The Granville Island Hotel

This is the only hotel on Granville Island – the late-1970s experiment in urban renewal of the once-industrial False Creek area, which has become one of Vancouver’s most successful public spaces. The 82-room property has water views and an industrial aesthetic in line with the island’s architectural guidelines: that new buildings should reflect the area’s industrial past, when it was a hub for mining, shipping and logging. The best place to take advantage of the island’s bustling public market, the hotel has also become a foodie hub. With its own craft brewery spanning the centre of the hotel, its Dockside restaurant has become known for its sustainable seafood menu. On a sunny day here, with the right harbour view, it’s easy to transform Vancouver into a Mediterranean idyll. In the cooler months it’s a cosy getaway, headquarters for the Vancouver writers fest and a great place to visit the many arts spaces in the area.
• Doubles from £84, +1 604 683 7373, granvilleislandhotel.com

The Skwachàys Lodge

Vancouver’s newest boutique hotel is in the city’s gentrifying downtown east side. The converted Victorian six-storey building’s totem pole acts as a new neighbourhood beacon, and its 18 rooms have been created by designers and First Nations artists. The “moon suite”, for example, is in elegant lunar whites and beiges, and features a circular bed framed by a rounded ceiling light with a gold-leaf raven. Part social enterprise, part cultural tourism initiative, part design hotel, ithas filled its lobby with contemporary and traditional indigenous art, while the first four floors have artists’ studios. Enjoy First Nations-inspired cuisine, such as pulled bison on bannock with rhubarb barbecue sauce, and local craft beer in the Welcome Room lounge, and relax in the sweat lodge and traditional healing room.
• Doubles from £74, +1 604 687 3589, skwachays.com

Sylvia Hotel

Its sense of history competes with the water views for its most attractive feature. Originally built as an apartment building in 1912, it became a hotel in the 1930s and then second-world-war digs for merchant-marine crews. Vancouver’s first cocktail bar opened here in 1958, and it’s still the old-school choice for a sunset martini. The hotel’s famous Edwardian-era tea dances have given way to jazz and blues on Wednesday and Thursday evenings. Its iconic former Dine in the Sky restaurant – now largely contained by spacious, suite 801 with dazzling ocean views – has become a bar, lounge and restaurant area on the ground floor with sweeping water views. You may never want to leave the patio, which feels like a private oasis.
• Doubles from £57; self-catering suites from £294 a week, +1 604 681 9321, sylviahotel.com

St Regis

Before its 2009 renovation by designer Elaine Thorsell, the St Regis hotel – which first opened in 1913 – was what you might call a charming dive. The owner (whose collection of abstract art adorns the walls) was sued by the Starwood group in 1999 but eventually won the right to use the name St Regis as an independent hotel. Once popular with miners and loggers and later some rather wild and woolly characters, today the St Regis is especially popular with UK tourists. It’s hard to beat its combination of heritage, convenience and creature comforts. The 2009 renovation gutted the historic building and replaced the Edwardian infrastructure with double-glazing, marble windowsills and sleek interiors that still maintain a sense of character. There’s free Wi-Fi and unlimited international long- distance calls. Dine next door at Gotham, a New York-style steakhouse in the city’s oldest art-deco building.
• Doubles from £84 B&B, +1 604 681 1135, stregishotel.com

Listel

This charming West End boutique hotel celebrates local art and cuisine with élan. The city’s greenest hotel (with a Hotel Association of Canada “green key” rating of 5) takes sense of place to a whole new level. The museum floors are a partnership with the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia and showcase contemporary First Nations art, flanked by custom-designed hemlock and cedar furniture and muted forest colours. The gallery floors are curated by Vancouver gallerist Barry Mowatt and include an array of local and international contemporary works, cherrywood furniture and chaise longues. All rooms have local literary magazines and a wide range of Canadian literature. Rooftop beehives supply honey for in-house restaurant Forage, which offers delicious and sophisticated locavore cuisine.
• Doubles from £71, +1 604 684 8461, thelistelhotel.com

