Wedgewood Hotel & Spa

With its understated blue awnings and relatively small size (83 rooms), this Relais & Châteaux property is sometimes overlooked by visitors drawn to more toweringly opulent Downtown hotels—but that’s their loss. Greek-born owner Eleni Skalbania has outfitted the Wedgewood with stylish elegance (but not a hint of fussiness) and a warm staff that makes the property seem like what it is: a family-run place. The décor throughout—which incorporates rich-colored velvets, dark wood, brocade and toile fabrics, and both antiques and antique repros—is enhanced by European paintings from Skalbania’s personal collection. The hotel’s restaurant, Bacchus, has a clubby, dark-paneled bar that’s firelit in winter, perfect for a spot of Cognac before bed.

Room to Book: All rooms have balconies, and while those on the Hornby Street side (the east side) can suffer street noise, they also overlook the gardens and waterfalls of Robson Square and terraces of the remarkable BC Law Courts.