Rosedale on Robson Suite Hotel — Hotel in Vancouver

These Robson sites (of which there are 2) for reviews are a mish-mash of timeshare and hotel guest reviews. No separation between them, unfortunately Because of this, we will post this review on both Robson sites. A "reasonable person" would merge these two sites into one as this seems to be what everyone else has done.||||Okay, so here we go. This was indeed a timeshare exchange. We had a lovely 2 bedroom unit with a great view across the street. We reconfigured bedroom #2 into a "lounge" (night stand and 2 chairs) where we could sit and enjoy a post-evening cocktail and take in the sights down below us. ||||The canopy of tree tops was pure delight. It softened the goings and comings of the multitude below us. Looking to our right, we admired the library and the architectural beauty of its design. Roman elements reminded us of the colosseum of places we had visited.||||Best part is, the McDonalds is on the corner (mere feet away) and there is a super-great breakfast spot just out the door and to the left. But, if that isn't enough, the IGA store is only a block or 2 away with fruit and other necessities close by. No shortage of fast and good food eateries in either direction from the corner.||||The room and proximity to fun things deserve their own spaces. So, starting with the room: it is tight. The living area is "snug-as-a-bug-in-a rug" and you can trip over the feet of your partner with no effort on your part. The kitchen is (oh, how can I say this politely?) amusingly small. ||||Fortunate for us, we did have the second unused bedroom so we could stack all the appliances/pots & pans/excess stuff to clear off these things from our useful needs micro-mini counterspace. The frig is a mini-cube with a freezer (sort of), and the microwave is full-size. Two burners on the electric cooktop serve as the stove. Oh, and there is a sink. We set up the coffee maker on the small table (due to space constraints).||||Now, on to the neighborhood - it is generally quite good and safe. A fire station is at the other end of the block from the library and (surprise!) it is active in the evenings. Sirens will either sing you to sleep or keep you awake. It is an either-or situation. ||||For our explorations, we loved the proximity to Yaletown and False Creek and to explore Chinatown and Gas Town. Both locations are full of charm but are also in a state of transition (not in a good way). For us, the Rosedale on Robson price was right, the room size worked for us, and the hotel/timeshare was clean and welcoming. ||||This property walks the tightrope between being a hotel and a timeshare. So far, all is working out well. ||||Oh, you need to know this: laundry rooms are on the odd-numbered floors. The machines take (get this fixed firmly in your mind) ONE looney and ONE quarter. The machine has like (oh, I don't know) maybe 5 slots for coins. If at first you do not succeed, then keep rearranging the two coins you need to insert until the push-in slot engages. Whew. That took us AGES to figure out.||||Also, there is a breakfast of cold stuff (hard boiled eggs, etc.) on another floor. It costs about $7 CAD and really (in my opinion) is not worth it. Just walk down to McDonalds and get a warm egg sandwich. ||||Forget about the Original Joe's eatery on the ground floor, It is absolutely and most positively not in operation. But there is a 7-11 across the street with amazingly good salads and other food choices that could pass for a meal. ||||We liked our stay and have plans to return. It isn't pretending to be a Marriott level property but it is very good for what it is (and that is a decent mid-level urban hotel). Our stay this time was only for 4 days as August 9th was the first time us Americans were allowed to come to Canada (and that is in itself a whole other can of worms).||||Oh, and just one more thing: parking is a lot extra (I think $20 CAD per day); as we came in by air, took a taxi here, and spent our time on foot, it wasn't an issue for us. Just...

I have really mixed feelings about this hotel. Overall I would rate it 3.8

We stayed last week from Wednesday night till Saturday morning. Our stay was booked until Friday only, but the staff were very helpful in accommodating our request to stay an extra night even though there was a rugby tournament in town and the availability was scarce.

The room: we had a king suite. It was a good size, as soon as you enter the room, you’re in a hallway leading into a living area equipped with a coffee table, loveseat sofa, a side table and a lamp on it, a floor lamp on the other side of the sofa, a writing desk and a chair, a Tv cabinet and a Tv from 1990’s. Actually. The room was very dated, it was like stepping back into the early 90’s. The one thing that was prominent, probably also from the 90’s is the stale tobacco scent. I think they haven’t washed the carpet. Like, ever. If you’re asthmatic, I wouldn’t recommend.

