Sep 7

Sep 7 The Douglas - A Hotel...In a Hotel?

After my trip to Bellevue, I inspired one of my Bellevue friends to come here! Being a well off techie, the man decided to roll it up in the DOUGLAS, Autograph Collection (yes, its capitalized that way). This is a boutique hotel that, as it describes itself, “provides an utterly uncommon experience in the vibrant Parq Vancouver entertainment resort”. And while the hotel is absolutely lovely, I would say the experience was admittedly pretty common.

Overview

Remember Marriott has over 30 brands, and obviously it sometimes is hard to keep track of them. The Luxury Collection and Autograph Collection are both…”collections” of hotels which don’t necessarily have any unifying brand characteristics besides being exclusive to upper-level properties. The Autograph Collection is a bit more down-market relative to the Luxury Collection, although you likely won’t be disappointed should you stay at any of them.

The Douglas is located in the heart of downtown Vancouver, bordering False Creek, Science World and Yaletown. Visitors, you are in for a treat with the view, although be warned False Creek isn’t actually a Creek (it terminates at Science World).

Right across from the entrance is a panda: you can probably tell which demographic this hotel is catered towards.

The hotel’s entrance is a bit less interesting, as most of the check in / activity is done at the nearby JW Marriott Parq Vancouver. The two hotels are connected via a variety of different tunnels / platforms, which we will dive into later.

The two hotels share amenities, including the hot tub, gym, park, restaurants: the Douglas’ main purpose is to be a bit more “out of the way” of the festivities at the nearby JW Parq.

The Room

My friend informed me the process was quite smooth, and that he got complementary upgrade. Taking the elevators up, we were greeted with more statues, accompanying hand sanitizer and a dark, calming hallway.

While he had originally booked a Guest room, 1 King, but on account of his Marriott status was upgraded to an 1 Bedroom Suite, 1 King, City view. I personally think this was due to the fact he stayed Sunday to Wednesday, and the hotel wasn’t too full; nevertheless, good on this hotel for its elite recognition!

My first thoughts as I entered the room was that it had substantially form over function - my friend was a tad more direct, and called it a party room.

The room was split into two distinct “sections”, with a large living room (see above) and a bedroom. In the living room, there was a kitchenette which was stocked with copious amounts of branded bottled water.

Atop of this was the coffee machine, although we didn’t get to try this out.

Further to my friends point about this room being a party room, there was various small chairs and random statues dotted around the main living room.

Thankfully, there were a few tables as well; while I could not film the main table given someone was working there, note that there is also a larger version of this table in the main room. Also, the slippers were pretty nice, and did come with the room.

Behind this was the first of many couches in the room, which was funny given the room’s technical permitted occupancy of 4.

Finally, the 0.5 bath (this room has 1.5 baths) was located at the end of the room.

After crossing the hallway, we come into the slightly more functional bedroom, which was dominated by a King bed.

The bed was comfy, with the funky tables on the side actually being quite sturdy. The room itself also had plenty of seating for a bedroom, starting with one couch directly to the right of the King Bed.

Adjacent to that was the desk: unfortunately, both the chair and the desk left a lot of be desired, as the chair could not adequately touch the desk.

To be fair, this is a casino so I don’t expect people to get any work done, especially since BC does not have a money laundering problem at all… There is also another couch in the bedroom, as if the one in the living room wasn’t enough.

If you’ve been counting, there is at least room for 10 people to sit at various places in this room, far outstating the occupancy of 4. Perhaps this is why the washrooms (see below) are so splendid.

Beyond just the marble sink, the room contained a massive separate shower, and an isolated toilet

As you have probably noticed, the view was fantastic! As you will see later, this is a theme that carries throughout the hotel.

Amenities

Those staying at the Douglas have access to most of the JW Marriott Parq’s amenities baring one: access to the Executive Lounge was off limits to Marriott Elite Members regardless of their status. If you’re curious what it looks like, please see this post. Fortunately, there several other great things about this hotel are free, starting with the park.

The Park at the Parq calls bills itself as an “open-air oasis”; while I wouldn’t go that far to describe it, I will say it is a pretty cool park.

After making our way to the 6th floor, we headed out these doors to a splendid Vancouver day - however, given that the summer of 2022 was particularly rainy, this might not always be the case.

The 6th floor also plays host to a restaurant called The Victor and a club / lounge called D/6: expect the price points to be in line with such an establishment. That being said, the drinks are quite reasonable during the Happy Hour.

If you go during the day, there park aspect is significantly more pronounced given some seating has been removed.

If you aren’t satisfied with the views here, there is always the fitness studio on the 17th floor of the JW Marriott Parq to keep you satisfied. I would say this is one of the better gyms I have been to, although the title of best JW Marriott gym would still go to the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai.

There was a good mix of cardio, strength, exercise and free weights. The only issue with the gym was that as of July 2022, there was only one washroom available on the entirety of the popular 17th floor.

This was particularly an issue given the 17th floor also played host to the Spa by JW Marriott and the Aqua Lounge.

The Aqua Lounge had fantastic views of Vancouver, and also served up refreshing alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks. That being said, the marketing materials make it look better and larger than it is, which is of course why blog like these exist!

In particular, the hot tub is actually quite small, and by my estimation could fit at most 7-8 people comfortably. However, I will give the hotel credit for providing a ton of seating arrangements, a theme that runs into its rooms as well.

The Douglas is also attached to a massive, 2 story casino. All casinos in BC are managed by the BC Lottery Corporation, with this one being no exception. There are your basic slot machines, Blackjack, Baccarat, Poker and Roulette, with high roller versions of these tables as well. Unfortunately I was unable to take pictures inside. And just a reminder that all of these games have the odds stacked against you, so play to have fun and not to actually get ahead.

Final Thoughts

People visiting Vancouver often as me whether to stay at the JW Marriott Parq or the Douglas: assuming a similar price point, I would actually pick the JW Marriott Parq. Not because the Douglas isn’t as good, it’s because A. The JW Marriott is closer to the action and B. Lounge Access. That being said, I was quite impressed with the quality of the Douglas, and would say it deserves it’s 4.5 star rating. This mainly due to the fact that my friend got upgraded to a 1,200 sq ft suite and the great service. I also interacted with a few staff members during my brief time, and found them to be professional, helpful and keenly intent on keeping us hydrated. Overall, you can’t go wrong with a stay at the Douglas, and I would recommend this a great alternative to staying at a place in Vancouver’s Waterfront.