The Simon — Hotel in Burnaby

Our parents, coaches and kids rented townhouses on this campus on top of a mountain for softball Provincial Championships, that felt like we were in the middle of nowhere. Paid $160 a night for three level 4 tiny bedrooms, 2 bathroom townhouse that was in desperate need of extensive renovations. Furniture was for the most part ghastly, particularly the living room couch/Love Seat that was badly warn out and he seen a lot of “action” over the years as evidenced by the apparent stains which likely contained a wide sampling of DNA. The exterior of these buildings were in desperate need of paint and new roofs. The interiors were also in need of new paint and new furniture. There are no televisions or microwaves in these units and no AC. Bathrooms are small and dated as are kitchens and living rooms. Bedrooms are tiny and feature single beds that had surprisingly comfortable and firm mattresses. Pillows are pathetic, so plan to bring your own. Towels supplied in bathrooms are small and there were little, if any bathroom supplies other than toilet paper. Bedrooms seemed relatively clean, while bathrooms tended to be borderline. It is very evident that these premises have seen a lot of hard partying and abuse. There is a decent grass courtyard area to set up lawn chairs and socialize, but unfortunately, they do not permit propane heaters. Also, be warned! The mosquitoes here are large and voracious! Easily the biggest and most aggressive I’ve encountered west of Alberta. Many of us applied bug spray, which was ineffective in deterring them. I highly recommend copious applications of 98% Deet Muskol, as other better known more mainstream brands were not strong enough. As a result, most, if not all of our parents and coaches were eaten alive over the 3 evenings that we spent time outside there. ||||Parking immediately beside the townhouse units is very limited. There is a decent village centre about 5 minutes drive away that has a number of restaurants, a liquor store and small grocery store. However, be advised that most of these establishments close at 7:00 p.m. during the summer when SFU classes are out. ||||The only reason we stayed here was because all of the hotel rates the weekend we were in Vancouver were $300 plus a night due to several sports having Provincial championships over the same weekend. In hindsight, I would pay the extra money to stay in a better location with better amenities, including a TV and a microwave. SFU is very isolated being on top of Burnaby Mountain and offers very limited amenities on campus and nearby. The architecture on campus is generally depressing and grey consisting of circa 1970 eastern bloc communist style concrete buildings. I can’t imagine how depressing it must be during the winter months when it is completely enveloped by fog, clouds and rain. ||||I would not recommend staying here unless you have a course or conference on campus and only need the room to crash for a few hours a night. I will...

Our parents, coaches and kids rented townhouses on this campus on top of a mountain for softball Provincial Championships, that felt like we were in the middle of nowhere. Paid $160 a night for three level 4 tiny bedrooms, 2 bathroom townhouse that was in desperate need of extensive renovations. Furniture was for the most part ghastly, particularly the living room couch/Love Seat that was badly warn out and he seen a lot of “action” over the years as evidenced by the apparent stains which likely contained a wide sampling of DNA. The exterior of these buildings were in desperate need of paint and new roofs. The interiors were also in need of new paint and new furniture. There are no televisions or microwaves in these units and no AC. Bathrooms are small and dated as are kitchens and living rooms. Bedrooms are tiny and feature single beds that had surprisingly comfortable and firm mattresses. Pillows are pathetic, so plan to bring your own. Towels supplied in bathrooms are small and there were little, if any bathroom supplies other than toilet paper. Bedrooms seemed relatively clean, while bathrooms tended to be borderline. It is very evident that these premises have seen a lot of hard partying and abuse. There is a decent grass courtyard area to set up lawn chairs and socialize, but unfortunately, they do not permit propane heaters. Also, be warned! The mosquitoes here are large and voracious! Easily the biggest and most aggressive I’ve encountered west of Alberta. Many of us applied bug spray, which was ineffective in deterring them. I highly recommend copious applications of 98% Deet Muskol, as other better known more mainstream brands were not strong enough. As a result, most, if not all of our parents and coaches were eaten alive over the 3 evenings that we spent time outside there. ||||Parking immediately beside the townhouse units is very limited. There is a decent village centre about 5 minutes drive away that has a number of restaurants, a liquor store and small grocery store. However, be advised that most of these establishments close at 7:00 p.m. during the summer when SFU classes are out. ||||The only reason we stayed here was because all of the hotel rates the weekend we were in Vancouver were $300 plus a night due to several sports having Provincial championships over the same weekend. In hindsight, I would pay the extra money to stay in a better location with better amenities, including a TV and a microwave. SFU is very isolated being on top of Burnaby Mountain and offers very limited amenities on campus and nearby. The architecture on campus is generally depressing and grey consisting of circa 1970 eastern bloc communist style concrete buildings. I can’t imagine how depressing it must be during the winter months when it is completely enveloped by fog, clouds and rain. ||||I would not recommend staying here unless you have a course or conference on campus and only need the room to crash for a few hours a night. I will...

This place can make things unnecessarily difficult for guests.||I booked for one night and hoped to drop off my small suitcase for part of the next day. I had an appointment that morning and it would have been very awkward to show up with luggage. However the office didn’t open until 8:30 a.m. I had to leave about 7 a.m.||So I asked the desk clerk if I could leave my bag in the room and let their staff move it to the front office or a storage room until I returned to pick it up in the afternoon. The answer was an emphatic no.||Why? Because “it’s not in their contract,” the desk clerk said. ||It’s not clear whether she was prevaricating or whether SFU has actually itemized each and every task that its cleaning staff may or may not do. I’ve never encountered this kind of absurdity in the hospitality industry.||BTW the bag was a small suitcase-on-wheels of airline carry-on size that I weighed earlier that day (with my stuff in it) at less than seven kilos.||The absurdity doesn’t end there. The desk clerk said that if I left a bag in my room after checking out, the bag would not only stay in that room but I would be charged for additional nights until I returned to retrieve it.||So what would happen if someone checked out after forgetting a small bag? Apparently the bag would stay put, the room would stay empty and the person’s credit card would be billed every day for an additional night’s rent until the person returned to pick up the bag.||Such is the SFU bureaucracy.||Other than that, the room was good (with a fantastic view from the seventh floor) and there’s a shared kitchen. There’s a bus stop about five minutes’ walk from the residence. Downtown Vancouver is about 45 minutes by express bus or a bit less by bus and Skytrain. There’s a reasonably priced cafeteria nearby (although I didn’t try it out) and, about 15 minutes’ walking distance, a shopping area with a supermarket, eateries and other amenities.||So it’s an good place if you don’t mind the distance from downtown. But beware of the extraordinarily bureaucratic,...