Element Vancouver Metrotown — Hotel in Burnaby

I stayed at Element for one week and this was my 6th stay. My experience has gone from good (back in 2018) to average to barely ok this time. ||I have stayed in all room types in the past visits, from suites to double queen beds to one king bed. This time I stayed in the studio king (Room XX12) which is the type I used to book when I’m travelling alone. I requested high floor because the hotel is facing Kingsway where, from time to time, police cars and fire engines will pass through in the middle of the night. Wear earplugs if you do not want to be awakened by the sirens at night (it happened every night during my stay, what went wrong in Vancouver?! I felt sorry for the residents living along Kingsway!) Or choose those rooms where they are not facing the main road. ( I think the double room and one of the suites are quieter) I know this kind of outside noise cannot be controlled and it is not fair to complain the hotel, but for travellers like me who flew in long-haul would definitely want a good rest and this is just annoying. ||Apart from the outside noise, I found that the early morning noise from the corridor also very disturbing. Starting from around 5:30am everyday, I could hear the nearby doors opened and closed very loudly several times. I wondered if it is the hotel staff routine schedule in the linen room or some weird guests. I had encountered similar experience when I stayed here one year ago, but this time is even worse. I noticed the hotel has partially renovated the common area after my last visit, why didn’t they improve the sound proof and change the door locks, especially the ones the staff would use frequently?||Another issue is the overall cleanliness of the room. I found stain on the bathroom walls, smell from the toilet, and dust on the bedside tables. Also, the housekeeping knocked on my door at 9:45am to do housekeeping?! Ok I forgot to put up the ‘do not disturb’ magnet on the door….. all the disruptions from midnight to early morning hardly provided me with a comfortable...

My family and I stayed at the Element Vancouver Metrotown for 12 nights in August, 2024. Although we mostly enjoyed the hotel and staff, I cannot give it a positive review as I experienced insect bites on my body for what could only be explained as bed bugs.

This was our first hotel accommodation of our trip, and we drove our personal vehicle from our home. My son also experienced multiple bites of a similar nature, yet he had not been with me on any outdoor excursions where he would have been exposed to insects.

I appreciate that the staff immediately changed our room and called an independent exterminator for an inspection.

Although the inspection report did not indicate a positive finding, the bedding sheets had already been changed before I had reported symptoms to the staff. On the inspection report it was recommended that the room be thoroughly steam cleaned. I assume this recommendation was made out of an abundance of caution due to a lack of 100% certainty in the inspection findings.

I also took similar precautions and had to launder all of our clothes and disposed of our suitcases.

Unfortunately the hotel refused to provide any compensation for this situation (even after escalation with Bonvoy services) due the lack of a positive finding. I am disappointed by this given that the insect inspection report may have not been entirely conclusive.

I should note (in case the hotel wants to claim they did compensate me) that the hotel did provide some small compensation of a few days of free parking for their poor wifi coverage, but this was an unrelated issue to the bed bug situation. If you are concerned about Wifi coverage, you may want to avoid the 14th floor.

I will also warn that, although the room we had was meant to accommodate more than two occupants and had a full kitchen, the single-chair and desk setup is the only place one can sit at to eat a meal. This design is inadequate for two or more people to share meals together and I cannot recommend it for families wishing to dine in the...

I have stayed in Element Metrotown a number of times in the past few years but this was the first time I stayed there with my two pets.

I called the front desk before making a reservation to make sure they do not have any breed or size restrictions. They told me they are a pet friendly hotel and there is no breed or size restrictions though the pet should generally weight less than 60 lbs. Another good aspect is that they do not charge extra for pet stays. Some other brands in the Marriott portfolio charge extra per stay, sometimes as much as $50, but Element has no such extra fees.

I have stayed at other Element hotels in other places too so the amenities are exactly what I expected. I booked a standard room but got upgraded to a suite due to my platinum status. The suite was very nice with a full kitchen, a living room and a balcony. Of course we did not take advantage of the balcony because it was too cold but I would imagine it is going to be very nice if you stay at the right time of the year.

The only area of improvements I could think of are the following two.

The room I stayed in has no electrical outlet near the left side of the bed. The right side has two but the left side was fully occupied by the nightstand light and the alarm clock. I think in this age of smart phones and tablets it would be incredibly convenient to have a few USB outlets near the nightstand for charging electronic devices.

Being a pet friendly hotel there was a lack of grassland for pets to take care of their business. There are some grasses near the apartment building next door but they have a clear sign that says no dogs allowed. I can certainly understand due to the damage of dog ruins can have on grass. At the same time, I hope the hotel could look into adding a patch of fake grass outside for dogs to take care of their business. This is by no means a complain of any kind.

Other than that, I’m very happy with my stay at Element Metrotown and will certainly be staying there next time I visit Vancouver...