Some friends will be visiting these two cities next month. Any must do activities? Restaurants? Mid-high hotels?

Edit to add: Is Whistler worth going to?

Lumiere in Vancouver and the Herb Farm in Seattle (technically Woodinville, WA but that's the Seattle Metro area) are outstanding restaurants. Both are world-class. Lumiere has one of the best bars around.

The Fish House in Stanley Park in Vancouver was outstanding!

Whistler is gorgeous as well. Lots of good restaurants and fantastc skiing (though in September, probably not applicable). I think it's worth a visit (though it definitely appeals more to the people who are interested in the outdoors and related activities (hiking, biking, kayaking, river rafting, etc.)

Masaki

Robert, my first cruise to Alaska, we ended up in Vancouver, and my daughter an I rented a car and drove up to Whistler. It is a BEAUTIFUL drive! We stopped along the way to take pictures, and found a waterfall along the way. My niece recently visted Vancouver, and says there was a lot of road construction when they drove there. This may be over now, but a good idea to check. We drove up, took the gondola to the top of the mountain, and then had lunch at a wonderful outdoor cafe right in the main pedestrian square. It was the drive up and back that was special to me.

I stayed at the Hotel Monaco in Seattle and loved it. Nice rooms, leopard print bathrobes, free wine in the lobby in the evening and your own personal goldfish. Nice bath ammenities too. It's close to almost everything, we walked everywhere we wanted. If you belong to AAA you can sometimes get a good deal.

We didn't eat much in Seattle. Just came off of a cruise. There was this fantastic pizza place near the space needle...

It's tourist tacky, but if the day is nice, go to the top of the space needle.

Dinner at the Herb Farm (2++hours) is heaven!!! Mostly organic, grown on-premises, inCREDible. I suggest your friends BEG for a reservation! There's also a casually elegant b&b across the street -- they may not want to drive! Get details from the restaurant.

Try Rover's (Seattle) for a less expensive take on Euro-NW fusion cuisine.

The Monaco's my usual hotel, too, Great cocktails downstairs in the bar. There's also the Fairmont Olympic, the real grande dame. And some people like the W.

Shop Cap Hill (trendy funky edgy), Ballard (getting pretty chic), and Fremont (furniture and decor). More decor (art too) in Belltown.

I spend a lot of time in West Seattle, but it doesn't appeal to everyone. A great beach (Alki [sic?]), edgy restaurants, good record- and bookstores.

Wild Rice (on Pender just on the edge of Chinatown in Vancouver) is a great place for lunch and people watching. Just watch out for their weird martinis!

Do your friends have time to detour to Banff? I like Whistler a lot during ski season...

Cerinda

Thanks so much everyone for your terrific recos. I'll be sure to pass them along!

Robert-
We stayed out at the Westin Hotel- downtown Seattle last summer before we got on the cruise to Alaska.
The hotel is located right downtown and by the monorail to take you out to the space needle. It was also with in a few blocks of Nordstorms, Macys, and the Fish Market was about a 15 minute walk.
We were there for the summer fest at the end of August and they closed down the downtown area and had sand on the streets- for volleyball, bands on each corner. It was great.
The hotel was very nice- beds perfect and views of the downtown area and the water was just perfect. We were there for 3 nights.
Jan