Now that we’re driving distance to the lower mainland, we decided to pack up the kids and head to Vancouver over the long weekend! Vancouver is a quick 4 hour drive from Kelowna, making it a great destination for a weekend getaway. With plenty to see and do in this great city, I think we will be making a lot of weekend trips as a family.

This long weekend we hit the road for a stay at The Westin Bayshore which is located in Coal Harbour neighbourhood of Vancouver. This hotel offers sweeping views of the harbour and the mountains from the guest rooms. Stanley Park is just steps away for you to do a little exploring outdoors as well! The location is perfect for strolling around the city for some shopping and sightseeing too.

We checked into the Lanai Suite during our stay at The Westin Bayshore. The hotel recently renovated their beautiful guest rooms in early 2020 which gave them a nice modern feel. Our corner suite featured a king size bed, 2 bathrooms, and a living room with a pull out couch for the kids. The views of the harbour were breathtaking and the kids loved watching the planes landing on the water as the airport was close by. The room was perfect for our family of 4 offering separate rooms for sleeping and relaxing after a long day of sightseeing. It was great to have two seating areas to watch tv in as well.

There are plenty of amenities available at The Westin Bayshore to enjoy during your stay. The kids had a blast at the recently opened indoor pool and spent hours swimming during our stay. The fitness centre is open again for guests to utilize as well. With the new health and safety protocols in place, you can sign up at the front desk to reserve your time to use the pool or fitness facility. It was great to see the hotel limiting the amount of people using the facilities at any given time.

The hotel amenities also included a seasonal heated outdoor pool which we had the opportunity to enjoy on a warm fall afternoon. They also offer complimentary bikes to explore the area, the Vida Spa, and Just Add Water Yoga studio. Take some time to explore the area on foot as well! The hotel offers complimentary umbrellas in your room to use during your stay. They came in handy for us as we had a couple rainy days!

The Westin Bayshore offers some great dining options as well. We loved having breakfast and dinner available in the lobby that were kid friendly too! We all enjoyed our dinner at H Tasting Lounge on the first night of our stay. Their dinner menu offers a variety of seafood options with burgers and vegan dishes available as well. They had a great kids menu with all the kid favourites to choose from!

We had an amazing server and enjoyed our dinner which included;

TRUFFLE FRIES – grana padano, truffle mustard aioli, truffle oil

VEGAN TOFU RICE BOWL – papaya, edamame, charred avocado, vegan mayo, spring onion, sesame, rice, pickled ginger, macadamia-coconut crunch

SEAFOOD LINGUINE AGLIO E OLIO – prawns, mussels, clams, garlic, chili, parsley, tomato, white wine, olive oil, grana padano, grilled sourdough

MARGHERITA PIZZA – wood-fired crust, tomato, basil, mozzarella

The Westin Bayshore Vancouver is an ideal remote work destination, with study desks that overlook the Coal Harbour Marina and North Shore Mountains. Denny and I both have jobs that we work remotely so we took advantage of the two desks in our room to get some work done during our stay. Take a look at those views, they were absolutely breathtaking! The hotel also offers expansive meeting space for companies to take advantage of.

The Westin Bayshore has plenty of health and safety protocols in place to help keep you safe during your stay. These included;

• Masks required to be worn by guests in all common areas of the hotel
• Staff required to wear masks at all times
• Hand sanitizer stations located throughout the hotel by the elevators and front desk
• Social distancing stickers in the lobby area at check in
• Signs to remind guests that elevators can be occupied by a family or two individual guests only
• No mini bar items in the rooms
• Optional housekeeping available
• Luggage carts were sanitized after each use
• Pool and fitness area allow access only by signing in and obtaining a key at the front desk

We felt relaxed and safe during our stay at The Westin Bayshore with the kids. We were satisfied with the protocols in place to keep the guests safe. Thank you to the Westin Bayshore for inviting us to stay at your hotel, we had a great weekend getaway!

This blog post was written in partnership with the Westin Bayshore in Vancouver BC. Views expressed are my own based on our personal experience staying at the hotel and using the amenities. We loved our stay at the Westin Bayshore as a family and can’t wait to stay here again!