We stayed two nights recently and were surprised by the extent of the renovations and upgrades that had taken place. This hotel seems to have been around forever, is in a great location (opposite the Wall Centre) and very handy for local buses if you need transit.

Check in was very smooth, staff were polite and helpful. The lobby area is very attractive and stylish. There is a good coffee shop attached to the hotel that has free wifi and is open early. We didn't eat in the hotel restaurant.

The rooms have again been tastefully refurbished but are now starting to look a little worn in places, ours came with the kitchenette, small table and couch in a nice open plan space. The bathroom was small though, but in good condition. I really liked the 'spa' toiletries.

My big (no, make that huge) concern though is with noise. We had a really nice room at the front of the hotel overlooking the Wall Centre on the 25th floor which I thought would be perfect. Wrong. In winter with no controllable heating, the rooms were very warm. This necessitated opening the windows the first night and the ambient racket from Burrard Street below was bearable, but the hotel is almost adjacent to St. Paul's Hospital which means (on the friday night) a steady stream of siren blaring ambulances coming and going. It did wake me up constantly, even with ear plugs. One reason for this is due to the structural age of the building - meaning that with or without the windows open, the panes of glass are single glazed and there is very little noise damping. Be warned - an excellent hotel at a great price but if you are sensitive to noise, request a room at the back, or in another town.