Vancouver
Canada


The Experience

For all its reputation as one of the world’s most livable small cities, Vancouver has very few small hotels. Indeed Opus, opened in 2002, is still the only boutique hotel in town. Set in a seven-story glass and bare-brick building in the fashionably gentrified Yaletown warehouse district, it combines many boutique standards -- designer lobby cocktail bar, contemporary-chic rooms, hip young staff -- with an unpretentious Canadian welcome that makes it far more cozy and intimate than its 96 rooms suggest.

The Rooms

Themed around five “personalities” -- from Artful & Eclectic to Modern & Minimalist -- rooms are done in bold palettes of red, green, blue, yellow and taupe, the dark color offset by bright light streaming through oversize windows. Standards with queen beds, three-piece heated-floor bathrooms and writing desks are an unfortunately compact 250 square feet, but for a few dollars more you can get a 305-square-feet Superior with a king bed and spa bathroom with walk-in shower that somehow feels twice the size. All rooms have televisions, DVDs, wireless connection and wet bars, but try to snag one of the select few with balconies overlooking the neighborhood streets where you can breathe in the fresh Vancouver air.

The Service

Staff in all-black designer uniforms are young and hip, but unlike those at many stylish boutique hotels they actually look as if they enjoy their work. A bellboy is on hand to drive you anywhere in the city in the hotel’s complimentary BMW, while desk staff -- and an online Lifestyle Concierge -- are there to recommend anything from visits to nearby spas and restaurants to cycling trips along the city’s seawall path on one of the hotel bikes.

The Highlights

The Opus lobby bar, with its gilt chairs, Philippe Starck-designed stools and Nienkämper tables, combines contemporary style with a certain thrift-store elegance that suits the in crowd who come for cocktails, tapas and ambient music. But the less scene-conscious will prefer the adjacent Elixir brasserie, a French-style cafe specializing in French country fare; its tiled floors, dark wood booths and low lighting are reminiscent of New York’s timeless Balthazar. Be sure to sample some of the superb boutique wines sourced from the nearby Okanagan region that dominate the excellent wine list.

-- Douglas Rogers

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