The Westin Wall Centre, Vancouver Airport — Hotel in Richmond

When I came to stay at the Westin Wall it happened by chance. I had been released a day early from the Royal Columbia Hospital following abdominal surgery. I am not from Vancouver and my return flight home was not until the following evening. I asked a friend to book me a hotel online for the night. I wanted something a bit special but still in my price range because I was feeling in need of a little TLC. I preferred it to be close to the airport because it would be easier for me to get to my flight the following evening. When I arrived at the Westin Wall in my Uber I struggled to get out of the backseat with my two carrry-on bags. I wasn’t supposed to lift anything but it appeared that I didn’t have a choice. However, when I looked up, the concierge was coming to help me. He took my bags and assisted me out of the car and into the lobby. I was little embarrassed because I normally don’t require assistance and I told him so, mentioning that I had just left the hospital after having surgery. As I was checking in he must have conveyed this discreetly to the clerk. I asked the clerk for a late check out the following day, offering to pay any extra charges. My flight did not leave until 7:00 pm and I was in no condition to spend extra time at the airport. The clerk said that would be no problem and extended my check out time until 3 PM. She said if I needed extra time to just ask. She smiled as she handed me my keys and told me to enjoy my stay. We headed up to Room 801 and to my surprise it turned out to be a gorgeous corner room. It was spacious, with beautiful views of the marina and airport. The king size bed was incredibly comfortable. The shower was sparking clean and invigorating. It was everything I needed to relax my body and soul. I thought there must have been some kind of mistake because I certainly hadn’t paid for this fancy of a room. When I looked at my keyholder I realized that I had been given a free upgrade! Something that has never happened to me before. I ordered in dinner from the hotel restaurant. It was delicious. I had a very comfortable stay and when I checked out the following day I received the same great service as I had the day before. I am so appreciative to the concierge and the front desk clerk for their kindness. They made what started out as an unpleasant experience into almost a mini spa vacation after my stay at the hospital. I will definitely return to the Westin Wall Centre and recommend it...

Here is the whole story of my nightmare. I was taking two small kids to Vancouver and booked a King room from Priceline. Recently the younger one started to show some hardness to fall asleep at night so we need to book a suite with a living room to separate the two kids. I called Priceline to upgrade to a suite and was told I had to ask Westin. Then I called Westin and was told I need to talk with Priceline. Then I called Priceline back then called Westin back, back and forth for many times. Ultimately Westin front desk told me he had made a note for my reservation and I had been confirmed a suite and only needed to pay the difference while checking in.

On the day before the travel, I called Westin again to ask for a crib service and just asked if my room type was a suite by the way and they could not find any note that the previous staff promised me. They told me to call Priceline...... I told them the whole story and they asked whom I talked to. Well we don't need to remember the staff name when calling, do we? And they said they never made such upgrade ahead of time, I could only come to see if they have any availability on the travel day. I was 1000% sure I was SECURED a king SUITE. It was too late to cancel the booking from Priceline and I just forfeited almost US $400 and booked Hilton.

Lessons learned: 1. for this kind of request, always make sure you get an email confirmation. 2. Better to pay when you are confirmed so you are really secured. 3. Never book from a 3rd party platform like Priceline or Expedia. If you need to make any change, the best case is you need to make multiple calls. I had different dramas with them, sometimes I was even transferred to booking.com which is parent or subsidiary of Priceline who cares. I was forced to be involved into the hassle of their complicated relationships and kicked back and forth like a ball. Unless you are sure you will not change anything, and the price is significantly lower that you can't resist and can afford the risk. Search from the platforms and directly book from the hotel, sometimes by the traditional phone call way, to confirm with a real human and of course get an email confirmation.

These are the lesson I learned and will improve my booking activities in the future, but this does not prevent me from giving 1 star to this chaotically...

Unfriendly and inhospitable staff. Also if you hold any sort of exclusive status with expedia or its subsidiaries they dont have your status on their systems and will not give you your benefits unless you explicitly ask. As a very frequent traveler, personally, I have never experienced any problems in any metro vancouver hotels until I stayed here. It has always been a seamless experience checking in and getting my complimentary upgrade etc without ever having to ask so I thought that this was strange. It felt like pulling teeth since staff did not even know what I was talking about even when I showed them. I dont expect much when I check in but basic formalities and customer service were completely missing which was odd even for a 4 star hotel. The initial room they gave me was the worst one possible. The manager Pedro did give me a call to apologize which I appreciated but my stay already started off on a bad note and it only continued that way. They only seem to care about signing you up for marriott bonvoy which I had to decline 3 times throughout my short stay. If the hotel doesnt have expedia status in your system, staff are not trained, and it holds no weight, then maybe it shouldnt be advertised as providing these benefits on these third party sites as it was misleading and resulted in a poor experience. Lastly, the constant slamming of heavy duty doors at all hours of the day is a huge deal breaker because of the incessant loud noise especially in the mornings and evenings. They do provide ear plugs and lavender balm which in most cases would be enough but it doesn't matter how deep you are sleeping when a huge slam rudely wakes you up. Ear plugs fall out when sleeping unfortunately and it is not possible to wear ear plugs all the time during the day either. The door slams so hard that the walls shake. In addition it is a pet friendly hotel so from the sound of a dog barking and the slamming of doors to rude staff, it was an unpleasant stay and will choose a different hotel when staying by YVR which there are plenty of in the surrounding areas. I really did not expect such an experience staying at the Westin. The property itself is dated, the rooms were clean enough but had a musty smell. Luckily the windows do open and can...