With a single step inside Wedgewood Hotel’s lobby off Hornby Street in Vancouver, squarely across from Robson Square Gardens and the Vancouver Law Courts, a pungent aroma of tuberose and frangipani hits me. “It’s our signature scent,” says Eleni Jackson, operations manager and third-generation hotelier, noting that it’s also a custom blend. As I scan the impressive room, I can also see flourishes of bronze, along with huge presentations of potted orchids. An impressively large antique marble fireplace is framed in dark, carved wood. Elsewhere, a book is flipped open on a stand atop the imposing round coffee table—begging to be browsed by guests waiting to check in at the carved stone reception desk. Every detail is considered. And so it has been since 1984, when Greek-born Vancouver businesswoman Eleni Skalbania opened the luxury hotel.
After selling her share of Hotel Georgia, the founder brought a personal collection of art and antiques to Wedgewood—vintage prints, oil paintings and more. She then decided to bring her daughters—Elpie Marinakis and Marousa Dumaresq—into the fold. Each contributed their own experience: Marinakis with a bachelor of art history and a law degree, and Dumaresq with a master’s in architecture from UBC. The two sisters have been equal co-owners since Skalbania’s passing in 2013.
Since then, the luxury hotel (the city’s only Relais & Châteaux property) has remained independent, even as brisk business could have attracted interest from a larger hotel conglomerate wanting to purchase and take it over.
“My mom was one of the first female hoteliers in Vancouver at the time… she took quite a chance, and the city loved it,” Marinakis says of her late mother. “It became the place to go for weddings and special events, and then it became known internationally as well.”
Marinakis is not wrong. While lawyers and judges from the Vancouver Law Courts (as well as a few actors trying to avoid the crowds) made themselves cozy at the hotel in the 1980s, and weddings have been plentiful throughout the decades, international recognition continues to grow. The independent, family-run hotel earned TripAdvisor’s “2025 Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best” designation as the No. 2 Luxury Hotel in Canada and No. 3 Hotel in Canada and has held a Michelin Key for the past three years. Its attached restaurant and lounge, Bacchus, was Michelin-Guide recommended in 2025 and also earned a spot on Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list for 2026.
Through the accolades and awards, however, the grounding principle of the business has always been personal touch and family legacy.
“[My] yaya created a legacy that was very unique, built on these family values and that really felt like a home. I think that’s what’s kept us independent for all these years,” concludes Jackson.
