On September 1st the newest Marriott Hotel in Canada opened its doors,
The Calgary Airport Marriott In-Terminal Hotel. The hotel is one of the first developments of the multi-billion dollar
International Terminal development
at YYC to open up and if it is any indication of what the rest of the
new terminal will be then Calgary's airport just jumped up a few leagues
in the world of great airports. When we heard about the new YYC hotel
opening up on September 1st I reached out to Marriott about staying
there and they were more than happy to let us try it
out this past weekend.
We received an email from the director of sales and marketing at the
Calgary Marriott In-Terminal hotel that the Rewards Canada family was
all set for a stay on Friday night. It stated to simply pull up to the
valet parking in front of the hotel and that they would take care of the
rest. We really had no idea what to expect but all I can say is we were
excited for a little staycation just before the family schedule shifts
into high gear with school, competitive dance, volleyball and more.
Pulling up to the hotel we were greeted by the Marriott's valet who
promptly asked for our name, provided us with our valet parking tag and
asked if we needed any assistance with our bags. So far so good! Since
we are Calgary based and only staying one night we didn't require
assistance with our bags and made our way to check in. There was staff
at every entrance (you pass through a corridor connecting the old
terminal with the new to get to the hotel) and they all greeted us
politely.
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| View of the corridor between the old and new terminal |
At check in the staff was very welcoming and we were informed that we
would be provided with a two queen room with a connecting king suite
along with full club lounge access. Wow, Marriott went above and beyond
here! The check in agent handed us our keys and told us she would take
us to our room. The rooms were 745 and 747 on the top floor of the
hotel. This is also the floor that houses the club lounge.
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| Lobby and Yakima Restaurant towards the back |
As we walked down the 7th floor hallway she explained that 747 is the
largest suite on the property and is the only of its kind in the hotel.
Marriott called the suite the 'Concierge Suite' but if you go to book it
online it is listed as the Presidential Suite. Of note the room number
is 747 and I asked later if it was just a coincidence that the best room
in the hotel just happens to be numbered 747 (Avgeeks will get why I
asked this question) but there wasn't a definitive answer whether this
was done on purpose or not.
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| Coincidence? |
What follows are quick thoughts and descriptions of the rooms but as usual we like to let the photos do most of the talking!
Two Queen Room
Upon entering we found the regular two queen room was prepped for our
girls. There were two trays of treats geared toward them as well as some
board games for our enjoyment! The room size and layout are impressive
and would be typical of the type of room we normally book as a family.
After seeing this we would have been very happy with just this room and I
can happily pass along that anyone who books the standard two queens or
single king rooms won't be disappointed. The bathroom is sized well
and has a large walk in shower with regular shower head and a rain
shower head. This particular room connected to the Presidential suite so
we essentially had a three room suite.
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| Two Queens |
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| Two Queen Room Shower |
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| Two Queen Room Vanity |
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| Games provided by the Marriott YYC for our enjoyment! |
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| Treats for the girls from the Marriott! |
Presidential Suite
The Presidential (or Concierge Suite) was impressive! It is a two room
suite (living room and bedroom) with so much space! When you first enter
the suite there is a powder room to the left and as you go further into
the living room you'll find a bar area (sink, counter and cabinets) on
the North wall and a great seating area for everyone in the middle. Here
we found treats for the adults including a couple special drinks made
by the hotel restaurant Yakima which happens to make all of their syrups
in house for their drinks. (a separate post will follow on our dining
experiences at Yakima). Next to the living room on the Southwest corner
of the building is the bedroom which has a king bed, TV, settee and a
telescope. Floor to ceiling windows wrap around the room on two sides
with views of the new terminal, the old and of course of Calgary. Quite
possibly the highlight of this already great room is the huge bathroom.
You'll find dual sinks/mirrors (one on each side of the space), a
separate walk in shower with rain shower head, a separate stall for the
toilet and a freestanding tub.
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| Presidential Suite King Bed |
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| View from the Suite |
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| Another angle of the suite (With Rewards Canada's youngest utilizing the telescope!) |
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| The huge Presidential Suite bathroom! |
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| One of the two vanities and the walk in shower |
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| Presidential Suite Living Room |
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| Treats for the parents! |
Thoughts on the rooms
The floor to ceiling windows in the rooms are amazing and provide for
awesome views of the airport, downtown Calgary and the Rocky Mountains.
