Look inside this new Burnaby hotel built for long-term stays

Every suite has a kitchen equipped with a stovetop, dishwasher, microwave, sink, fridge (not shown), dishes and cookware
Every suite has a kitchen equipped with a stovetop, dishwasher, microwave, sink, fridge (not shown), dishes and cookware

The 169-room Element Vancouver Metrotown opens February 19 at Willingdon and Kingsway

Although Burnaby attracts a fair number of leisure tourists, especially during the summer, says Ken Boyd, director of sales and marketing for Westin’s Element Vancouver Metrotown, “this hotel’s core concept does tend to lean towards the business traveller, and typically people that are staying for longer periods.” Every guest room is either a studio or one-bedroom suite and includes a fully equipped kitchen.

Just the second Element in Canada and the first in Western Canada, the hotel occupies the first 18 floors of Bosa Properties’ 45-storey Sovereign Tower. It has 4,400 square feet of meeting space plus 24/7 access to a business centre with computer stations, printer, fax, high-speed Internet, lounges and a library. Multifunctional communal spaces are sprinkled throughout the hotel. “We didn’t want lobbies and those areas to just be pass-throughs,” says Boyd. “We want them to be areas where people can sit and relax and not be hostage in their guest room.”

Pursuing silver LEED certification, Element caters to a healthy lifestyle: zero waste, natural light in every room, a saltwater pool, access to a green roof, pedal-powered machines in the fitness room (there will also be a 30,000-sq.-ft. GoodLife Fitness), nutritious breakfasts (see the breakfast bar below) and complimentary road bikes for guests to take for a spin outside.

Element is close to Central Park, Metrotown, several business parks and the SkyTrain. “Yet valuewise if you stay in a hotel downtown, prices are quite a bit higher than they would be out here,” says Boyd. “So for that extra $100 a night you can save, you can hop on the SkyTrain and still be downtown in 20 minutes.”

Apart from parking and the Glowbal Group’s three on-site restaurants, pricing is all-inclusive from meeting spaces and Wi-Fi to full breakfasts and Thursday night barbecues. Studios run from $139 to 239 and one-bedrooms from $169 to 309 depending on the season and length of stay. To book a preopening special, visit elementmetrotown.com.