The first time we stayed in Vancouver we had a swap home. This time we stayed in a magnificent hotel with a 5-diamond rating from the Automobile Association of America.
The hotel had a magnificent lobby, a health club with a heated indoor olympic pool and mineral water hot tub, and loads of attentive staff members. Our room was huge with sweeping harbor (I mean "harbour") views, fine bedding and all-granite bath.
Big whoop. It was still a hotel room. We had 2 adults and 2 kids in 400 square feet. That's big for a hotel room but you would have to work hard to find a swap home that small. Our kids are too young to have their own hotel room so this was the best we could do in terms of space.
And have you noticed that the more expensive the hotel room the fewer amenities you get? Breakfast at this hotel was $28 per person. The use of wireless internet with our own laptop was $15 per day. Had we parked a car it would have set us back $35. There was a minibar in our room with a $6 bag of nuts, $5 bags of chips and $5 sodas.
The Vancouver exchange home we used last year came with the use of a BMW, a full kitchen, a private heated pool, a crafts/game room and outdoor basketball hoop for our kids, a laundry, wireless internet, four bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.
While the Vancouver home was a masterpiece of mid-century architecture I would prefer any just about any well-situated, clean, comfortable swap home over even a 5-star hotel. There is simply no comparison with a hotel in terms of convenience and comfort.
As long as you do not live in a hotel room, I would love to swap in Vancouver again. If you live there and want to visit Manhattan, get in touch!
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