host Greg, is very nice. When he is not cooking for the guests he's making furniture in his on site studio.

Greystone B&B is located on 14th and Maple, just a stone's throw from Broadway where major bus lines can whisk you away to downtown or you can window shop your way to Granville street.

Greystone offers online booking, making it very convenient to see if rooms are available without waiting for an email or phone call to be returned. The front garden is lush with flowers and brushes allowing for a relaxing morning reading the paper either sitting on the front steps or on the bench. The sitting room floods with light and has a fireplace for those cold winter evenings.

Graham showed my the two en suites both good size with queen beds. The Kitsilano room is bright and has a window overlooking the front garden. While the Shaughnessy room is larger and has a private entrance but is rather dark in comparison.

Graham was charming and his house is warm and comfortable. I can see why he has so many nice comments on TripAdvisor.com

Well, Greystone was booked but as I was leaving Graham handed me the BC Bed and Breakfast Guide. I flipped to Vancouver and almost all the places in the book I had read about previously. But Third House Inn caught my eye. The rooms were simple, bright, and cheerful. They lacked the clutter and were streamlined. I shot off an email to Genise and she invited me over to take a look at her home.

This is the second year for the b&b and she is loving it. With her sons grown and out of the house she decided to unclutter the rooms and set them up for guests. She offers one large top floor bedroom with a queen bed, sitting chair and on suite bathroom with shower. The other room has two twin beds which is perfect for friends traveling together and has a bathroom right outside the bedroom door.

Genise was enjoyable to talk to and next week we are meeting for tea.

Through all of this I've meet some very interesting owners, and learned to make sure that when staying at a B&B make sure that it is licensed and recognized by an organization such as the Bed and Breakfast Guild. If the place doesn't have a logo or mention it on the website, be sure to ask. This means that the house has been inspected and meets strict guidelines.

Also be sure you know what you're paying for. Does the cost of the room cover breakfast? Can you opt out if you wish? What does 'breakfast included' mean? Some places just have a basket of bread and fruit while other offer sit down hot meals at a set time.

I think staying at a bed and breakfast could be the way to go. You get to meet local folks who know about the area and can share with you his/her favorite spots to check out. Also the opportunity to meet other travelers and discuss interesting topics and travel stories is well worth getting up early to have breakfast.