Smithe House, an apartment-style boutique hotel in Vancouver, Canada
If I didn’t already live in downtown Vancouver, I’d happily settle into one of the 37 apartment-style suites at Smithe House, a boutique lodging that opened in 2024 in the city’s centrally located Yaletown neighborhood. The property is a short walk from Yaletown’s restaurants, coffee shops, and buzzing bars, and it’s only two blocks from BC Place, the arena that will host Vancouver’s FIFA World Cup soccer matches in 2026.
Here’s the scoop:
Living the Yaletown Life at Smithe House
Smithe House occupies the back section of a condo tower, with a private entrance for hotel guests. Not only is it within an easy walk of restaurants and shops, it’s close to the seawall, Vancouver’s scenic waterfront pathway.
The property is positioned between a limited-service holiday rental and a standard hotel. The studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom suites feel like downtown condos, compact but with everything you’d need, including in-suite kitchens and laundry facilities. Many guests book hotel-style stays of 1-3 nights, but Smithe House also accommodates long-term stays, ranging from 1-3 months.
Contemporary furnishings in the Smithe House apartments
Tech-enabled Customer Service
Unlike a traditional hotel, Smithe House has no lobby or reception desk. After you provide identification online in advance, including a photo of yourself, your email address, and cell phone number, you receive an access code on your phone that lets you into the building, the elevator, and your own unit.
Staff is available to answer questions by text message or email and strives to respond in two minutes or less. I didn’t time them, but I did receive a quick response to an inquiry before my stay. The hotel sends an online guide to arriving guests, with instructions for how things work around the property and recommendations of activities, restaurants, and other services nearby.
Guest Rooms and Amenities
The modern guest apartments are located on floors 3, 4, and 5, designed with an open-plan living/kitchen area. Except in some of the studio units, the living room sofa can double as a bed. The living rooms have large TVs and a stash of games to play.
The kitchens are sleek and contemporary, with full-sized refrigerators, cooktops, and separate ovens, microwaves, and dishwashers, as well as a separate dining table. The coffee makers have an integrated bean grinder; the hotel supplies coffee beans from local Pallet Coffee Company and tea from Tea Leaves, another Vancouver brand.
All the Smithe House apartments have kitchens.
Although they’re all similar in style, the layouts and specific furnishings in each apartment vary, depending on their size and their position in the building. Even within a room category, there’s a range of different units. The studios, for example, vary in size from 337 to 526 square feet.
The one-bedroom apartment where my husband and I enjoyed a local “staycation” felt compact — as most Yaletown apartments do — with windows in the narrow living room and the snug bedroom looking out toward the surrounding larger apartment towers.
Some units have a desk in the living room, but our unit did not, although you could set up a laptop at the dining table.
All units have a washer and dryer tucked into a laundry closet, which in some apartments also has additional hanging space.
Smithe House bedrooms are cozy but well-designed.
All the units have king beds, with adjacent electrical outlets and reading lamps.
In the apartment where we stayed, the bedroom closet had lots of space to hang clothing, but no dresser or shelves. If you were staying long enough to unpack, it wasn’t obvious where the best place for clothes, other than those than hung, would be.
Modern bathrooms have a sleek design
The modern bathrooms vary in size as well, depending on the apartment. Most units have only one bath. The exceptions are the “deluxe two-bedrooms,” which have two bathrooms, and the “family two-bedrooms,” which have 1 1/2 baths. In the family units, the second bedroom is furnished with bunk beds for the kids.
In the hallway on each floor is an “Essentials Closet” stocked with extra toilet paper, towels, and other supplies. Your access code opens this closet as well.
Facilities and Services
Smithe House has no food and beverage service, although there are cafes and eateries within a block of the property. The only “common space” is the small but well-equipped fitness room on the third floor. It has treadmills, an elliptical trainer, two stationary bikes, and free weights.
The fitness room at Smithe House
Smithe House isn’t a place for guests who need a lot of pampering or hand-holding. But for independent travelers who value modern apartments with an excellent central location, you can easily make yourself at home here.
Rates
Rates at Smithe House start at approximately CAD$230 per night (roughly US$165) for a studio apartment in the quieter winter season, rising significantly during the busy summer months. Parking is available for CAD$30 per night plus taxes, although in this central downtown location, you can consider leaving the car at home, getting around on foot, by public transit, or via Lyft/Uber.
Check rates online at Expedia, Booking.com, Agoda.com, or Hotels.com.
Want to compare other boutique hotel options in Vancouver? Check out these Hotel-Scoop reviews:
- The Opus Hotel: Vancouver’s Sexiest Place to Sleep
- The Douglas Stands Tall in Canada’s Parq Vancouver
- Versante Hotel: Colorful Style Near Vancouver’s Airport
Hotel feature by Vancouver-based travel, food, and feature writer Carolyn B. Heller. Photos © Carolyn B. Heller. Smithe House hosted my stay for review purposes.
