The Sylvia Hotel is a classic old, slightly funky hotel in an excellent location near Stanley Park. It is just the kind of hotel I seek out and I wasn't disappointed in the least. The front desk was peopled with reasonably friendly, helpful folk. The room was large enough for my family of four. We overlooked the beach and enjoyed the short walk to Stanley Park. There was no air conditioning and, though on the 8th floor, still had to contend with some late night traffic noise.

If it's location you want, you would be hard pushed to find a better one. Located virtually at the entrance to Stanley Park, this hotel is ideally situated.
The hotel and room sadly were a bit tired. It has everything you need, it's generally well equiped and I would just about recommend it. However, if you want modern fixtures and a variety of facilities this is not the hotel for you. It was ok. I'm sorry I cannot put it higher than that. We stayed in six hotels in the space of 3 weeks. This was in first place for location, but in 5th or 6th for everything else and was the most expensive. The windows fully open and could present a risk for a family with young children. We were on the sixth floor.
Staff were very friendly and courteous. Doubt you'll get the bellhop to smile though. We would not stay here again. Colin.

The location of the Sylvia can't be beat. We were there for the Fireworks festival and had the best seats in the house. Also, it was very close to a lot of restaurants and Stanley Park.

While the room was a good size, the bathroom wasn't. No A/C means open windows in the summer and while it wasn't hot, the noise level outside was high. The elevator wasn't in great shape and kept breaking down. Staff wasn't the friendliest in the world either.

I'd stay there again, but only because of the location and the price. This could be a much better hotel if they'd put some money into it.

Loved the hotel cat though...

Sadly, my love affair with the Sylvia is over! I have stayed here many times and had a wonderful experience. However, my current trip was a complete disaster. The room we stayed in had ceiling tiles that were not properly affixed and did "the wave" with the window open. As there is no air conditioning, an open window in the summer here is a must. It kept us awake all night! But the worst part was the unsympathethic staff who seemed to suggest that it wasn't a big deal and made no effort to fix the problem. I could go on and on about how poorly we were treated. We were forced to stay one night as the rude clerk refused to bend on the 24 hour notice policy. I will never stay at the Sylvia again after the deplorable treatment we received. P.S. It would be nice if they bought some screens for the windows to keep the bugs out!