The Cruise-ship season is now in full swing in Vancouver which means the city has a large influx of tourists coming and going from Canada Place. If you happen to be travelling to the city from a cruise we will like to tell about the local area that the Sunset Inn and Suites is situated in, we will also help you out on how you can occupy your time before checking into the room, it is likely you will be checking very very early – so let us show you around Davie Street and Davie Village.

Davie Village has a wealth of great restaurants, bars and cafes to choose from and is by far one of the most colourful districts in all of Vancouver – it is also officially designated as the Gay District of Vancouver hence the stunning array of colour and the famous Rainbow Crosswalk at the intersection of Bute and Davie.
When visiting this neighbourhood, we suggest taking time to wander and meander through the different streets as it is impressive to see how the area changes. Street by street, block by block, you will see the colours, style and shape of each building and apartment look very different from the next one. The trees and various other types of flora are absolutely stunning, especially at this time of year with the Spring colours in full bloom showing an impressive natural display.

Davie Village – our local colourful community.
Davie Village is a 3 block area of Davie Street that runs East to West from Burrard St to Jervis St that is jammed packed with amazing restaurants of all ethnicity’s to choose from, there are also plenty of cute small shops to peruse and plenty of Bars with great Patios to choose from.
As we are a full apartment hotel you do have the option to cook using our fully equipped kitchens, the village has a few grocery stores and a great Supermarket to buy excellent groceries.

Take a look at this link courtesy of the West End Business Improvement Association http://westendbia.com/ They have a great colourful website that shows you exactly what Davie street has to offer!

Roedde House Museum and Barclay Square
Coming to visit the famous Roedde House which is part of the Barclay Square complex you will immediately find yourself back in time to the late 1800s era. The house is named after the very first Bookbinder in Vancouver named Gustav Roedde and the house was built in 1893
The house is under the property of the City of Vancouver and way back in 1976 it was decided to be placed under the Heritage building list.
The most unique aspect about this museum is the fact that none of the Artifacts are behind Rope or a Glass box – the idea is that you are literally meant to realistically take a step back in time so you experience the House as it was in 1893.

Barclay Square Gardens
The Roedde House museum is one of a few properties that are built around the gorgeous Barclay Square gardens The gardens are tended by the city and are open for not only the visitors to Vancouver but West End residents alike. The park opened up in 1985 a year before the Roedde House opened for the public – the reasoning behind the park was to encourage more Green spaces in the already congested downtown core, even though there is Stanley Park which is not too far away and is pretty huge, it is still a nice surprise to find a little Oasis among the smaller older properties and the towering high rises.
The museum celebrates its 25th birthday this year. For further information please click here http://westendbia.com/the-roedde-house-museum-turns-25/

The Gabriola House
This was built for a Mr B.T. Rogers who was the founder of B.C. Sugar Refining Co. This Queen Anne style grand mansion, is located on Davie Street and Nicola Street.
This is a gorgeous building that really stands out in the neighbourhood, however unfortunately it is standing derelict at this time with rumours that it will open as a Keg restaurant. Even though the property is currently empty the stunning gardens are still maintained and certainly worth a visit on lovely Summer days.

Beaches & Seawall
Our namesake beach Sunset Beach is just a 5 minute walk down the hill from us where you will False Creek and English Bay meet and as well the Seawall.

The Seawall
The Seawall is one of the most walked, run and biked paths in Vancouver and at 22km long it encompasses Stanley Park, and much of the Downtown peninsula with a plethora of sights to absorb and photograph- one things for sure you will certainly remember this part of your visit.

Balancing Rocks
We suggest that you walk from English Bay back South to South East where you start to follow the seawall along the opening of False Creek towards Burrard Bridge and Granville Island, along this path you will come across some really cool Rock structures balanced on the large boulders and rocks embedded among the pebbles and sand.
Everywhere you go along the beaches in Vancouver, if there are rocks, there are likely to be plenty that are balancing on top of each other, and as much as you may believe that they are glued on, well, you will be wrong, the glue that is holding them together is quite literally the natural force of gravity and the awesome art of balance!

Rock Pools and Sandy Beaches at Sunset Beach.
Further along the Sea Wall you will notice that there are more options to hang out at the waters edge, here the rocks make way for Sandy beaches and large Logs that have been lined up for you to hang out and have a picnic. This is called Sunset Beach the hotels namesake and is the quieter option in comparison to the popular English Bay.
As the Rockier beaches transition to more Sandy style beaches you can easily explore the area with your family, just be mindful of the tides of course. Along the beaches you can come across some cool Rock Pools and see some smaller fish, crabs and all varieties of colour from the Seaweed and Algae that adorn the rocks and pebbles. It is also a great area to watch all the local Birds such as Geese, Gulls, Crows and the majestic Herons, if you have a really keen eye, you may even catch a glimpse of a Seal popping its head up from the water…

So after you have checked in and you have time to kill, leave your luggage with us and get out into the West end it is a great area to explore!