listel's a decent hotel. my friend works there and he's had no complaints.. of course i don't know about service levels or anything, but if ur on a budget for the hotel, and just looking for a clean and quaint (since its supposed to be a boutique hotel) place to stay on robson, that place will do. it is on the quieter end of robson tho, but since robson is only really 4 or 5 main blocks, it shouldn't matter. u can take transit anywhere in vancouver (for robson/stanley park/granville island/gastown/yaletown), and its only one fast bus away from richmond, but because of all that CRAZY construction in richmond, its best to drive there. esp if u want to wander from mini mall to dimsum, or afternoon tea to late night hotpot. aberdeen's worth going to just to check it out. personally i dont shop any store there except for daiso (the $2 store) but that place is a treat in itself. i can't believe u can find anything u need for ur household there. there's this place at metrotown in burnaby called topgun in crystal mall (a chinese mall) that has the BEST bbq pork buns. i can't say much for the rest of their menu but we always worry they'll sell out of the buns for dimsum. they are so small, and soft and fresh. its not like what u'd find at a bakery. and also, u get a list of teas (ie green, black, red, crystanthemum and lychee) and each person gets to select a tea, and u get the actual leaves to brew urself! its quite amusing. i go there for the sake of that, but u should have a reservation if u choose to go there. lineups are killer. and the mall its located in, tho its never quite taken off like the richmond malls, is still interesting if u want a mini version of what 'honger' stuff looks like. i eat out almost on a daily basis for asian foods, so i dont even know what quality is anymore. lol. but i always go to a place across from richmond centre in the mini complex (w/ the staples and td bank).they have a dimsum place there that is pretty good. or if u want really good pho (straying away from chinese now) go to pho hong on waltham and kingsway. seriously, best pho ever! (lack of m.s.g). or good bubbletea and mini hotpots are at welltea (i'd hafta figure out the street address) but its on the street right inbetween lansdowne mall and aberedeen mall. and everyone else has pretty much said it, that alexandra road is food heaven. its ALL FOOD. if u want big hotpot styled food, u can eat at cattle hotpot or chubby lamb. they are located almost right beside each other on alexandra. or sun sui wah (2 locations, either one on fraser or main, and the other is across from landsdowne mall as well) . that place gets really really really good reviews for food. their dimsum is decent but its pricey. but the majority of ppl like that place so there's food for thought. ok work calls. so i'll edit later!
