After spending my last couple of days at Hilton Vancouver Downtown and Sheraton Wall Centre. I shifted over to Hotel Belmont Vancouver for my last night in Vancouver. I have a total of 4 nights here. I had a very early departure which led to me having a hard time deciding where to stay. Hotel prices in Vancouver were through the roof and I wasn’t expecting the rates to be this expensive here. The Hotel Belmont offers the cheapest rate out of all the acceptable hotels to me. Amazing how I stayed at three different property chains in 4 nights over here. The Hotel Belmont is under the M Gallery brand. I just went for the simplest and most cost-efficient option since I will be in and out for this stay. I just wanted something clean and safe. I do not even need breakfast as I can just have it in the lounge at the airport. The hotel is located in the party area of the city centre and this might not be acceptable to all. The hotel bar/restaurant is also one of the party places in town. Being a boutique property, they are also lacking in terms of facilities. There is no gym or pool available here.
Booking Process & Pre Arrival
I booked via an OTA for this stay since it was cheaper than directly. I did not have any tangible status with Accor too so no difference for me. The hotel was going for around 210 SGD including taxes for my stay. That makes sense as I did not want to overspend since I will be in and out of this property. I ended up only using the room for 18 hours since I left at 7am for the airport. Hotel Belmont Vancouver MGallery feature 82 guest rooms and suites spread across 6 categories. You can find the breakdown below.
| Rooms | Bathtub | Room Size |
|---|---|---|
| Classic | No | 16 – 17 Sqm |
| Superior | No | 17 – 24 Sqm |
| Deluxe | No | 22 Sqm |
| Premium Corner | No | 24 Sqm |
| Junior Suite | No | 27 Sqm |
| The Belmont Suite | No | 35 Sqm |
Checking In
I arrived at the hotel around 2pm. It was just a couple of blocks away from the Sheraton where I was staying the night before. It was crowded and the lobby was packed to the brim with people trying to check it. It looks like a huge crowd just arrived right before me. It was a good 30 mins before I was helped too. Given that this is a boutique hotel, the lobby is undoubtedly small and there wasn’t even space to sit or stand inside. Outside of the crowd, the cosy lobby looks very nice and there is also some seating around the area. I love the fireplace.
Once it got to me, I was helped by the associate who reconfirmed my reservation. She was rather nonchalant. I was informed of the inclusions of the Urban Experience Fee aka Destination Fees. This includes one welcome drink voucher valid from 4 to 6pm, a 15% food discount in The Living Room, Bike Rental, WiFi, InRoom TV Casting, local and toll-free calls, 24-hour Business Center and printer access. Yeah, you have to pay for casting. What makes it ridiculous is that the drinks can only be used from 4 – 6 pm. I am certainly not coming back to the hotel for a drink right in the middle of the day. The joke is bottled water isn’t even included in the room. This is purely just a ripoff exercise to extract more money from customers.
Classic Queen Room
I was assigned a room on the first floor. This is technically the second floor. The ground floor is the lobby and restaurant area. My room is at the end of the corridor. You enter into the middle of the room. The decor is quite chic and I love the vibes.
Everything looks very new and well-maintained. The room is lovely. It is however on the smaller side since this only measures 16 to 17 Sqm.
Straight ahead you can find the open-concept wardrobe. This is more for show than practicality. There is more than enough space for a proper wardrobe. It comes with plenty of hangers, a bottom shelf for storage and a portable luggage stand. There is also an ironing kit.
Right next to it is the high-quality television mounted on the wall. It is a good size for the room. While it is mounted at an angle away from the bed it is only a movable mount. The television comes with a good number of both local and cable TV channels. It also supports casting capabilities.
As we head on towards the inner parts of the room you can find a pretty tight and small working desk. There is no window and view from the room. The desk comes with power outlets within reach and two table lamps. The armchair provides pretty good back support for a short period of work. The Wi-Fi can be unstable at times in the room.
Left of the table is a Nespresso coffee machine and some bottles of water. Do note that the water is not complementary and they cost 3 CAD each. That is kind of cheap in my opinion. The room category also does not come with a fridge. There is space for it. This can be improved.
The full-length mirror is located on the wall beside the bed. I feel like it could be better placed where the TV is. They could have switched places. This way you get a better view of the TV from the bed as well.
The classic room type only comes with a queen size bed. This is another perplexing decision as there is more than enough space in the room for a king-size bed. I do love the set-up and look of the bed area. On both sides of the bed are nightstands with power outlets readily available. They also have USB ports. I have no idea why but the lights are also not centrally controlled over here. Why is this so common in Canada? I do have to commend the beddings. The mattress is extremely good and I have a comfortable rest. The pillows were plush and came with great neck support.
The bathroom is near the entrance. It is nicely appropriated. I love the finishing. The gold and blue contrast is very striking. It comes with a single sink. It is on the smaller side and so badly designed. The faucet is so short which makes it very inconvenient to use. Amenities are not provided and these are only available upon request. I have no idea why they design such a faucet and sink when they have space for a bigger one.
I’m glad to see that the bathroom comes with a proper standing shower with glass screens. There is both a handheld showerhead and a rainforest shower. Water pressure and temperature control are very good. Toiletries were from Skoah and in pump-size dispensers. I am not a fan of them as they were too minty for my liking, especially in the evening.
I would also like to point out that the air-conditioning is very loud and this can be a concern for light sleepers.
The Living Room
This is the hotel bar and converts into a restaurant for breakfast during the day. It is super hyped and popular. Do note that the place is open till early morning on the weekends so you might get some noise pollution in the room. The food and drinks prices are very fair and this is also where you can use your welcome drink voucher. I did not manage to do so since you can only redeem from 4 to 6pm and I was out.
Conclusion
A rather breezy stay since I was in and out in less than 18 hours. This makes the most financial sense since it is the cheapest offering that is acceptable to me. Of course, it still cost me about 200 SGD. This is as good as it gets for my requirements. Overall, the property is a skip or a miss for me. I won’t be back. While the hardware and rooms are rather lovely, the service and soft product are unmemorable. I am not a fan of property charging amenity fees and nitpicking. They still want 3 CAD from you for a bottle of water. I did love their retro feel and furnishing. This is a property that has so much potential. At the very least, a fridge could be provided.
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