Rosewood Hotel Georgia

Rooms and decor

Rosewood Hotel Georgia opened in 1927 at 801 West Georgia Street in the heart of downtown Vancouver — the oldest hotel in the city, which Rosewood bought and restored top to bottom in 2011 for CA$120 million. The building runs 12 storeys in Georgian Revival style, directly across from the Vancouver Art Gallery. There are just 156 rooms — properly boutique next to Pacific Rim's 367. They start with the 32 sqm Deluxe King and run up to the 110 sqm Lord Stanley Suite, done in contemporary heritage with a navy, grey and gold palette, Hermès linen and UK custom mattresses. The 5-piece bathroom is Calacatta marble with a separate soaking tub and rain shower, heated floors, Diptyque amenities and Frette robes. The high-ceilinged 1920s marble lobby is the shot everyone takes. Real reviews on Trip.com (9.3/10) and Booking (9.2) mostly praise the attentive service and the most luxurious bathrooms in town.

Food and amenities

The heart of Rosewood is Hawksworth Restaurant, chef David Hawksworth's room that has landed in Canada's Top 100 several years running, serving contemporary Canadian food on BC ingredients. The 7-course tasting menu runs about $120 a head, and the Sunday Brunch — the most talked-about in town — is roughly $70. Prohibition, the underground 1920s speakeasy, sits down an unmarked staircase beside the lobby, pouring classic cocktails at around $13-18 with live jazz Friday and Saturday. Bel Cafe opens at 06:30 for pastry and specialty coffee. Sense Spa runs Asian-inspired treatments with Subtle Energies products — the signature 90-minute is about $235, the couples package roughly $475. The 24-metre saltwater lap pool is underground on level 4, heated year-round, with a jacuzzi and sauna, and the fitness center runs 24 hours. Overall score 9.2/10.

Location and getting there

Rosewood sits at 801 West Georgia Street, about as central downtown as it gets. The Vancouver Art Gallery is directly across the street — a 30-second walk — and Robson Street, the brand-name shopping strip, is 5 minutes away. Granville SkyTrain station is a 3-minute walk, putting the Canada Line from YVR Airport at 28 minutes (about $6.90). BC Place, home of the Whitecaps and BC Lions and a major concert venue, is a 12-minute walk; Gastown is 10 minutes and Canada Place is 8. Stanley Park is a 15-minute bus ride. YVR Airport is 13 km out, a 30-minute drive — an Uber runs about $33-44, though the Canada Line is the easiest way in.

Things to know before booking

Straight talk to help you decide. First, some rooms face the building next door rather than a city view, since the hotel sits surrounded by downtown high-rises — ask for a north-facing Deluxe King at booking to get the open North Shore mountains. Second, the underground pool has no natural windows; if you want a rooftop pool with a city view, look at Pacific Rim or the Hyatt on Alberni. Third, pricing during big events or concerts at BC Place can jump from $475-585 to around $730-1,025 a night, so book several months out. Fourth, Hawksworth runs expensive — the tasting menu is about $120 a head, and adding the wine pairing (roughly $88) pushes it past $210 per person; on a tighter budget the $70 Sunday Brunch is far better value.

Our take

Rosewood Hotel Georgia is the most complete heritage-luxury pick in Vancouver — a 1927 building restored top to bottom, the most attentive service in town, Hawksworth fine dining at Top 100 Canada level, and a Prohibition speakeasy you won't find anywhere else. If the trip in your head is a special dinner inside a 100-year-old building, a milestone celebration, or a business stay where you want to be dead-center downtown, this is the most fitting answer. If you'd rather have the waterfront or a rooftop pool, Fairmont Pacific Rim suits you better. Overall we give it 9.2/10 — best for business travelers, heritage-architecture lovers, and couples planning a special dinner.