"Downtown Vancouver’s financial district is no place for funky little boutique hotels — EXchange Hotel Vancouver is pure international urban luxury, set in a skyscraper built atop the 1929 shell of the Vancouver Stock Exchange building. The interiors are contemporary-luxe, with a pronounced Art Deco accent, and they’re glamorous but not excessively racy; the rooms and suites seem equally well suited to a romantic city weekend or a style-conscious work trip. (Business travelers might skip the Martini Rooms, with their in-room self-serve bars, unless they’re submitting their expenses to Sterling Cooper.) The hotel’s restaurant, Hydra, named for the Greek island, serves Mediterranean fare made from local products as well as Greek and Cypriot imports." - Kevin Chau