If you get the Presidential Suite you'll find a Telescope in the room
for your viewing enjoyment! We used it to look at planes and downtown
Calgary. You'll also find the same telescope in the Club Lounge. The
rooms themselves are sized great and should appeal to most travellers
whether on a layover or a longer extended stay. If you like firm beds
then the hotel is for you, we did find them a bit too firm for us but
the hotel is also only a little over a week old and most mattresses will
'soften' over time so I just see the beds getting better. On Twitter a
reader asked how the soundproofing was and if we could hear the planes. I
originally responded that we could not but that was during the evening
when there was more going on in the hotel (we were in the lounge at that
time). Later at night when things quieted down you could hear the
planes in our rooms but not at an annoying or wake you up volume. The
good thing about YYC is there isn't too much action on the tarmac
between 10pm and 6am, so in general the hotel feels quiet.
Club Lounge
The club lounge is also on the 7th floor and like all the south facing
rooms has amazing views of the city and the airport. The lounge is quite
large and offers hot food options during breakfast and during evening
hours. Outside of those hours they have some small snacks available
along with lots of drink options. All food and non-alcoholic drinks are
free while there is a charge for alcoholic beverages. At all times there
were two staff members in the lounge helping everyone out, the service
here was impeccable.
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| Hot Breakfast food options |
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| Breakfast Pastries |
Amenities
The hotel features a few amenities for those staying here. There is a
great fitness room which once again has views of the tarmac and the
city. There is a fun pool with waterfalls that our girls did try out and
enjoy. A hot tub is also in the pool area however it was blocked off as
it wasn't ready for use during our stay. The on site restaurant, Yakima
takes a local Calgary flare on dining and infuses some South American
and Japanese touches. Most if not all of the food is sourced locally
(hence no fish on the menu) and they also bake all their own breads and
pastries. We'll have more on Yakima in another post but all I can say is
that it is pretty darn good! It will become a regular haunt for us in
our dining out in Calgary, and if you're thinking it might get expensive
with airport parking, fear not as the restaurant provides up to 4 hours
of free valet parking when dining at it.
Tips for stays at the new Calgary Marriott
If you want views of airplanes, downtown Calgary and the Rocky Mountains
request a room on the south side of the hotel (odd numbered rooms). Of
course the higher the floor the better but I would assume you'll get
good views from most floor levels.
Overall Thoughts
We knew Marriott was expecting us and they went above and beyond in
terms of service to make sure our stay was awesome. The thing is we saw
the staff treating everyone else just as well as us and this can be
attested to as seen on Twitter with another guest complementing the
hotel on the service:
Had we just come in as 'regular customers' with
anonymity and
stayed in the two queen room I can truthfully say we would have been
impressed. We are already thinking of future staycations here and will
definitely recommend it to family, friends and our readers as the place
to stay at YYC.
Hotel details
Calgary Airport Marriott In-Terminal Hotel (
Book here)
Marriott Rewards Category: 5
Points required for a free night (Standard) 25,000 Points
Points required for a free night (PointSaver) 20,000 Points
Cash+Points Requirement:
14,000 Points + US$65 per night for standard rooms
You can use your anniversary bonus of a free night in a Category 1-5 hotel from the
Marriott Rewards Premier Visa Card here as well.
Talk to us! Have you stayed at the new Calgary Airport Marriott
In-Terminal Hotel? What are your thoughts of the hotel? Or are you
planning to and looking forward to it? Let us know below!
Rewards Canada has had a relationship with Marriott for more than 10
years but over the past 6 months that has grown by leaps and bounds. You
may have noticed the Marriott Rewards contests in July and August and
there is even more to come. I cannot say how excited we are about this new
expanded relationship and I'm sure you are too as many more promotions
will be coming your way shortly!
Disclosure:
Rewards Canada's (I Fly Calgary) stay at the Calgary Airport Marriott In-Terminal
Hotel was provided by Marriott at no charge. We were fully responsible
for incidental charges like food and drinks and as with all of our
review policies for flights, hotels, credit cards and anything else we
do like to point out the good and the not so good, whether or not we are
paid for it, receive it for free etc.
