Vancouver recently came top of a survey of event organisers, who voted it the city where delegates feel safest. I recently visited Vancouver and Whistler on an educational trip with Accor Hotels to look at their Fairmont properties and the Convention Centre and see what it can offer for conferences, meetings and events.
After a 9-hour flight from London, the transfer from the airport to the city centre is around half an hour, so quick and easy. It’s a wonderful city with mountains, water and a great destination for both conferences and incentives. The waterfront hotels are just steps away from the Convention Centre, which has two sections, East and West.
There are plenty of activities for groups in and around Vancouver, it’s the only place where I know that you can travel on the top of a cable car or hire Grouse mountain for exclusive use. But for the less adventurous, there is a food tasting tour of Granville Market, float plane flight, e-bikes, harbour cruise or suspension bridge walk through the woods.
Whistler is less than two hours from Vancouver and a beautiful drive along the shore. The town was host to the winter Olympics in 2010. There’s a convention centre and variety of hotels with meeting facilities as well as unusual venues for dinners or team building. The skiing is extensive in the winter and summer activities include ziplining, walking, cycling, scavenger hunts and other outside activities.
All the hotels and venues that I visited had good meeting facilities and accommodation, here’s a few things that made them memorable:
- Fairmont Waterfront Hotel – has a roof terrace and paved gardens, which can be used for groups who want outside space.
- Fairmont Hotel Vancouver – the first hotel to open in Vancouver. It has: two hotel dogs, who come to work for 5 days to welcome guests; there’s a ghost, the lady in red, who appears from an empty lift shaft; Fifty shades of Grey was filmed in one of the suites
- Fairmont Pacific Rim – has a destination cocktail bar in the foyer with live music every night.
- Vancouver Convention Centre – the building uses a lot of wood and glass and is bright and airy. The meeting space is surrounded by large foyer areas which have views of the water and mountains and there is a terrace looking over the bay.
- Pan Pacific Hotel – this hotel is built over the water and has sea views all the way around.
- Westin Bayshore Hotel – offers guests water yoga (on thick mats in the swimming pool) in the summer. Yoga is inside in the winter.
- Fairmont Chateau Whistler – has two ballrooms and a large permanent marquee, so it is easy for a large group to meet, eat and have a different venue for dinner.
- Whistler Conference Centre – feels like you’re in the mountains, th ebuilding uses wood and stone and has a fireplace in the entrance foyer.
- Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre – this museum explains the art, history and culture of the First Nations in the Whistler area. It has inside and outside event space which can be used for dinners and a chance for attendees to learn about the first nations culture.
If you’d like more information about holding a meeting, conference or event in Vancouver, please contact enquiries@edgevenues.com or call 01780 484051.
