There's been a grand château-style hotel on this spot since 1888, when the Canadian Pacific Railway opened the first Hotel Vancouver. The hotel's current incarnation, with its peaked copper roof, opened in 1939 for the royal visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth and is one of the city's most striking landmarks. The 556 rooms and suites are decorated with old-school elegance: lots of cherry-stained wood, heavy swagged drapes, and floral upholstery. The best are the 39 Fairmont Gold units on the ninth floor, which are extra-spacious (averaging 750 square feet) and also give guests access to a private check-in desk, concierge, and posh lounge with an honor bar and evening hors d'oeuvres. In contrast to the rest of the property, the hotel's Absolute Spa is startlingly modern, with free Wi-Fi, pedicure chairs with built-in flat-screen TVs, and treatments like 60-minute back "facials."

This glass hotel backed by mountains lets guests "watch the planes take off and land—without hearing them" (thanks to soundproof windows). Rooms have large bathrooms with "lots of counter space for even the largest makeup kit." Recent renovations have updated bedding and added Nikon spotting scopes. Road warriors kick back with signature drinks like the De-Icer—made with Frangelico, Bailey's, and warm milk—at the Jetside Bar.

(392 rooms)

With a prime location right on Vancouver's harbor, this 23-story hotel has some of the city's best views. (The only real competition comes from the Pan Pacific across the street, whose west-facing vistas are unobstructed.) The best place to enjoy the panorama is, without a doubt, the heated pool surrounded by an herb garden on the third-floor terrace; it seems to hang suspended between vistas of the North Shore Mountains and Stanley Park. Dinner at the on-site Herons Restaurant, with its two-story panes of glass overlooking city foot traffic, isn't too shabby, either. Three hundred of the 489 classically plush rooms and suites face the harbor, but the Signature suites and rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows and especially incredible views—including from the spacious marble bathrooms. Note that the hotel gets packed during high season because of its proximity to the Alaska cruise ship terminal.

Four Seasons–style service and a great downtown location are the main draws at this 372-room property. The hotel is impeccably maintained, and the staff is ready to assist with just about any request (for example, the kitchen will gladly put together a picnic in a sporty backpack if you plan to hike in Stanley Park). A $20 million renovation completed in 2009 updated the 30-year-old decor: All rooms now include 42-inch flat-screen TVs, iHome radios with iPod docks, and super-plush beds; Wi-Fi is free in all public areas. An impressive sundeck surrounds Vancouver's only year-round indoor/outdoor pool, making it a great spot to laze away a warm day. The Yew Restaurant and Bar, newly renovated with soaring ceilings, a glassed-in private dining room, and a 14-seat communal table, serves Pacific Northwest cuisine and has a talented team of bartenders. Shoppers and culture vultures will appreciate the location: The Vancouver Art Gallery is right across the street and the Pacific Centre Mall is right next door.—Kasey Wilson

One of Vancouver's few boutique hotels, the 95-room Hotel Le Soleil is all about cozy romance. The rooms are done up in red and gold, silk brocade, and ornate Louis XVI–style furnishings. Nearly all are suites, with small but elegant sitting areas perfect for relaxing with a bottle of wine from the minibar. Avoid the third-floor suites, which have no living room windows and are a bit gloomy (corner suites, which do have floor-to-ceiling windows, are a better choice for light-lovers). There's no gym or spa, but fitness-minded guests can get day passes to the state-of-the-art YWCA next door, and treatment packages are available at the nearby Spa Utopia at the Pan Pacific hotel. The on-site restaurant is cute, but for a really special and affordable lunch, head one block north and one block east to Sciué, a Roman-style café where the panini are out of this world (110-800 Pender St., 604-602-7263).

When the Loden opened in late 2008, it poached regulars from both the super-cool Opus and the traditional Sutton Place, promising a boutique hotel experience that's contemporary and stylish without being trendy. Located in the quiet residential neighborhood of Coal Harbour, the 14-story, 77-room property is just blocks from Stanley Park, Robson Street shopping, and the financial district. Designwise, the Loden is all about serenity and discretion—blink and you'll drive right past the hotel's understated signage—which may be why celebs like Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds have stayed here. The extensive use of glass on the facade mimics the nearby ocean; massive wooden front doors lead to a lobby centered on a double-sided zebra onyx fireplace. At just over 400 square feet, the guest rooms are compact, but floor-to-ceiling windows flood them with natural light and a sliding wall opens the bathroom to the sleeping area. The look is modern but not minimalist: Coral velvet chaises and blond wood cabinets stand out against boldly patterned carpeting and, in the bathrooms, chocolate brown marble. Ask for a high room to get a sliver of a mountain or ocean view, or a garden room for a step-out patio; rooms on lower floors look out onto buildings and construction cranes. The Voya restaurant serves West Coast cuisine in a cosmopolitan, forties-style dining room. You'll feel virtuous if you have head bartender Jay Jones whip up his Harvest cocktail for you—it contains Prairie Organics vodka; carrot, ginger, and apple juices; and bitters.—Kasey Wilson

Yaletown's only hotel, and the most design-centric place in Vancouver, Opus is once again one of our top choices, thanks to the completion of a two-year project to build a subway station next door. Instead of construction-related noise and hassle, guests will now (as of September 2009) have quick access via the Canada Line to the Olympic Village and the airport. Opus's 96 spotless rooms are painted in bright primary colors (lipstick red, sunflower yellow), furnished with modern pieces (Philippe Starck bar stools, Arne Jacobsen Egg chairs), and accessorized with cutting-edge touches (lots of chrome, sliding frosted-glass doors leading to starkly spacious bathrooms). But though celebs like Jennifer Lopez and R.E.M. have stayed here, everyday folks get VIP perks like complimentary rides in the hotel's BMW 7 Series and automatic entry into the still-hip Opus Bar. The amenities, from the L'Occitane bath products to the free mountain bikes, are top-notch. Reserve a corner table in the sultry, red velvet–lined Elixir brasserie—it's one of the most intimate spaces in the city. The restaurant's voyeuristic bathrooms add a mischievous bit of fun: A transparent glass wall separates the men's and women's rooms and tiny screens show what's happening in the lounge upstairs.—Kasey Wilson

