March 29, 2015
Skwachàys Lodge, Vancouver There’s a smudge room and a sweat lodge, you can sip craft beer in the welcome area, and the colourful guest rooms are decorated by Vancouver designers and local First Nations artists. Owned and operated by the Vancouver Native Housing Society (VNHS), Skwachàys Lodge (named for the natural springs that once existed at the head of False Creek) was created to make a di”erence. At this downtown hotel, located on West Pender Street near Gastown, each !oor is dedicated to a sacred animal, and a colourful totem pole rises above the roof. There are 18 units for guests, while another 24 rooms are used as low-cost housing for Aboriginal artists-in-residence. Pro#ts from the hotel and the ground-!oor art gallery go to the VNHS for various programs, which means that staying here is both a unique guest experience and a contribution to a worthy cause. Rates start at $129. —Jim Byers Delano, Las Vegas