I’m off to Banff in March snowboarding, and on the way back want to stop off overnight in Calgary.
It’s a very late flight that I’m going home on (11pm), so that would give me pretty much one night plus a full day for a brief look around.
Can anyone recomend:
A hotel. It’s a party of 4 couples, so something with suites would be ideal. Two of them are on a real budget, so the cheaper the better. Preferably in a good location for going out
Somewhere good to dine. I believe steak is the local speciality, but please correct me if I’m wrong
Key sights to see in Calgary itself - something that can realistically be done in a day.
Thanks Lieu, that could well be an option. Out of interest, any of those hotels worth recommending?
I’ve been looking around a few of the travel sites, and it really is beginning to look like Calgary isn’t too well served for hotels. Certainly some of the budget ones look pretty scary. I’m beginning to think I’d be better off just covering the difference between the budget people have given me, and the cost for a better hotel.
Beef is indeed the local specialty. A good place for an excellent chunk of beef on a budget is Colors Café in the Sheraton Cavalier hotel near the airport. It shares a kitchen with one of the best expensive steakhouses in town (Carvers), including their beef freezer. $20 gets you a prime rib dinner to die for. I don’t know what kind of price the actual hotel charges for rooms, but it is quite near the airport.
ETA: The problem with getting locals to recommend hotels is that we never use them.
Well, yes and no. I always stayed at the Palliser but had it not been free (the company I was working for owned it) I might have gone for something cheaper. It is very nice to be sure but mention of your friend’s budget kept me from including it before. Teatro is a five minute walk from there.
Speaking of, are you by chance staying at the Banff Springs Hotel while you ski? It’s easily my favorite hotel in the entire world and, if nothing else, is worth at least a quick tour some evening when you have some free time.
The Canadian Rockies are beyond compare. You’re in for a marvelous vacation.
Aye, it’s a tricky one asking people for hotel reservations. Normally you can hope there’s some people who travel through a town on business on a regular basis who can recommend something, but I’m not sure the budget would make that possible. I really am tempted just to cheat and cover the difference.
Any steak houses in town you’d recommend? Also, where’s the best area for a few drinks? Bar recomendations also welcome
Aye, I like Fairmont hotels a lot. If it was just me, the wife and sprog then those two would be high up the list, but as there’s a group of us we rented a cottage in Banff instead. I’ll try and at least check out the Banff Springs for dinner.
The night in Calgary is a bit of a last minute idea - we wouldn’t be able to fit in even a half day on the slopes on the day we fly out, so I thought that if we travelled back to Calgary late afternoon on the day before, we could at least do a little bit of sight seeing on the last day.
What was the small restaurant just across the Bow from Eau Claire… The River Cafe on Prince’s Island? Would that be a good place for Gary to go or do I remember something about it being seasonal?
You remember correctly. River Cafe is closed during January and opens again on the 3rd of February.
The food is fantastic and the location is pretty, but it is pretty expensive (or, what **EmAnJ **said) However, it is a really great restaurant to experience Canadian and Albertan cuisine, so I would consider the cost worth it. And, there are options for everyone, including vegetarians.
As to hotels, the more reasonable suite hotels tend to be nearer to the airport to downtown. Because Calgary is pretty spread out, you should probably expect to drive a fair bit, especially if you want to stay somewhere a little more reasonable.
For less expensive accommodations, you might want to try Motel Village on Banff Trail (which, despite the name, goes nowhere near Banff). Plenty of familiar chain locations (Hampton Inn, Comfort Inn, Quality Suites, and similar), and handy to the LRT so you can get downtown quickly if that’s where you want to go.
You’ll find a bunch of independent motels on 16 Ave N (aka Highway 1) between Shaganappi Trail and the western city limits, but I don’t know if I’d recommend those–they don’t look too good.
I’ve stayed at the Sheraton Eau Claire many times, and if you can get any kind of a deal ($450 a night :eek:), it’s very nice. My wife has stayed at the Sheraton Airport (32 Ave N and Barlow Trail?) a few times and no doubt would second featherlou’s suggestion of the hotel restaurants. It’s been some years since I last stayed at the Palliser, but I would imagine that, being a Fairmont, it’s as nice as I remember. IIRC, the Marriott and the Hyatt are within spitting distance of the Palliser; all within a block of 9th Ave S and Centre Street. Or there’s always the Airport Delta–a little below the Palliser, but certainly above a Comfort Inn, and still handy to downtown and the sights (Calgary Airport is only about 20 minutes from downtown if you are willing to brave Deerfoot Trail).
As for restaurants, has the new Hy’s opened yet? That was always my favourite place for a good Alberta steak. I know they closed a while back for renovations, but I don’t know if they have reopened yet.
Ah, as we won’t have a car, that would be a problem.
Actually, while I’m asking about Calgary, let me check one thing I thought I knew about Banff. I’d been advised that we’d not need a car, as there was a good transport network to the slopes. Can anyone confirm/deny?
Banff should be okay. There are buses to the hills, and, depending on which hotel you’re at, some of the buses drop people off right in front.
Calgary, I think, may be a problem. There are taxis, of course, but, given that you have four couples, plus your gear, you’ll probably need to take taxi vans, which are more expensive than a regular cab. Plus, there are fewer taxi vans, so booking them can be a pain. (When we returned from holidays at Christmas, we had to stand in the taxi line at the airport while we waited for a van. It took about 45 minutes, which may not sound too terrible until I mention that the taxi line is outside, and the temperature was around -30.)
If you really don’t want to rent a car, I would suggest staying in one of the more expensive hotels downtown, and covering the budget difference yourself. They should, at least, have an airport shuttle, and you’ll be able to walk around downtown easily. Plus, the LRT is very accessible, should you decide to venture out farther (although not to the airport, sadly).