Set right on the downtown harbor and adjacent to Canada Place (home of the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre), this modern 23-story tower is big with business travelers and conference attendees. The 503 rooms are beige, beige, and more beige, but they're also large and airy, with big windows overlooking the water and the mountains beyond. Of the three on-site restaurants, the Cascades Lounge, in the atrium lobby, morphs into a swank nightspot, where live jazz musicians often play. The outdoor pool and Jacuzzi are both heated, the Spa Utopia's treatments are sumptuous, and the 2,000-square-foot fitness center is far and away the best hotel gym in the city. Book early during spring and summer, the busy Alaska cruise-ship season; and if you're easily put off by crowds of people wearing suits and name tags, you might prefer the Fairmont Waterfront across the street.

For its entry into North America, the Hong Kong–based Shangri-La chain fired a dramatic opening salvo. The 119-room Shangri-La Vancouver takes up the first 15 floors of a 62-story glass tower, Vancouver's tallest, located between downtown and the residential West End. The Asian-style hospitality is evident in the doting, singular focus on guests: After entering, you are greeted by a hostess in Mandarin-style attire, then led to a discreet check-in area on the lower level and served a pot of steaming tea. (A bit of hand-holding is necessary, in fact: The hotel's three separate entrances can be confusing.) The interiors are sumptuous, particularly the three-story lobby with its limestone walls and floors, crystal chandeliers, rosewood paneling, and plush leather chairs. Rooms—there are seven different configurations—start at a spacious 450 square feet and have contemporary furniture with Asian touches and a Chinese color scheme of gold and bronze. Marble bathrooms are the biggest in town, with enormous walk-in showers and mirrors that double as ten-inch televisions. Food is covered by Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Market, and the Chi spa pampers patrons with a range of Chinese and Himalayan treatments in six individual suites with fireplaces.—Kasey Wilson

Formerly a run-down hotel with a stripper pole in the basement, this 1913 relic (no relation to the St. Regis in New York or its namesake luxury brand) had an $11 million facelift in 2008. Now it caters to style- and budget-conscious families and business travelers in the core of downtown. The 65 rooms and suites feel larger than their size (under 300 square feet) and are handsomely tailored in shades of gray with dark brown wood furniture. All that gray can be a bit somber—especially in winter—so book one of the corner rooms (04s and 10s), which have more windows. The drapes aren't heavy enough to defeat the street noise, but on the flip side, you're in the heart of the bustle, close to shopping (chic department store Holt Renfrew is across the street), sporting events, the convention center, and Gastown. You'll give up your expensive waterfront view, but you still have state-of-the-art technology, including free Wi-Fi and iPod docks, plus a large working desk with plenty of outlets. Also free is a full daily breakfast—though there's a Starbucks on property, as well as a Tim Hortons, Canada's busiest coffee and donut spot, across the street.—Kasey Wilson

When locals think of the 397-room Sutton Place, they think of chocolate. Every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, the hotel's Fleuri restaurant hosts an all-you-can-eat Chocoholic Buffet, where guests can load up on desserts like chocolate profiteroles, chocolate cheesecake, and triple-chocolate croissant pudding. It's one of many decadent perks that guests here can take advantage of; others include daily high tea, Sunday Jazz Brunches, Ayurvedic treatments at the Vida Wellness Spa, and a unique shopping program that gives guests 10 to 30 percent off any purchases they make at local boutique stores on Robson Street. Tipplers shouldn't miss the wood-paneled Gerard Lounge, where bartenders reportedly make the city's best martinis. Keep an eye out for visiting celebrities; the hotel's adjoining Grande Residence has fully equipped one- and two-bedroom apartments that are popular with film crews and stars working on location (including Pierce Brosnan).

Charming and blowsy, the Sylvia is the Blanche DuBois of hotels. A 1912 eight-story brick apartment building on the bayfront, it's been a hotel since 1954—when it also became the site of Vancouver's first-ever cocktail bar. The 120 old-fashioned rooms and suites have never met a decorator, but they're the best bargains in town, especially those with views—who's watching the salmon-pink nylon faux-patchwork bedspread when you can see the rollerblade parade along the seawall through the window? A sunset cocktail in the bar is a treat, '70s airport-lounge vibe notwithstanding—and you can keep the kids amused by reading them Mr. Got To Go, a book about the infamous hotel cat.

Greek-born owner Eleni Skalbania, who opened the Wedgewood in 1984, is fond of traditional decor: Inlaid parquet floors, Turkish rugs, leather armchairs, antiques, brocades, and gilded fixtures are everywhere in her 83-room hotel. But modern comforts aren't neglected here—especially in the four penthouse suites, updated in summer 2006 to include Jacuzzi tubs for two, walk-in showers, heated limestone floors, and 37-inch flat-screen TVs. If the small gym isn't hitting the spot, call on general manager Philip Meyer. A former Tour de France cyclist, Meyer leads guests on spins around the seawall, the Gastown area, or even further afield (advance request required). After a ride, sampling chef Lee Parsons' French menus at the on-site Bacchus Restaurant should be nearly guilt-free.