Radisson Hotel Vancouver Airport — Hotel in Richmond

First time staying at this hotel and it has not been a great experience.

We flew into YVR in the morning (around 9am) and we called the hotel after collecting our baggage to request the airport shuttle. The front desk person said the shuttle will arrive in 15-20 minutes, but we waited 30 minutes for the shuttle. Even the YVR airport staff that was there at the shuttle line said it will probably take 30 minutes for the shuttle to come, and they were right - unlike the hotel website and front desk staff's answers...

Because we arrived early, we asked if it was possible for us to check in early. And the staff member was initially kind and said they had one room that we could be checked into. When we went to the room, we found out the room was not in good condition. The toilet was wobbly (when you sit on it), the furniture looks very worn and the sofa had stains on the left side of the seat cushion (as seen in the picture). My mother also found some hair on the outside and inside cover of the bed which was concerning since we had not laid in the bed yet (we were just checking the room). When we entered the room, we found that the inside of the mini fridge was not cold at all. We thought maybe it's because the room's electricity isn't on when there are not guests in the room, so we waited 30 minutes in the room to see if the fridge would start working.

After 30 minutes, it was still not working, so we called the front desk to ask if we can change rooms. The staff said we could have a repair man come in for the fridge, or we can wait till 3pm for regular check in. We decided we wanted to wait and change rooms.

When we got back to the lobby, a different staff member helped us (a young Indian lady). We told her about the problems again and showed her the picture of the couch stain. She asked if we wanted them to try to fix the room, and we told her that we are ok with waiting for a different room at regular check in time. After hearing this she specifically said that if we change rooms, we might get a room that is not quiet or on a higher floor (we had initially requested to be in a quieter area and higher floor). We said that's ok. The initial room we checked into with the problems was on the 8th floor and faced Aberdeen centre. When we came back at 3pm to check in again, the room they gave us was on the 5th floor, directly across from the SkyTrain tracks. We can hear the SkyTrain pass by on the tracksfrequently. It seems like the front desk's staff comment about "it might not be on a high floor and not a quiet room" wasn't really a "might", but a "it will definitely" be noisy and on a lower floor. It seems the staff members might be annoyed that we wanted to change rooms and did it out of spite?

The hotel is very close to the airport and naturally there will be a constant stream of airplanes. The sound proofing is terrible! I stayed at the River Rock before which is even closer to the airport and had no issues.

Another issue we came across during our stay is the elevator suddenly went out of order. As we were leaving our hotel room, we tried clicking the elevator button which will usually light up when it's properly selected, but it kept going off every time we clicked it. After a few minutes waiting, our Uber had already arrived and we were late, so we had to use the stairs to go down. But the stairwell cannot be taken all the way to the lobby, because the door on the 1st floor is labeled as an emergency exit that will sound if opened. So we had to go back upstairs to the 2nd floor and transfer to their other staircase to get to the lobby. Our family has someone who has a hard time with stairs, so this was a major inconvenience, especially because it made us late. Even on the first night of our stay, there was already one elevator that was out of order.

Overall, the only good thing is its location. The interior is outdated, the furniture should be replaced, and the basic elements of the hotel (such as the elevator) are unreliable. It's pretty overpriced for the quality you are getting. Would...

From the moment we got there the experience was unsettling. My wife booked a king-size room. When we got there we were blind-sided with a room having 2 queen beds. Not only did we book well in advance, but we were promised a single king bed. There was no attempt to contact us ahead of time about this to ask if it was ok to give up our room to someone else. We came and found out when we opened the door.

When we immediately spoke to the front desk about this we were told that there was a conference that weekend and our room had been given away. We came on our expected arrival day and time. We just weren't consulted or informed and we were told that there was no king beds left even though we were able to book one in advance. For a married couple this was a real insult. And it was the worst part of our experience in Vancouver.That coupled with the response/excuse that there was a conference, meaning that: we were less significant and not as important as their conference guests was enough in itself for us to realize that this hotel didn't care about all their costumers, and that we were at the bottom of their priority list. Why would I return there to be treated that way again? Why would I recommend this hotel to anyone? And why wouldn't I warn others to stay away, because I think when a person comes to visit Vancouver they deserve the best no matter who they are--it's important to value all your customers and not just certain ones--I don't want others to go through the experience we had, so I would recommend you go elsewhere.

