Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced, good hotel in the Maple Ridge area which is well placed to explore the MR/Pitt Meadows/Coquitlam area? Option of a family room would be great. Have seen some on t'internet, but personal recommendation is so much better.

Also, any reasonably priced car hire companies?

Lara

There's just the usual Travelodge (very basic), Best Western (same) or the Ramada in Pitt Meadows (a bit better). I can highly recommend a B&B, where my relatives stayed this summer: Riverside B&B http://www.riversidebb.net/
Wonderful people, great breakfasts and accommodation, in a lovely setting that is central. And cheaper than the hotels.

Thanks Startwin, the B&B looks gorgeous. Will make enquiries.

Forgot about the car hire bit.... Enterprise in Maple Ridge beat everyone else's quotes (Discount, Budget car hire, etc). According to my relatives, the price was very good compared to cost in the UK. They had a mid-size, 4 door car.

I guess you live in the Maple Ridge area, what do you think of it?

Maple Ridge is a good-sized area and ranges across a lot of streets (blocks). It is a mixture of town and countryside so there are all the usual amenities plus easy access to highways and, in many areas, lovely views of mountains and rivers. There is even a provincial park called Golden Ears. The problem is that in recent years, there is a perception that the downtown or centre of Maple Ridge is rather grim, a bit on the dirty/shabby side and there have been issues with drug addicts - crystal meth being one of the drugs of choice. There has also been a lot of car theft.

There are a number of stores in what is known as 'strip malls' because they are not all in a shopping centre but in little clusters off a main road. Personally I think Maple Ridge could use some 'gentrification' in some areas but not all. There is also an issue with grow-ops but in theory you could get that anywhere. Maple Ridge does have a range of homes and is undergoing huge development currently which is making the homes even pricier. There are many townhomes, new single family homes and condos (flats) going up and the price of each is being enhanced by people moving out of Vancouver to the 'burbs. There is a new bridge being built which should be ready in 2009 and this bridge will link communities that have been separated by the Fraser River and which have normally only been reachable by a long way round by road or using a small car ferry service (Albion Ferry). There are older homes too, some of which are heritage and some that probably should be pulled down. There are some tony golf clubs and million dollar plus homes so something for everyone. They also have a great local arts scene and wonderful theatre called The Act. Considering Vancouver has been known as being 'no fun' and not having that much culture, Maple Ridge by comparison is jumping! Whatever your research, it's probably safe to say that M.R. is really an area in transition.

Much depends on what you're looking for. Coquitlam is huge and is called Tri-Cities because I believe it comprises 3 smaller towns in one. A huge population lives here and there is a great shopping centre, access to buses and trains, highways, etc. Pitt Meadows is smaller, a mix of town and country like Maple Ridge (it's actually the town before M.R.) but the population is smaller, currently around 17,000 people. Very family-oriented and house prices rising fast. There is some new development including along the river. Most of the new homes are detached or townhomes but recently a couple of condo developments have started including a new and controversial one which will eventually comprise 3 10 storey towers - controversial because Pitt Meadows is largely detached homes or 4 storey condo buildings so the taller developments are considered radical. However, again it has great shops, access to trains, buses and highways.

For more information on all these areas, try:

http://www.pittmeadows.bc.ca/

http://www.mapleridge.ca/EN/index.html

http://www.coquitlam.ca/default.htm


Cheers,

Teacup

On a point of pedantry ...

The Tri-cities are Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody.

Bobs B&B on Dewdeny is good too. The landlady would pick you up from the airport too if you wanted.
A family of 6 stayed for a few nights over the summer for a wedding in Maple Ridge and said they were great.

Good luck

Teacup, do you actually live in Maple Ridge or are you quoting from articles? The reason I ask is your post is very informative, but some of it I don't recognise. If you don't live here, it's interesting to see how someone from outside of the area views it.

Coquitlam is not called Tri Cities. The Tri cities is Port Coquitlam, Coquitlam, Port Moody.

I stand corrected on Tri Cities although I did say I thought it consisted of 3 towns in one (description) so wasn't so far off the mark - I knew it was Poco and Coquitlam but didn't realise it included Port Moody. Now I do.

I'm intrigued that you wonder if I am quoting from articles; if I were, I would say where my information comes from, especially if there were links to offer too as I know anyone reading would want to see a variety of viewpoints. I know Maple Ridge well enough to offer one viewpoint so if you have other information to share, I am sure it would add to whatever Singinringintree wants to know.

This info is incredibly useful, thank you all. I am keen to hear the good and bad points about the Maple Ridge area so we can be prepared for recce next year.

Well, first of all it really did read like you were quoting from articles, sorry if that's not so. Secondly, I was really interested to know if there was another expat living near-by, not too many on here actually living in Maple Ridge. So, do you live here?