I have stayed at the Carmana for a consistent 5 months on Business. This has become my 2nd home for that period. The staff is super friendly and always say hello when passing the front desk. It is clean and modern and the housekeeping staff is always friendly. There is a coin-op laundry on the third floor, and one huge perk is that they do your dry cleaning for free (there is a $5.00 daily accrual I think). The fitness centre is a joke however. Fintess Worls is a block away on Bute / W. Georgia.

It is more like condo living as opposed to a hotel, but with daily maid service. The basic suite could use a better TV and a DVD player. I am amused that they still provide a VCR and want to charge a daily rate for a DVD player. The internet is free, but not wireless. Overall very comfortable, and FREE PARKING. not that you would need it, you can walk to everything. Another perk is the liquor store is right downstairs. Just plug your nose when passing Tim Horton's downstairs also. The many local bums use the sidewalk for a toilet, and the scent is noticable.

this was a good apartment base to explore Vancouver before we went on to ski at whistler.

It was a good size with everything we needed. The staff were very helpful and its location meant that you could reach all the different tourist locations easily using local transport or just by walking

My husband and I and our 1 year old stayed in a standard one bedroom suite at the Carmana for a weekend. We checked in on a Sat. and left on Monday. It was our first time in Vancouver and we wanted a place downtown that would have a separate bedroom (so we could still hang out while our daughter slept) and be under $200. The Carmana Plaza exceeded our expectations. We got a corner room on the 11th floor. It was gorgeous - very clean, spacious and the view of the city from our floor to ceiling window in the living room was awesome. We checked in at around 5:30pm and freshened up a bit before going to Red Robin for dinner (literally a 2 min. walk). With a one year old in tow, Red Robin is our kind of place! We then walked up and down Robson street and enjoyed people watching and window shopping. The next day, after our daughter took her morning nap, we spent the day walking through Stanley Park (about a mile away) and enjoying the aquarium. We then had dinner at Lombard, a great casual Pizzeria on Burrard St. We loved that the hotel was so close to everything we needed (restaurants, shopping, entertainment). There is also a 7-11 (where we could get milk for our toddler) just down the street and a drugstore on Robson street. The front desk staff was very nice and helpful. We got some help lugging all our luggage to the parking area when we checked out. The only thing we didn't like about the Carmana was that we had to pay for parking (15$ a day) and also for internet connection (10$ a day). But I guess that is how they can keep the rates low. Also, they only give you one key even if 2 adults were staying in the room. However, my husband and I were always together so it didn't matter and perhaps they would've given us a second key had we asked. All in all, we had a wonderful time and we are considering staying there again next time we are in Vancouver. We would book a 2 bedroom suite then since we would bring one set of grandparents along with us!

I stayed at the Carmana on and off for approximately 3 months for work. I travel a lot for work and this is my favorite hotel. The rooms are extremely spacious, the property is clean and everything is very private. You get free internet access and full cable and maid services.
This does feel way more like an apartment than a hotel though but I found it far more comfortable. Being able to make my own food and have a lot of space was a definite plus.
Be warned though on the Robson side of the building it can be noisy since a lot of dump trucks go through here.