Given travel restrictions and Covid-19 concerns, Sally and I decided to celebrate our 40th anniversary by spending a night at a Vancouver Area Hotel. We had a lot of choices, but selected Le Soleil Hotel in the 500 block Hornby since we previously enjoyed a delightful dinner in the Alouette Bistro, its French restaurant. http://alouettevancouver.com/ We thought it would be nice to return there for an afternoon downtown and another dinner and breakfast.
Le Soleil is described as a luxury, all-suite hotel. While it is not usually mentioned in the same breath as the Shangri-La, Pacific Rim, Rosewood, or Four Seasons (may it rest in peace), it turned out to be a good play to stay. The hotel has a warm and inviting lobby, and while the interior design isn't necessarily what we would want in our home, who wants to stay in a hotel that's just like their home? https://www.hotellesoleil.com/vancouver/home/ 
When booking, I mentioned we were there for an anniversary, but was surprised when we discovered we had been upgraded to one of the penthouse suites. It really was quite impressive with a double-volume living room with a kitchen area, a beautiful window-wall, well-appointed bedroom, a separate office, (yes, an office) and a large, wrap-around outdoor terrace. We were surprised to find a hand-written message from the manager along with a bottle of good red wine and some chocolates. Thank you Varun Malik. That wasn't necessary, but most appreciated!
Once again, we enjoyed our dinner in the very lively two-level restaurant and were happy to return a few hours later for breakfast. The breakfast menu features some most interesting menu items. Since I had a cassoulet for dinner, I decided to pass on the breakfast cassoulet, but it looked very good. Although I'm over 70, I decided on the avocado toast with smoked salmon.
The purpose of this blogpost is really to encourage Vancouverites to enjoy a staycation in a downtown hotel. While I have no hesitation recommending LeSoleil, (although they do need to find a better parking solution since the valet parking is not operational), there are so many other Metro Vancouver hotels to choose from.
Why not check out Versante, John Evan's new hotel in Richmond. https://www.versantehotel.com/. We plan to do so soon since an evening walking around parts of Richmond is not unlike an evening in Hong Kong or Shanghai!
The nightly rates at most hotels are embarrassingly low at the moment since there are not a lot of visitors to the city. Our desk clerk told me that currently 80% of the Le Soleil guests were lower mainland residents enjoying a night in town. But I suspect there will be a lot of availability, especially over the next few months and correspondingly low rates. (When I worked with Westin Hotels, the manager once confided that even in a good year, Vancouver hotel occupancy rates in January and February are astonishingly low.) If we don't support these hotels and restaurants, it will be very difficult for the staff, and ultimately we may lose some businesses.
So while essential travel restrictions are in place, and Covid fears remain, check out this list of Vancouver area hotels https://www.10best.com/destinations/canada/vancouver/hotels/luxury-hotels/ and book into one for a change of pace. I think you'll thank me for the suggestion!
https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Hotels-g154943-zff12-Vancouver_British_Columbia-Hotels.html
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