The hotel charges more for being near the airport and they do several "cheap" things that make the hotel room shabby and the person staying really feels like they have spent less and gotten more elsewhere. For example. They put a bottle of water in the room with a sign that says if used $4 charge. Other places give water complimentary. The sheets were worn. Stains on carpet and bedding. Limited supplies in the bathroom--we had to ask for more. The coffee for the room was terrible. For 2 nights it was about $289. I have had places for that price that included a hot tub and a steam bath--this room was closer to cheap motel quality. You have to go up to the 5th level of a parking garage for parking, and then there is no elevator to get from the hotel to the parking. Instead 2 or 3 flights of stairs then more walking before you get to the elevator. Or there is pay parking in front of the hotel--I'm glad my pregnant wife was up for the journey of walking, but what if you are in a wheelchair? You are subject to additional fees for ground level parking, or the inconvenience of waiting for someone else to pick you up at the front.

The rail to the hot tub is loose and should be fixed before someone injures themselves trying to get in and out. And there was no soap in the men's wash room at the pool.

Probably the best part of the experience near there was the Red Star Seafood Restaurant in the President Plaza joined to the hotel which has awesome Dim Sum.

It's not really worth it for the location either. You will find you will have to drive or take the train all the way to the other side of town to see all the sites and sounds of Vancouver. You are better off getting a hotel closer to Graville Island or Canada Place--I'm not sure how the prices compare, but based upon the deals I have seen, and given how the Radisson charges additional fee for prime location near the airport, and considering our disappointment of having far better for far less elsewhere. . . I would not go back to this hotel again, nor would I...

*Full disclosure this review is overdue from Feb 2019.

This property is great value for your money and worked out to an average savings of appx 25% for similar room specs at many comparable hotels. I give the price a 4.2 out of 5.

You will be pleased to find major transportaion hubs including the skytrain and airport courtesy shuttle (and more). Excellent dining and retail is within walking distance, or a 2 minute drive from the front door. I give the property an accessibility/location rating of 4.3 out of 5. Point loss for being so close to the skytrain that there could possibly be a noise consideration, though we did not have a problem.

Upon arrival the front desk staff were excellent. The front desk Manager, whos name escapes me , was a pleasure to deal with. Check in was expedient. First impression gets a 4.0 out of 5. Point loss for having to use the service elevator due to repairs, and no offer of a bell hop.

The (x2 queen bed) room was on the smaller size but definitely clean and comfortable. There were four people in our party so elbow room is a conaideration. The beds are good quality pillow top (Serta's I think?) and the room/bathroom was spotless. One thing that caught my eye which most places miss was the window was pristine. It seems trivial but it really made the room feel well maintained. We certainly didn't mind the view either. I rate the room a solid 3.8 out of 5, and most of the points are lost only by comparisson to newly renovated properties.

The restaurant/bar was tastefully designed, comfortable and relaxing, particularly on the lounge side. The wait staff and bartender were quick, polite and courteous. The mixed drinks were well done, as we're the appies. Unfortunately, there were several dishes unavailable due to lack of ingredients and I think there was a little bit of "artistic license" going on in the kitchen that day. Even having said that I cannot accurately review the mains for a couple of reasons. It was extremely cold and snowy that day which may have led to delivery problems, staffing shortages, ingredient order miscalculation or some other circumstance beyond their control. I would, however, suggest that the cocktails and appies are definitely good enough to roll the dice on dinner, I would bet on a good experience.

I have to give some major points to the night manager and the shuttle driver who we're very helpful in tight situation when they had no obligation to do so. We had a medical issue that needed attending to at something like 3:30am, and they arranged for the courtesy shuttle free of charge. There were no cabs what so ever. It was an absolute blizzard and the roads were insanely dangerous. This is the type of service worth returning for, hands down. Give those guys a raise.

Overall this property is an excellent short stay/transitionary option and it would always be a wise conaideration.

I give this property a solid 4.1 out of 5 and I would...