Take a look at reviews on the Tripadvisor website, and most visitors to the Saint Regis hotel have positive things to say about their stay.
However, there is some criticism too. For instance, one person notes that in front of the hotel you can often 'see and hear weird stuff at night', while another reviewer complains that the place was 'a little odd smelling.'
This is probably why the owners of the Saint Regis have decided to undertake a $4 million refurbishment, which they hope will transform it into one of Vancouver's hippest boutique hotels. Among the anticipated changes: restoration of the hotel exterior, a complete overhaul of the lobby, and renovations to the rooms.
Back in the day, the Saint Regis used to be a mid-point on pub crawls that began in the seedier bars of the downtown eastside, and finished at the somewhat less seedy bars near the Granville Street bridge. It was at the Saint Regis that beers typically became a little less watered down, and a little more expensive.
Now that Vancouver is growing up, we can envision future pub crawls designed around our city's growing collection of boutique hotels: start at the still-seedy Sylvia Hotel (when will they do a proper reno?), cab it on up to the Wedgewood, swing by the Hotel Georgia, hit the Saint Regis, and then head on over to Opus to finish the night off.