Shangri-la

Vancouver architect James Cheng is the king of modern hotel chic. His 2009 Shangri-la is an urban oasis, whose 61 storeys encompass hotel rooms, live-work units and private residences, and a master plan that includes a grocery store and a public art site. It’s just off Alberni Street – fast becoming Vancouver’s upscale shopping area and restaurant row – its downtown locale is mitigated by lush bamboo gardens, and the Chi spa, featuring ayurvedic treatments. Even if his 2010 Fairmont Pacific Rim’s Grand Hotel prices are beyond you, it’s worth a visit to the public art site. Take in the gorgeous design over a drink in the elegant lobby, or after a treatment at the Willow Stream spa.
• Doubles from £134, +1 604 689 1195, shangri-la.com

The Corkscrew Inn

The Corkscrew Inn offers a delightful entry point into the heart of historic Kitsilano. The former railway suburb, named after Chief Khatsahlano – whose people were unceremoniously evicted by the Canadian Pacific Railway and sent to live across the bay in Stanley Park – survived late 1960s hippiedom to become a sought-after residential enclave. The inn, a restored Edwardian home that won a City of Vancouver heritage award in 2004, is noted for its sumptuous breakfasts of home-smoked wild salmon frittata, homemade bread, preserves and croissants. Also on offer are fresh fruit and herbs straight from the impressive garden. The themed rooms all have en suite bathrooms, and some include fireplaces and soaker tubs. A short walk to the beach, this inn also has a private museum of antique wine-making tools that is available for private picnics.
• Doubles from £57 B&B (three night minimum stay), +1 604 733 7276, corkscrewinn.com

Moda

This historic hotel began life in 1908 as the Dufferin – named after the Lord who was a favourite in Queen Victoria’s court – at a time when its central location was home to railway and sawmill workers. Once an Edwardian gentlemen’s club, and much later in the century a popular drag bar, today it’s at the edge of the arts and culture district and trendy Yaletown. With restored century-old exposed mosaic tile floors in the lobby and bathrooms, and 67 bold, colourful modernist rooms designed by local Alda Pereira, the Moda is a blend of heritage and contemporary. Have a glass of wine at Uva before a performance at the heritage Orpheum theater across the street, a high-end Italian meal at the Cibo Trattoria, or a less-formal dinner at the Red Card sports bar.
• Doubles from £45, +1 604 683 4251, modahotel.ca

Burrard

Vancouver’s de facto “hipster” hotel feels like it was transplanted from Palm Springs to the Pacific north-west. The 1956 motor inn was a local landmark that had seen better days when new owners acquired it in 2010 and undertook a major renovation. While keeping the mid-century modernist aesthetic intact, facilities were updated to include custom-designed furniture, unlimited Wi-Fi and North American long-distance calling, free movie channels and in-room Nespresso machines with free coffee. Free Brodie Cruiser bike rentals allow you to take advantage of Vancouver’s well-designed downtown bike lanes, while a fabulous palm tree-filled inner courtyard will have you California dreamin’.
• Doubles from £94, +1 604 681 2331, theburrard.com

West End Guest House

Harking back to the days when the West End was Vancouver’s first residential neighbourhood, the 1906-built West End Guest House was once home to the Edwards family – some of their photographs of early Vancouver adorn the walls. Current owners Paul and David have modernised the interiors and plumbing (all rooms are en suite), while retaining a period charm. The seven individually styled and named guest suites range from lush garden level (the Parisian) to cosy attic with skylights (the Pair and the Spare). Complimentary gourmet breakfasts, “sherry hour” and free Wi-Fi add to the charm. It is on historic Haro Street, and bicycles are available for trips to the nearby Stanley Park seawall, or Davie and Robson Street shopping areas. The parlour with hearth is ideal for winter contemplation, while the veranda and garden beckon in summer months.
• Doubles from £82 B&B (two night minimum stay), +1 604 681 2889, westendguesthouse.com