The Four Points Vancouver airport is a convenient and relatively cheap hotel for quick overnight stays in Vancouver. The location isn’t as convenient as many other airport hotels are, but there’s a free shuttle that’s provided that makes it a bit easier. I reviewed my Cathay Pacific First Class flight from JFK-YVR recently, and this is the hotel I stayed at during my overnight layover. It costs 7K SPG points per night, which isn’t cheap but was something I was willing to pay since the cash price was high that day.
Four Points Vancouver Airport Review
My flight landed after midnight and it was past 1am by the time I finished immigration. This hotel offers a free shuttle every 30 minutes from the airport to the hotel, but only from 4AM to 12:30AM. At the time I booked, the hotel website mentioned to call ahead to arrange complimentary pick-up for arrivals from 12:30am to 4AM. Looking at their website now, it looks like they’ve changed this policy to asking people to take a taxi, show it at the hotel, and get reimbursed for it.
Unfortunately for me, I planned everything very last minute and didn’t have a chance to call ahead for the free shuttle that was available at the time. I cabbed it for the 10 minute drive, but it cost less than $10.
The lobby was empty aside from one check-in agent, who thanked me for being a Platinum member. He mentioned that breakfast would be served in a small room he pointed too adjacent to the lobby, then asked when I needed to head back to the airport so he could make the reservation for the shuttle. I was then given my keys and headed up for my room.
The room was nothing special, but much nicer than many other Four Points hotels I’ve seen in the past. This room was clean and had decent furnishings. There was a bathrobe waiting for me on the King sized bed. There was also a very large TV mounted to the wall and a large desk to work on.
The bathroom was relatively big and similarly clean but unimpressive.
The bathroom had a single sink, separate shower, and massive tub that looks like it was made for two. There were a couple of windows in my bathroom and it made it very cold in the morning.
To the right of the room’s entry door was the closet that contained a few of the usual items.
There was an iron and ironing board, safe, some complimentary water, and an extra blanket. To the side of the closet was a complimentary coffee/tea station, which is a staple of nearly all airport hotels.
I went to sleep almost immediately since it was late and I was tired. The bed felt very old because there were quite a few dips on the sides while the middle was raised and seemed unused.
Breakfast in the morning was extremely crowded, to the point where I couldn’t even take a decent picture. There wasn’t much to see anyway – just a few pastries, coffee, and water. I was hoping for some juice but didn’t see any. Everyone in the lobby was waiting for the next shuttle, which eventually came and took us all to the airport for our flights.
US immigration is completed in YVR before entry, and it’s always a pleasure. And I mean that in the most sarcastic way possible, because I’m convinced that the immigration officers here are some of the most racist that there are. I was of course held for an extra hour during immigration because the immigration officer thought I’d been to the Middle East quite a bit (and I’d only had one Middle Eastern stamp in my passport at the time, mind you), plus he thought it was weird that I traveled so much. I explained that I’m a travel blogger, so he looked up my website while sitting at his computer and didn’t understand so sent me to secondary screening where I sat for a while. Oh, and did I mention I have Global Entry and shouldn’t even have to talk to anyone?
So the lesson here is to avoid YVR when at all possible. It is well known as a place where immigration sucks. I have stories from the 2010 Olympics on entry and exit as well, and it’s just always bad.
Impressive Toilet Bowl, cannot wait to visit.
It was one of the better I’ve used.