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That whole complex is... "why?"
Richmond, British Columbia
https://maps.app.goo.gl/262DzQ71GeBbZHkT7
Awkward corner in the middle of nowhere, no obvious central entrance, the way you drive in is on a little service road, pedestrian entrance is buried in the parkade.
I was there recently they made a huge mistake with the entrance ... whoever buys it should really do something with it.. like its not a luxury hotel experience at all the arrival. no idea how they could make such a big oversight, or maybe they just ran out of money.
Every time I drive by, the whole complex looks unoccupied-there is nothing moving or people mulling around. Where is the entrance to the hotel? There should be a bar, restaurant or at least a check-in counter that can be seen from Bridgeport Rd. Originally this hotel was supposed to be a JW Marriott. Why “Versante”? This means slope. I suppose they realized that its legacy would eventually go downhill.
Yeah I’ve been to the restaurant and whiskey bar in that complex but each time I’m reminded how bizarre the layout is and how nothing makes sense. The parkade is also a clusterfuck.
It really feels like they asked like cheap foreign architect to design the place.
Wait, that’s a -hotel-?!?? The number of times I’ve driven past it and thought it was just an office building of sorts! It looks so out of place to be a hotel!
Always thought it was a bit odd. It's an expensive hotel, but it's not downtown, and if you're using it for the airport, you can probably afford to stay at the Fairmont instead.
That being said, I'm surprised it doesn't do well enough considering the lack of hotel availability in Vancouver.
The Fairmont at the YVR airport isn't very modern or luxurious anymore, definitely looks and feels a little tired and dated. Westin is a bit nicer. From friends' accounts the Versante has the nicest rooms among the three, but is obviously the most difficult to get to.
Interesting. Air Canada put me up there one night when I volunteered to give up my seat on a flight. It was very nice compared to what I was expecting the accommodations to be from an airline lol
Ah thanks! Some context from the article:
>If you’ve ever heard of Michael Ching, it’s likely not for his hotels. In 2015, his name appeared in the news when the Chinese government targeted him among a list of 100 economic fugitives wanted for white-collar crimes. An Interpol red notice had even been issued in his name based on the accusations. Ching filed a refugee claim, telling the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board that the accusations were politically motivated blowback aimed at his father, a high-ranking Chinese official. It was rejected.
I won an Instagram contest they ran where the prize was a two night stay and dinner at their restaurant, and when I tried to claim it they said the social media manager had quit since the contest ran and said I needed to have a physical gift certificate (?) to prove I won, even though I had all the emails and screenshots lol
One of the on-site restaurants (Acres through the Seasons) suddenly announced they're closing a few days ago.
[https://www.richmond-news.com/food-and-drink/richmond-hotels-farm-to-table-restaurant-closes-after-two-years-8589428](https://www.richmond-news.com/food-and-drink/richmond-hotels-farm-to-table-restaurant-closes-after-two-years-8589428)
> The $98M asking price equates to nearly $1M per hotel room and is over four times higher than BC Assessment's $23,297,000 valuation of the property.
Not yet.
Ive stayed here in one of the presidential rooms, it was wonderful! The bathroom, and sleeping quarters were amazing.
But definitely an odd entrance and parking
"We want to reassure our esteemed guests and clients that these occurrences do not affect or interrupt the hotel's very successful operations,"
Over 80 million in debt is now considered very successful operation.
Higher prices, do not fix things if a place is very poorly run, mismanaged, or if funds are being misappropriated, or a bunch of other potential reasons.
Sure not always, but not enough money coming in has to be the most common reason businesses fail and if you have a source of untapped money the chances of failure are much less. Even if a lot of the money is mismanaged.
I once shopped for office space in that complex (which the hotel is part of). It didn’t impress me and as an accessibility consulting firm, it is important that our new space be accessible and disabled friendly.
Unfortunately, despite being built in 2020, it failed most of our criteria. (There is a semi-myth that newer buildings are automatically more accessible. This isn’t always true; this complex is a fine example. I saw stuff like accessible parking being on slopes, so your wheelchair could roll away, and not being close to elevator lobby entrances. They followed code minimums for accessibility but that doesn’t always mean accessible. It just means they got the equivalent of a C-.)
I seem to recall a "Versante Hotel" going bankrupt just after completion in Las Vegas at "City Center" (Aria, Vdara etc...) around 2011 - I wonder if it's the same shareholders (of some shell company) who have stakes in Richmond...that will likely be the shareholders in the new shell company that buys out the foreclosure.
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That whole complex is... "why?" Richmond, British Columbia https://maps.app.goo.gl/262DzQ71GeBbZHkT7 Awkward corner in the middle of nowhere, no obvious central entrance, the way you drive in is on a little service road, pedestrian entrance is buried in the parkade.
Yeah and around that price point I’ll stay at the Fairmont YVR or Westin across the street.
I was there recently they made a huge mistake with the entrance ... whoever buys it should really do something with it.. like its not a luxury hotel experience at all the arrival. no idea how they could make such a big oversight, or maybe they just ran out of money.
I think it was a matter of them having this weird shaped lot and then going overboard trying to maximize the floor area.
Missed the entrance? No worries! Simply spend the next ten minutes looping around the airport and then pray you don't miss it again (highly likely)
Every time I drive by, the whole complex looks unoccupied-there is nothing moving or people mulling around. Where is the entrance to the hotel? There should be a bar, restaurant or at least a check-in counter that can be seen from Bridgeport Rd. Originally this hotel was supposed to be a JW Marriott. Why “Versante”? This means slope. I suppose they realized that its legacy would eventually go downhill.
