One of Vancouver's most popular tourist destinations, Granville Island is an oasis of gourmet food and produce markets, fine art and crafts shops and restaurants and boutique hotels, all located in a quaint, waterfront setting. Granville Island venues are similarly chic.
Situated seven miles from the Vancouver International Airport, the island (in reality, a small peninsula) is separated from downtown Vancouver by a narrow inlet, which can be crossed by bridge or by water taxi. For meeting planners, Granville Island provides a vibrant sanctuary near the heart of the city, with unique venue and dining options and several modestly sized hotels in the immediate area.
Hotel venues on Granville Island itself are limited to the elegant 85-room Granville Island Hotel, which occupies a privileged piece of waterfront real estate and has 2,946 square feet of meeting space, with a large room of 1,269 square feet. Just across the narrow False Creek inlet in downtown Vancouver, the 130-room Executive Hotel Vintage Park has 2,004 square feet of meeting space, with a large meeting room of 1,190 square feet. Nearby, the boutique 157-room Quality Hotel-The Inn at False Creek has 1,720 square feet of meeting space. Larger groups will be better served by hotels closer to the center of downtown, including the 733-room Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre, with 48,652 square feet of flexible meeting space and a 10,489-square-foot ballroom, and the historic 557-room Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, which has 55,000 square feet of meeting space, with an 11,400-square-foot ballroom.
There are several unique off-site event venues in Granville Island: The waterfront Bridges Restaurant can accommodate groups of up to 150 seated or 250 for a reception on its upper floor. Nearby, the 14,000-square-foot Masik Studios, which houses the works of acclaimed Vancouver artist Pamela Masik, can host 200 people seated or 300 for a reception. Accent Cruises seats 220 people on the yacht moored at their Granville Island dock. Finally, just across the False Creek inlet, the Roundhouse Community Centre – a refurbished industrial building – can seat 350 people in its 7,800 square feet of space.
As a tourist hub and popular daytrip destination, Granville Island has numerous large dining venues. The Sandbar Seafood Restaurant, an elegant, two-story bistro with great views of the water, seats 120 people. Nearby, the Dockside Restaurant can accommodate groups of 200 seated or 300 reception. A Vancouver institution, The Keg steakhouse has a branch on Granville Island with room for 100 guests. Finally, Bridges, an iconic, tin-roofed restaurant and bar on the water, can host receptions of up to 750 people using its ample deck area.
