Anyone been to Hotel Arts?

[cycosis]

I won a night at Hotel Arts and Im jsut wondering if any fellow beyonders have been there? Im stoked because I finally get to use the valet feature on my car key.:) SO was it good, bad?

[Kona9]

I did most of the stone work there. Pretty decent place. Get the nicer room if you can. The difference between the regular rooms is worth it. The regular rooms are good too though.

[ZorroAMG]

It's a pretty cool hotel for calgary, the renos are decent....

[Zhariak]

One night when I was out partying I couldn't drive cuz I had been drinking so I decided to get a room there since I was at the lounge/bar enjoying their AWESOME service (at the Rawbar)...

Ended up getting a hotel room since I was drinking. For some reason they had a Ozone creator (or whatever those blue boxes are), I thought it was kind of tacky since it looked all industrial (I don't know if they have these in all rooms).

Ontop of that the toilet was busted, and the sink in the washroom would spray water directly at you...

Also 300 bucks for all this above, and a super small room kinda threw me off.


Before I stayed there I thought it would have been a super nice place, when I tried to call Amex to get a discount and upgrade before check-in they told me that it wasn't a member of their fine hotels program which was kind of odd (from how nice the place looked). After checking in I noticed why.... lol

[pinoyhero]

Pretty decent, one of the better renos done to a hotel IMO. Entrance and main floor is very nice, rooms are decent but nothing crazy nice.

[blackteg2]

Cool place. The Bullrun stayed their when they started their race from Calgary last year. The pool area is :thumbsup:

[ZorroAMG]

Originally posted by Zhariak

Ontop of that the toilet was busted, and the sink in the washroom would spray water directly at you...



That was a bidet.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[Redlyne_mr2]

Not a huge fan of Rawbar, service was not the best and the food was subpar. As mentioned try and go for one of the upgraded rooms.

[TYMSMNY]

Had a few stampede parties at the hotel. Great place and the restaurants are decent. Not much to do in the immediate area though... and a tad sketchy.

[Enhance]

Don't leave anything in your car.. I hear their lot gets raided by crackheads nightly.

[Redlyne_mr2]

Originally posted by TYMSMNY
Had a few stampede parties at the hotel. Great place and the restaurants are decent. Not much to do in the immediate area though... and a tad sketchy.
Yah how is St Germain? Never had a chance to eat there.

[Spoons]

For the price you pay, the rooms are super small. The only time I EVER consider staying there is for their New Years party cause you get a killer deal on rooms.

There are much better hotels downtown for cheaper and better, AND you can still use your valet feature :rofl: .

[roopi]

Originally posted by ZorroAMG


That was a bidet.

:rofl:

[TYMSMNY]

Originally posted by Redlyne_mr2

Yah how is St Germain? Never had a chance to eat there.

Expensive and ambiance is on par with the trendy mid-upper end restaurants. Value isn't there for me plus I would rather spend the night in a trendier area.

Had a couple appetizers at Raw... I'd go back for a quiet evening of drinks. They have a wide variety of Asian cuisine so it's great for a group setting/party.

[nonlinear]

^^plus, saint germain is just about the dumbest restaurant name i've ever heard... for some reason it totally turns me off, and i don't think i'd ever go there just because of that. not sure if it's the lame music made by french musician st. germain, or the fact that I hate religion, but it just rubs me the wrong way hahahaha.

[swak]

It LOOKS nice, but i think thats all it has going for it.

[Carl64]

Our room was very nice. Defiantly worth going to for free.



Originally posted by Enhance
Don't leave anything in your car.. I hear their lot gets raided by crackheads nightly.

This is very true. My friends car got broke into parked in the impark lot across the street.

[n1zm0]

Originally posted by ZorroAMG
That was a bidet.
:rofl: i hope you didnt fill the bowl and wash your face in that Zhariak, lol "the sink shot water at you!" haha

I've stayed there one night just when they finished the renos, the revamp had made the rooms very.. metrosexual? the furnishings were really nice dark reddish brown furniture, spiffy shower glass, it was pretty nice, our room had a brand new samsung flat screen, so new it still smelt like new plastic.

but +1 for the shitty parking lot, its right next to a hooker road (1st street i think, not 3rd ave.) and the road where you pickup contract workers.

