Smart Meetings

Vancouver’s setting can be likened to a highly-urbanized, self-contained core sitting on the edge of a fjord. Water, with a backdrop of mountains in all directions, encircles this jewel of a city. Highlights include 1,000-acre Stanley Park (city.vancouver.bc.ca/Parks/parks/stanley) and the Vancouver Aquarium (vanaqua.org).

Large groups convene at the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre (VCEC; vcec.ca). Designed like a ship under full sail, its “bow” juts out into the harbor, like the cruise ships that dock alongside. Although the center is in the throes of a $615-million (CDN) expansion, the existing building continues to be fully functional during construction.

The expansion, to the west, will more than triple the center’s function space by adding 416,000 sq. ft., for a total of 553,000 sq. ft. Highlights will include the 12,000-square-foot Signature Room and a programmable outdoor waterfront plaza, both with spectacular ocean and mountain views. Remarkably, the new addition’s roof will be carpeted in grass and wildflowers. 

Another excellent meeting venue would be the facilities atop Grouse Mountain (grousemountain.com). Attendees embark on a gondola for a spectacular ride to the top, where a variety of interesting meeting facilities await.

The Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG; vanartgallery.bc.ca) and the Museum of Anthropology (moa.ubc.ca) at the University of British Columbia are among the city’s top museums. The latter’s extensive collections from the aboriginal peoples of coastal British Columbia are housed within a stunning building that was inspired by the post-and-beam structures of Northwest Coast First Nations. It overlooks the mountains and the sea.

Vancouver’s more fascinating enclaves include Gastown, Yaletown and Chinatown, but artists flock to Granville Island (granvilleisland.com), which, since its late 1970s redevelopment, has become a haven for the arts with subsidized rents for designers and artisans dedicated to craftsmanship. It’s the source for one-of-a-kind finds.

Meeting attendees can easily get oriented in Vancouver on the SkyTrain (translink.bc.ca). Starting in May, the SkyTrain will be providing SkyTour, the world’s first automated guided tour of a region using headsets on a public transit system. It will allow users to step off and tour along the way to take guided tours of historic areas along the way.

Seeking to pamper your group? Vancouver’s sleek Skoah spa (skoah.com), just steps from Opus Hotel, will surely win over your attendees. Also consider the Absolute Spas (absolutespa.com; with a men’s-only at the Hotel Vancouver) and Eveline Charles (evelinecharles.com).

Getting There

Vancouver International Airport (YVR; yvr.ca) has nonstop service to most major U.S. cities and is served by nearly all principal U.S. airlines.

Not To Be Missed

Capilano Suspension Bridge (capbridge.com), a swaying walkway that stretches 450 feet across, and 230 feet above, the Capilano River, for a guided tour (group rates are available for parties of 15 or more). Located within a park that pays tribute to the native groups that dwelled here before the Europeans, the attraction is set in 6,000 acres of dense, old-growth rainforest.