Vancouver has plenty of highlights for locals and visitors to enjoy, but if you search for "the Jewel of Vancouver" online, there's one clear result: Stanley Park.
At the same time, you'll find many people unimpressed by Vancouver's awesome park. The vast majority of reviews are five- and four-star, but there are always going to be folks who disagree and drop one-star reviews on this not-so-hidden gem.
So we went and read them on platforms like TripAdvisor, Yelp, and Google. What follows is a curated selection. Reviews have not been edited.
Parking issues
There is one dominant issue in many of the one-star reviews: parking in Stanley Park.
Some didn't realize you had to pay, some couldn't find parking, and most took issue with the parking enforcement. Easy Park took a fair amount of the heat in these reviews.
"You will be ticketed for parking. They watch you like a hawk," writes a TripAdvisor user.
Related issues around cars (like break-ins) also resulted in several one-star reviews.
Read Cameron P.'s review of Stanley Park on Yelp
Unre-park-able, "too many trees"
Perhaps the most surprising (and to some, hilarious) reviews of the park were the ones who seemed to just not like it.
"I really don't see anything special about this park," reads the complete review from an American named Charles on Google.
"Fairly boring if you're looking for an outdoors experience," reads another Google review from Brian Beck.
"Just big park a couple of totem poles a naval college. Not much else really," reads a post on TripAdvisor from Andrew F titled "An unremarkable place."
Read Yazan H.'s review of Stanley Park on Yelp
"All I can see it seems is more trees, where is the ocean view drive around the park? Tragic 1960's reflection of a wanna be city," reads part of one TripAdvisor review.
"Nothing spectacular to see, yeah, lots of trees but I didn't get to see any wildlife except 1 squirrel," reads another simply titled "Overrated."
They also called Stanley Park a "disappointment" and wrote, "Any place in Vancouver Island is way better."
Read Tabi N.'s review of Stanley Park on Yelp
Another person on TripAdvisor (who has posted over 5,000 reviews) titled their review "Too many trees."
"Try to like this park every time I go but the trees and wildlife (raccoons squirrels peacocks and ants ) are annoying and get in my way. One star for sure," reads the complete review on TripAdvisor.
One reviewer figured their backyard held up against Stanley Park.
"It’s not a great park. It was so depressing. I’ll leave it at that. Don’t waste too much time here," reads part of the review. "Sorry Canada!!! You should spend the money to make this a tourist attraction if that’s what you want us to believe. It’s far from attractive."
Some people brought up issues with the views.
"There isn't any good point of view from the shore; you'll see buildings, bridges, cargo ships everywhere around Stanley Park," wrote Lucas Massin on Google.
A person with the same name wrote a more complete review on TripAdvisor.
"The only interest is Totem Poles, but they're not well maintained, and when you learn that Stanley Park has been expropriated from First Nations, all the colonist constructions in Stanley Park are a serious disrespect of these Nations," writes Lucas Massin on TripAdvisor.
There are some unusual or unexpected complaints, as well.
"The water smells so bad, didn’t enjoy the walk around there," wrote a user on Google.
Giant park has "too many tourists"
Many people also brought up the crowds and busyness of the seawall.
"Terrible place to visit on a Saturday morning," wrote a user on Google.
"Horrible. Too many tourists. Too many motorized electric bikes," wrote Colm Dav on Google.
"Crowded. Weed infested. No great vistas," reads a review from Charles Blunt on Google.
"Disgusted": Cars versus bike
The Stanley Park bike lanes controversy from the last several years also caused some people to give one-star reviews. Reviews come from all sides.
"Too bad...this used to be a great place to visit...but the Park Board has taken a strong 'anti-car' position," observed a visitor on TripAdvisor in 2021.
"They should have to be licensed and insured to ride on roads just the same as vehicles! Disgusted!!" wrote another user about cyclists.
"Be careful. Very careful. Many irresponsible people have turned the relaxing bike riding lane into a race track for speed bikers and electric scooters zooming at 50 km per hour," wrote another TripAdvisor user, in 2020.
