Tuesday, July 06, 2010

The Hotel

"I love Hotel Grand Pacific more than any other hotel, because it has a kids' pool." -Ben

We love hotels. My children love hotels. I had some hotel credit based upon using a certain company back in my travel days that ended up losing a class action lawsuit. My share of the pie was $160+ in credit. We didn't know where we were going in Canada until the day before we left because we needed to talk with Mike's sister and her husband about where we could meet them. And since July 1 is Canada Day and the Americans just south of the border had a three day weekend, hotels were nearly full. Turns out our only decent choice was Hotel Grand Pacific, ranked no. 1 in Canada in 2008 by Conde Nast. Rough.

Our 5-star experience is highly recommended. I've stayed in a lot of hotels and this one took the cake. One reason: The staff weren't snotty to those of us obviously not used to five star accommodations. And complete preparedness, right down to the pack'n'play set up in the room and the extra set of towels.

Another reason: the view. And location. Right next to the Houses of Parliament and across from the Harbor. And a lovely view of The Empress Hotel.

But probably the best reason was the pool. Indoor with natural light pouring in from lofty solar panels, ozonated, and with a 2' foot wading pool for the kids, we didn't get enough time here. I enjoyed the hot tub, sauna, and steam room while Mike managed the kids. Everleigh declared herself a water baby and enjoyed her time in the pool. Ben was delighted that there was a kids' pool and he could control where the water went.

Mike and I love hotels better when our children aren't in the same room. Sigh. Ben told me the first night that he needed to sleep "with an adult." This was in response to attempting to put him down next to Kyri. He followed it up with true Ben style: "And Mom, you are so soft and cuddly." Meanwhile Kyri was crying "I need my daddy." So it was settled then. Mostly. Mike and I bounced back and forth between beds both nights.

But we still loved the hotel. Sigh.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah. Nothing beats a great hotel. Sounds like a great get away for all of you (except for the sleeping arrangements) Sorry about that.
Judy

Missi said...

wow, that sounds like a really nice place. Looks fabulous too!!