Rosewood Hotel Georgia, Vancouver, Canada - review

Where is it?

Right in the heart of the city, opposite the Vancouver Art Gallery, and just steps away from Stanley Park and the shops of Gastown.

Style

In short, the hotel has it in bucket loads. Originally opened in 1927 it epitomised the glamour of the Roaring Twenties, quickly becoming the place to stay for the good and great of the time from Marlene Dietrich to Errol Flynn to HRH Edward, Prince of Wales.

It was the first hotel to have extra long beds for tall guests and introduce late night room service which it did to allow Katherine Hepburn to eat in the privacy of her room.

Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley all came through those doors. In 2011, after a major renovation, Rosewood re-opened this Vancouver landmark , buffed and polished like new. Interiors are in keeping with its place as Vancouver’s Grand Dame; Elegant Art Nouveau meets Georgian Revival with gleaming wood panelling overlaid with an impressive collection of modern and contemporary Canadian art.

Facilities

Sense, the Rosewood Spa has a wide range of treatments available including a selection for Rosebuds or under-13’s and for the well groomed man-about-town. Signature experiences range from a Canadian maple pedicure to oxygen infused facials.

There is a gym and a saltwater lap pool with light-changing geometric patterns which is no less than a triumph of design. The concierge can’t be recommended more; both for crisis management during an airline meltdown as I experienced or to suggest and advise on museums, exhibitions on in town or the very best restaurants to try.

Food & Drink

The city’s top dining spot, Hawksworth, is located on the ground floor of the hotel. Chef David Hawksworth delivers confident contemporary Canadian dishes with an emphasis on local, organic, ingredients rooted in their season.

A tasting menu might include pan roasted scallops with foraged mushrooms, pumpkin, caramelised yoghurt and cauliflower or yarrows meadow duck breast with umami glaze, black garlic, Brussel sprouts, roasted onion jus – and don’t miss the sensational hamachi ceviche with sea buckthorn, passion fruit, avocado and crisp rice.

It’s a busy, buzzy, restaurant with excellent service and a sommelier that faultlessly pairs local wines with the food for a real immersion in the best of British Columbia. There is also Reflections: the garden terrace, where light, tapas-style dishes are served in the more informal environment of a leafy, urban courtyard and for lunch on the run, there is Bel Café with gourmet sandwiches and soups and small bites.

The Prohibition Bar pays homage to its jazz era origins with beautiful art deco interiors creating a great background to the Hotel Georgia cocktail which mixes gin with lemon juice, orange blossom water, egg white and nutmeg.

Extra-curricular

Vancouver, framed by the mountains and the sea with a feel-good west coast vibe is a joy to explore and best done on foot, making the centrally located Rosewood Georgia a great starting point. Head first to Gastown where the city began in 1867. There, there are a handful of Inuit art galleries which are worth dipping into just for their sculptures, so sparingly carved yet emotionally rich.

After that pop into the Vancouver Art Gallery right opposite, where the Emily Carr collection is worth seeing. The racial diversity of the city makes for a rewarding food scene with some of the best Asian restaurants in the country. Just round the corner from the hotel is the young, hip Heritage Asian eatery which always has a queue outside it.

Try their duck rice bowl with their made in house Peking sauce and their gingery marinated eggplant, perfect for a lunch on the go. If food is your thing go and explore Granville Market where you can see the wealth of raw ingredients that chefs here have to work with. Look for the Dungeness crab and spot prawns unique to this area with a short, and therefore very sweet, season.

Which room

The 156 rooms and suites, in a palette of light blues, ivory and chocolate, are elegance personified with Insta-worthy bathrooms in black marble with rain showers and vast white tubs you can disappear into. Views are of downtown Vancouver. The suites are spacious with the top of the range Lord Stanley suite and Rosewood suite featuring not only a private rooftop terrace but also a plunge pool.

Best for

This hotel brims with glamour and luxurious touches and yet it manages to be home from home comfortable. Just as it was one for the celebrities when it first opened in 1927, it remains THE place to stay in Vancouver. Celebrate your wedding anniversary or birthday here or a ‘just because it is Monday and I love you’. Memories are made of this.

When to go

April through to October is sunny and warm with drier months than the rest of the year.

Details

Doubles from $364 per night; rosewoodhotels.com