The kitchenette: tiny, cosy, 3 burner induction stove, a little oven and a warming draw (where the frying pan and a pot is stored), a small cabinet adjacent to it has a tray of cutlery and cooking utensils. A sink (no dish soap), a kitchen towel, a little tray with coffee pods (6 total, 3 pairs of Colombian, dark roast of French vanilla), a little jar with white sugar sachets, coffee mate sachets (no cream or actual milk), and Splenda sweetener. Coffee machine- keurig. Will hold one cup of water at a time, so if you’re brewing two cups, refuel after each brew. Top cabinets- plates, bowls, cups, glasses, two of each. A toaster and a kettle for hot water is available in the top cabinet also.

The washroom: like the rest of the room, dated. Our sink and bath tub drain was very very slow to drain the water out. Overall clean and enough towels provided.

The bedroom: king bed… incredibly comfortable, with 4 king size pillows. 2 top sheets and 2 blankets. Our windows faded the intersection so we were looking at the Vancouver library and office/condo buildings nearby. Curtains- day shades and night time drapes, completely eliminated all light. Window has a small neashe that can be opened for fresh air. Bedroom also has another working desk with a chair. Double door closet with some wooden hangers in it. Iron is available in the hallways closet along with ironing board.

Facilities: cardio workout room leading onto the wet area: 3.5ft deep pool, an unusually hot jacuzzi, some seating area, a dry sauna (my personal favourite), that which you’ll have to to turn up yourself on arrival, a shower, and a steam room (it was out of use at the time).

Staff: very sweet, friendly, super helpful, smiles, jokes, overall great bunch of people.

Location: we were able to walk to all bars/restaurants etc, so we saved on having to take Ubers.

Parking: underground parking available at $28/24h period. Cheapest for that period around.

Book well in advance to get better rates, and ask for higher floor to be able to see...

On the 2th of July around 4.30pm, while we were staying at the Rosedale hotel on Robson Suite, a bear spray had exploded on the 5th floor (we didn't know what it was then). We had been out in the city and took the elevator up to our floor, were the cleaning lady in the elevator told us there was a bad smell there. As soon as we exited the elevator we were met by a very strong toxicity in the air, and we literally couldn't breath (and starting coughing because bear spray closes the throat). The cleaning lady was only there to get a bag, and told us to go into our room. In the room we turned off the air conditioning which was on, and called the reception. They told us they were aware of the situation!? Why didn't they stop us from going to our room then? We asked them to call us back when we were allowed to leave the room. And hour later we call them again to get an update because they hadn't called us back, where we were told we could get out now. We went down to the front desk to complain, where we were met by smiles and robotic apologies. They tell us someone in a room next to us had dropped a bear spray which had exploded. The situation wasn't even bad handled, it wasn't handled at all. We asked for some kind of compensation for the experience we have had, but were told to write an email. We went out to dinner and came back a few hours later, were we still were coughing and feeling bad. At the front desk another lady stood ready, not able to do anything differently than her colleagues. We had to ask HER to call a doctor, to make sure what to do after having being exposed so intensely to bear spray. We go to our room, where the smell still sits in the room, and we call to ask for another room. It feels like no one has checked the floor for any signs that the bear spray still might be there. As we call the reception, she also tells us that we should have showered directly after being exposed, and that we should take off our clothes and wash it. Again, why weren't why notified about the danger before? We change room, and the next morning the manager is ready at the reception. He of course apologizes, but does absolutely nothing except to tell us to call our agency about compensation. Again, it's us who has to do something. Never have we seen such passive people. What would they do in a fire situation? Or other? Bear spray is extremely toxic, and we don't know how much damage it has done to us yet, as we have been exposed to it very intensely for a minute, but then for over an hour in our room (probably the whole night if we hadn't asked to be moved). Very unprofessional handled by the staff. We will not ever feel safe in their...