Pacific Palisades Part I
I actually wrote this at this time last year, but we ended up having a similar adventure this year, so I thought I’d post this now…with part 2 coming soon…
We had planned on going to Whistler for a few days over the holidays, but when that fell through, I needed a back-up plan in a hurry. I came up with something that seemed kind of strange at first. I booked us a getaway to…downtown Vancouver! Yep - just a 15-minute drive from home. Not even enough time for fights in the car!
Kids love hotels, so really, you can have a great time in one whether you’re on the other side of town or the other side of the world. If you’ve got elevators, a pool and ice machines, it doesn’t really matter where you are. There are a few must-haves in a hotel when traveling with kids….one for me is definitely a kitchenette. It’s nice to be able to do at least one meal/day at “home”. Another necessity – an extra bedroom! Sitting in the dark after the kids fall asleep isn’t ideal, so if you get a suite, the kids go in the bedroom and you can stay up past 8.
I soon discovered that what I was looking for was not so easy to find in Vancouver. That was until I came across The Pacific Palisades. It had it all…a kitchenette, extra bedroom and a pool – yeah!
To say the staff was outstanding is an understatement. They were friendly and helpful and so nice to the kids…even inviting them to the wine and cheese (and juice) reception. Which is where we received what would become one of the highlights of the weekend…the card for complimentary Haagen Daz…delivered to our door! Yippee!
We ended up having the time of our lives. We shopped Robson Street, ate out in the hotel at Zin (YUMMY), swam lots and rode the elevators. It was a fantastic spur-of-the-moment getaway that my kids are still talking about.
Here’s one of the boys waiting for that tub of Haagen Daz…
