Deciding where to stay the night before a cruise is sometimes a difficult decision to make. Do you want to stay near the port to make embarkation easier and squeeze in a little sightseeing before boarding? Or do you go for a more relaxing and quiet night before a cruise?

After a jam-packed weekend in Seattle, we decided an airport hotel stay would be sufficient. We had to return our car rental to the Vancouver International Airport anyways and we weren’t planning on any Vancouver sightseeing until after our cruise.

Pacific Gateway Hotel at Vancouver Airport – a member of Preferred Hotel & Resorts – in Richmond, BC is a 374 room and suite luxury hotel minutes away from the Vancouver Airport.

A complimentary shuttle service runs every 20 minutes – all day, every day – which transports visitors from the Vancouver Airport to Pacific Gateway Hotel lobby in less than 10 minutes.

The Rooms

Decorated in a neutral colour palette, rooms and suites at the Pacific Gateway Hotel all have floor to ceiling windows with views of either the North Shore or the mountains.

Our family of four stayed in 500 square foot Club Junior Suite which had a separate king bedroom and adjoining living area with a pull out sofa bed for the kids.

Two bathrooms, two flat screen TVs, a mini-fridge, complimentary bottled water, umbrella (it is Vancouver after all!), hairdryer, iron and ironing board and an in-room coffee machine made for a comfortable and relaxing stay before our week long Alaskan cruise.

While the majority of guests stay over night, Pacific Gateway Hotel also offers day use rooms from 8:30AM to 7:00PM for guests with long layovers or late night flights.

The Amenities

Rooms and suites at the Pacific Gateway Hotel have the following amenities:

• Air-Conditioning and heat control
• Alarm clock-radio
• Coffee/Tea maker
• Flat Screen LCD TVs
• Iron and ironing board
• Cordless Phone
• Mini-Fridge (in Club Rooms or Suites only)
• Bathrobes (in Club Rooms or Suites only)
• Complimentary high-speed wired and wireless internet
• Roll-away beds available on a first-come first-serve basis

Pacific Gateway Hotel has an outdoor pool, fitness centre, business centre, bike rentals, airline self-check in kiosks, ATM machine, overnight dry cleaning and laundry services and two on-site restaurants.

The Dining Options

Hemisphere North is the hotel’s breakfast restaurant. Open from 6AM to 11AM daily, guests can order à la carte or choose the all you can eat buffet. There’s also a small lounge/bar area outside of the restaurant for those who want to grab and go.

On the day of our departure, we decided to skip the buffet and order individual dishes from the menu – 3 dishes to share between the 4 of us.

Breakfast was very filling – enough to tide us over to our late afternoon lunch on the cruise ship.

Pier 73 is one of the leading Farm to Table restaurants in the area and is open for lunch and dinner everyday from 11AM to 12AM (midnight). With a great view of the river and menus featuring sustainable seafood and local produce, this restaurant gets good reviews online. Unfortunately we didn’t have a chance to check out Pier 73 but we did hear from other hotel guests that dinner was delicious.

Getting Around Town

Pacific Gateway Hotel at Vancouver Airport is located in Richmond, BC and if you’re looking to spend time in downtown Vancouver, you will need to take a taxi, rent a vehicle or hop on the Skytrain.

Taxi rates are approximately $25 to $35 to downtown Vancouver.

Aberdeen SkyTrain station (on the Canada Line) is about 900 metres (1000 yards) from the hotel and guests can guests to get to downtown Vancouver in about 25 minutes and downtown Richmond in 5 minutes. Aberdeen Station is close to numerous Asian malls including Yaohan Centre, President Plaza, Aberdeen Centre and Parker Place.

We used the SkyTrain to meet up with family for dinner at Aberdeen Centre – it was very convenient and easy to navigate.

Parking is available at the hotel for $12/day or $18/night.

The Pacific Gateway Hotel is also an authorized Car2Go (a car sharing service in Vancouver) location so guests can park their car in a designated spot and take the complimentary shuttle to the airport.

Overall Impressions of Pacific Gateway

Although it is considered a luxury hotel, Pacific Gateway is one of the more affordable high-end options in the Vancouver Airport area.

It’s a great hotel for families with kids, business travelers, travelers with pets and cruisers.

The rooms are clean and well maintained and noise from the airport is not an issue.

There are no in-room safes so you’ll have to either keep your valuables with you or leave them in the safe at the front desk.

The multi-lingual hotel staff are very friendly and helpful – perfect for international visitors. They can arrange fishing charters, tours and vehicle rentals if needed.

Dining options are limited here but there are many restaurants just a short drive or SkyTrain ride away.

Pacific Gateway Hotel at Vancouver Airport is a convenient option for families that are looking for a short and relaxing stay near the Vancouver Airport.

Disclosure: This stay was hosted by Pacific Gateway Hotel however all images and opinions are 100% my own.

More About Pacific Gateway Hotel

Address: 3500 Cessna Drive, Richmond, British Columbia V7B 1C7
Price Range: $$$
Hotel Class: 4 stars
Reviews: Over 77% of reviewers rated this hotel Very Good or Excellent
Availability: Click here for rates and availability

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