After our stay at The Westin Whistler, we needed a hotel to rest up for a night before heading from Vancouver to New York with Air Canada on the only day flight between the two cities.
I much prefer flying during the day over a red-eye for such flight of around 5 or so hours, so spending a night at an airport hotel before the 8.30am departure the following morning seemed logical.
There are a few airport hotel options in Vancouver, and one only directly connected to the airport (The Fairmont).
But I’m addicted to loyalty programs, and as I was chasing Starwood Platinum status (this stay would tip me over the edge), and had a rental car anyway, then the off-airport Westin meant I prioritised status over convenience.
Research & Booking
Firstly, I knew I was close to Starwood Platinum, so I knew I was going to stay with Starwood for this particular stay. The paid rates at the Westin Wall Centre were fairly high, at around $350 AUD per night.
So I chose to redeem Starpoints – at 7,000 Starpoints per night, it was a steal in comparison to paying the paid rate.
The Hotel
The Westin Wall Centre is about a 5-10 minute drive from the Airport, depending on traffic. Predictably the hotel runs an airport shuttle, but I didn’t use it as we had a rental car, so can’t comment on it’s frequency. It did seem like a dedicated service though, rather than a shared shuttle that calls at every hotel around before getting to yours.
![Westin Wall Centre (1) | Point Hacks](https://i.pointhacks.com/img/2016/05/18125450/Westin-Wall-Centre-1.jpg)
The hotel is relatively isolated, a new building next to an equally new block of apartments. The entry, lobby and dining area downstairs is all relatively compact. But there is a decent pool, spa and gym up on the first floor.
![Westin Wall Centre Pool | Point Hacks](https://i.pointhacks.com/img/2016/05/18125836/Westin-Wall-Centre-Pool.jpg)
![Westin Wall Centre Pool (1) | Point Hacks](https://i.pointhacks.com/img/2016/05/18125809/Westin-Wall-Centre-Pool-1.jpg)
The pool actually had a great view out of the small local marina and harbour beyond, and the water was warm enough to spend a fair bit of time mucking around with our kids in without getting too cold.
The Room
We’d booked a twin room, with our two kids sharing a twin bed. I contacted the hotel in advance, let them know I’d hit Platinum with this stay and their helpful front desk stuff had us upgraded into a corner room for more space.
![Westin Wall Centre Twin Corner Room | Point Hacks](https://i.pointhacks.com/img/2016/05/18125939/Westin-Wall-Centre-Twin-Corner-Room.jpg)
I think there would be some decent views to be had from the right side of the hotel, but we didn’t get lucky on that front.
![Westin Wall Centre View | Point Hacks](https://i.pointhacks.com/img/2016/05/18130018/Westin-Wall-Centre-View.jpg)
![Westin Wall Centre Twin Corner Room (1) | Point Hacks](https://i.pointhacks.com/img/2016/05/18125858/Westin-Wall-Centre-Twin-Corner-Room-1.jpg)
![Westin Wall Centre Twin Corner Room (2) | Point Hacks](https://i.pointhacks.com/img/2016/05/18125920/Westin-Wall-Centre-Twin-Corner-Room-2.jpg)
The upgrade also came with some nice welcome amenities, and the earplugs for construction noise weren’t necessary – but were a nice touch.
![Westin Wall Centre Welcome Amenities | Point Hacks](https://i.pointhacks.com/img/2016/05/18130101/Westin-Wall-Centre-Welcome-Amenities.jpg)
![Westin Wall Centre Welcome Amenities (1) | Point Hacks](https://i.pointhacks.com/img/2016/05/18130037/Westin-Wall-Centre-Welcome-Amenities-1.jpg)
Executive Club
Our upgrade also scored access to the Executive Club which meant a free (but limited) breakfast, along with access to a computer, printer and some free beer, wine and soft drinks. All up, not bad. But not worth paying much extra for either (with the exception of the breakfast).
![Westin Wall Centre Executive Club | Point Hacks](https://i.pointhacks.com/img/2016/05/18125607/Westin-Wall-Centre-Executive-Club.jpg)
![Westin Wall Centre Executive Club (2) | Point Hacks](https://i.pointhacks.com/img/2016/05/18125536/Westin-Wall-Centre-Executive-Club-2.jpg)
![Westin Wall Centre Executive Club (1) | Point Hacks](https://i.pointhacks.com/img/2016/05/18125516/Westin-Wall-Centre-Executive-Club-1.jpg)
Food & Drink
The bar and restaurant on the ground floor actually put out some pretty good food. We had a couple of meals there, and while not cheap, were all well presented and tasty.
![Westin Wall Centre Hotel Dinner | Point Hacks](https://i.pointhacks.com/img/2016/05/18125745/Westin-Wall-Centre-Hotel-Dinner.jpg)
![Westin Wall Centre Hotel Dinner (3) | Point Hacks](https://i.pointhacks.com/img/2016/05/18125718/Westin-Wall-Centre-Hotel-Dinner-3.jpg)
![Westin Wall Centre Hotel Dinner (2) | Point Hacks](https://i.pointhacks.com/img/2016/05/18125649/Westin-Wall-Centre-Hotel-Dinner-2.jpg)
![Westin Wall Centre Hotel Dinner (1) | Point Hacks](https://i.pointhacks.com/img/2016/05/18125626/Westin-Wall-Centre-Hotel-Dinner-1.jpg)
Other Westin reviews
- The Westin Sydney
- The Westin Cape Town
- The Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa
- The Westin Whistler
- The Westin Miyako Kyoto Deluxe Garden View room
- The Westin Rusutsu Resort
- Westin Grand Berlin
- Westin Melbourne Hotel
Summing up
All up, this was a good stay, and one I felt was a good use of Starpoints. The hotel is relatively new and in great condition, the staff were very helpful, and there were few downsides to the location – driving into the airport presented no hassles.
That said, I’m not doing a fair comparison against other options here – I was chasing Starwood elite nights so didn’t really look at any alternatives.
The Fairmont did have a similar rate but was connected to the hotel, so all other things equal, I may have selected that over The Westin in another context. But I definitely had no complaints about The Westin Wall Centre.
I was wondering if you could comment on Air Canada as I am doing the same trip as you in November this year. I am leaving from Brisbane. Have found their Call Centre staff to be quite hopeless but am hoping the flights are quite good.