GEC Viva

GEC is a very secured place in downtown vancouver for students. The location is really good and all the food restaurants and shopping malls are close.There are many grocery marts too including shoppers drug mart. As you will be living with your roommates you will get opportunities to make friends here.

Stay away from this place. Loud Flat Mates who bring over tons of guests without asking other flat mates (as required), ignoring quiet hours, very messy flatmates who refuses to clean up after self, as well as flatmates who won't lock the unit door

GEC Viva is perfectly located in the downtown central of Vancouver, with all necessities for living a short distance away. The furnished rooms and apartments are stylishly incorporated with consideration for comfortability and convenience! It’s also a great way for students to make friends and ease into the prospect of city living with tons of support.

Stayed here for a month in Oct 2020. GEC manages 5 properties including one full service hotel just down the road. The hotel is slightly expensive at $1800 per month but they have weekly options and weekly housekeeping too. If you don't mind just one room then go for the hotel for sure. Much cleaner and well managed with nice staff. If you want another location then you could check their Cambie and Pearson locations. Pros: Best value for money at $1200 a month for a private bedroom in a shared apartment. Downtown and no long lease commitment. Secure entry with fob and elevator access. Basic furniture like dining table, chairs, sofa and drawer/small cabinet in apartment. Well stocked kitchen with basic utensils and cutlery. Fridge, dishwasher, and washer dryer all ensuite. They organize events regularly for all the tenants (online for now) which are free and gives a good opportunity to make new connections with others in the building. Cons: Payment only accepted in cash or through a third party website with commission. A Canadian company that does NOT accept Interac e-transfer in this day and age, surpriseing. I wasn't allowed to pay through my business account either. Staff is extremely rigid and unfriendly and any requests for room change within the same apartment or something else, are refused. All queries are met with standard copy paste one line email answers. Most of the staff are non native English speakers who are ex ESL students, and it's difficult to communicate with them verbally or on email. While this is a commendable policy, they should have atleast a manager or supervisor who can communicate clearly without confusion. After all, its a for profit company, not a community service organization. Staff treats everyone like students or kids, even the working professionals. Very nanny like approach for most things. There are tons of notices of what to do, how to do and pretty much everything is an invitation for fine. However, this only is applicable to us and not them. There is no fine for housekeeping or maintenance not showing up on time, but the tenant has to move out at 11am else fined. The security literally showed up at 10.45 and began pestering me to move out asap. Also was wondering why I was taking so long. Ridiculous. Security desk is basically useless. Just chair warming and looking at the screen all day, no help with opening the door even if they see you have heavy huge luggage. Maintenance staff is also incompetent, they didn't know how to repair the damp wet dryer and leaking dishwasher and blamed us for improper use. Most common areas closed and no visitors allowed even in lobby. Good choice for a month or two, but definitely not long term. Unless you're enamoured with the downtown only downtown and can ignore all the cons above.

Honestly this place is really nice. Definitely perfect for fresh out of high school students, no need to hassle yourself with buying furniture and kitchen utensils. The staff here are accommodating and friendly. The beds are comfortable and housekeeping is respectful of your privacy and your belongings. 10/10 would recommend students to live here. They location is perfect close to shops, the beach and some great eats.

Great experience! Stress free for people like me who wants to have all the living essentials ready before move-in. Great location and responsible on-site team. It will be better if I got a unit on higher floor to enjoy Vancouver's view

Expensive, management is extremely annoying, interiors were dirty and walls damaged. They will not hesitate to charge extra for anything. If you have any other option, take it. Side note : administration will frequently check the rooms and the common room, often intruding without warning, sometimes not even a knock, and you're lucky if you get a 24 hour notice. This place is a place you pick as a last choice. There is also close to no noise isolation between units. You are treated like an inmate, or a child. I was lucky to get nice neighbors and fun roommates, but if it weren't for them I would have left within a week.

The management treats tenants like kids and it’s way overpriced for the service, literally no service because they expect you doing it. Staff are mostly unhelpful and they could blame you for anything. You get notice everywhere saying you could be fined for not doing certain things which makes me feel like living in a prison. Convenient location though but you could outright rent a better place. Might be a good place if you’re staying for three months but consider other places if you’re making a longer stay.