[bubbley]

Its a nice hotel...but...they are strict mofos...so if you planning a wild orgy or a party..defn not the best place

[jjmac]

2 :thumbsup:

decent hotel

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by Redlyne_mr2

Yah how is St Germain? Never had a chance to eat there.

Quite decent IMO but since I don't have to pay, I'm biased.

The Hotel is nice, but the area as a whole is a complete shit hole.

[you&me]

Originally posted by cycosis
I won a night at Hotel Arts and Im jsut wondering if any fellow beyonders have been there? Im stoked because I finally get to use the valet feature on my car key.:) SO was it good, bad?

The valet there ruined a clutch on my car a few summers ago... not pleased when I came out in the morning and my car was west of where I initially dropped it off (meaning the valet at least took it around the block) and it was just left out there all night... also they didn't have the balls to tell me right away and played dumb when I found it there in the morning. It took 4 months to get reimbursement from them - not classy.

I've stayed a few times since (not by choice) for weddings and other parties... if you can, pick a room that faces over the pool, on the back side of the building. The paint and fixtures might be nice now, but the building was initially a shitty Holiday Inn and the renos obviously didn't include upgrading the windows or insulation. The sound levels on the 12th ave side aren't pleasant.

[frinkprof]

Originally posted by Xtrema


Quite decent IMO but since I don't have to pay, I'm biased.

The Hotel is nice, but the area as a whole is a complete shit hole. Can't speak for the hotel as I've never stayed there. However, the area has come a long way in the last few years with the nearby condos, and the new Gallery shops just built as part of the Hotel Arts development itself. It's got a ways to go yet, and the next upswing in the economy should see more improvements. Headed in the right direction though.

[7thgenvic]

mehhh. not worth the 9 bux for a single bar vodka. I've been there a few times for functions and parties. I really don't care for the place.

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by frinkprof
Can't speak for the hotel as I've never stayed there. However, the area has come a long way in the last few years with the nearby condos, and the new Gallery shops just built as part of the Hotel Arts development itself. It's got a ways to go yet, and the next upswing in the economy should see more improvements. Headed in the right direction though.

With Mustard Seed and cash corner just a block away, I doubt they can ever fix it until those establishments are gone.

[frinkprof]

^No argument there. Add in the Mac's on the NW corner of 11th Avenue and 1st Street SW (which is fed by Mustard Seed clientele and associates). There was a proposal a couple years ago to move Cash Corner to near the Elbow River Casino by having the City build a small enclosure there and making it a little more official. That proposal was defeated, mostly on the principle that the City has no place in supporting people working under the table. Cash Corner may move somewhere else more naturally in time though.

As for the Mustard Seed, they have actually proposed building a small tower for transitional housing at their current site. Their use of the winter shelter in Foothills industrial during the winter continues though.

Anyway, not sure if either the formal Mustard Seed entity or the informal Cash Corner will move elsewhere anytime soon. Nevertheless, there's been improvement in the last few years and I think it can continue to improve with new developments, once the market and economy dictates of course, and increased people traffic. I agree that there are some negative elements to either overcome or work around though.

[Zhariak]

Originally posted by ZorroAMG


That was a bidet.

Lmao, I just read this...

Usually bidet's are close to the ground and look like funky toilets...

I'm actually talking about the sink...

[in*10*se]

i wonder if people realize that hotel arts was holiday inn once upon a time? (was it holiday inn? or was it best western? i dunno)

[badatusrnames]

Originally posted by Redlyne_mr2
Not a huge fan of Rawbar, service was not the best and the food was subpar.

:werd:

The organization I worked for also held their annual dinner there... the facilities themselves are great (can't comment about the rooms though). The service and food, nothing special...


Originally posted by in*10*se
i wonder if people realize that hotel arts was holiday inn once upon a time? (was it holiday inn? or was it best western? i dunno)

Holiday Inn.