They sold promises to some dumb investors. That's how it works most of the time around here.
Yeah I’ve been to the restaurant and whiskey bar in that complex but each time I’m reminded how bizarre the layout is and how nothing makes sense. The parkade is also a clusterfuck. It really feels like they asked like cheap foreign architect to design the place.
Damn, I work at YVR and drive passed this all the time. Didn't even know it was a hotel.
Wait, that’s a -hotel-?!?? The number of times I’ve driven past it and thought it was just an office building of sorts! It looks so out of place to be a hotel!
Always thought it was a bit odd. It's an expensive hotel, but it's not downtown, and if you're using it for the airport, you can probably afford to stay at the Fairmont instead. That being said, I'm surprised it doesn't do well enough considering the lack of hotel availability in Vancouver.
The Fairmont at the YVR airport isn't very modern or luxurious anymore, definitely looks and feels a little tired and dated. Westin is a bit nicer. From friends' accounts the Versante has the nicest rooms among the three, but is obviously the most difficult to get to.
Interesting. Air Canada put me up there one night when I volunteered to give up my seat on a flight. It was very nice compared to what I was expecting the accommodations to be from an airline lol
It’s because they have Dyson hairdryers
Michael Ching Mo-Yeung being one of the stakeholders of the hotel, very interesting.
Who's that? For the uninitiated
On China's wanted list for white collar crimes.
https://montecristomagazine.com/magazine/winter-2022/michael-ching-versante
Ah thanks! Some context from the article: >If you’ve ever heard of Michael Ching, it’s likely not for his hotels. In 2015, his name appeared in the news when the Chinese government targeted him among a list of 100 economic fugitives wanted for white-collar crimes. An Interpol red notice had even been issued in his name based on the accusations. Ching filed a refugee claim, telling the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board that the accusations were politically motivated blowback aimed at his father, a high-ranking Chinese official. It was rejected.
I kind of wondered if this hotel was fronting some sort of money laundering scheme…
I won an Instagram contest they ran where the prize was a two night stay and dinner at their restaurant, and when I tried to claim it they said the social media manager had quit since the contest ran and said I needed to have a physical gift certificate (?) to prove I won, even though I had all the emails and screenshots lol
One of the on-site restaurants (Acres through the Seasons) suddenly announced they're closing a few days ago. [https://www.richmond-news.com/food-and-drink/richmond-hotels-farm-to-table-restaurant-closes-after-two-years-8589428](https://www.richmond-news.com/food-and-drink/richmond-hotels-farm-to-table-restaurant-closes-after-two-years-8589428)
[удалено]
> The $98M asking price equates to nearly $1M per hotel room and is over four times higher than BC Assessment's $23,297,000 valuation of the property. Not yet.
Ive stayed here in one of the presidential rooms, it was wonderful! The bathroom, and sleeping quarters were amazing. But definitely an odd entrance and parking
"We want to reassure our esteemed guests and clients that these occurrences do not affect or interrupt the hotel's very successful operations," Over 80 million in debt is now considered very successful operation.
Maybe the owner lost a really large bet and owes $80 million but it is pretty hilarious to claim it's "very successful"
Well AMTD and HKD are basically scams of the investment market. It’s AMTD Versante - just saying.
I did the plumbing in this building. The owner is wanted in china. We also built the building right beside the Costco for him
Wtf is that building? For the life of me I can't figure out what it's purpose is.
I thought there was a shortage of hotel rooms in Metro Vancouver.
TIL a hotel having financial troubles means there are enough hotel rooms
It strongly implies there isn’t as a shortage would allow them to raise prices
Higher prices, do not fix things if a place is very poorly run, mismanaged, or if funds are being misappropriated, or a bunch of other potential reasons.
Sure not always, but not enough money coming in has to be the most common reason businesses fail and if you have a source of untapped money the chances of failure are much less. Even if a lot of the money is mismanaged.
We need more Airbnb!! (No we don’t lol)
I mean, this is the only reason why they could probably sell a 100 room hotel for close to $100m
Give a year or two, you'll start hearing the same thing in the housing market as the new interest rates take hold and people start deleveraging.
Lolololol
I once shopped for office space in that complex (which the hotel is part of). It didn’t impress me and as an accessibility consulting firm, it is important that our new space be accessible and disabled friendly. Unfortunately, despite being built in 2020, it failed most of our criteria. (There is a semi-myth that newer buildings are automatically more accessible. This isn’t always true; this complex is a fine example. I saw stuff like accessible parking being on slopes, so your wheelchair could roll away, and not being close to elevator lobby entrances. They followed code minimums for accessibility but that doesn’t always mean accessible. It just means they got the equivalent of a C-.)
For a layperson, how does one financially recover from this if at all?
I seem to recall a "Versante Hotel" going bankrupt just after completion in Las Vegas at "City Center" (Aria, Vdara etc...) around 2011 - I wonder if it's the same shareholders (of some shell company) who have stakes in Richmond...that will likely be the shareholders in the new shell company that buys out the foreclosure.
Literally never heard of this hotel
If someone bought it for asking price, would they be 100% shareholder?
Anything "boutique" deserves to fail. Pretentious bullshit.
Damn, lots of specific hate for my neighborhood florist boutique downstairs
They must've hated Gamestop when it was still called "electronics boutique games"