Courtyard By Marriott Calgary South – An Alternative to Calgary’s Busy Downtown District
As I was coming back from Christmas in November at Jasper Park Lodge, I wanted to stay a few days and check out a bit more of Calgary, and was looking for a change of scenery from the downtown core. I had lots of work to do, so was mainly going to be held up in the hotel, so comfort and space was key, so I booked into the Courtyard By Mariott Calgary South and explored the Seton District.
The Mariott Calgary South is has well-designed and spacious hotel rooms and is not far from Quarry Park, CF Chinook Centre shops, Macleod Trail, TELUS Spark Science Centre, Spruce Meadows and Calgary Zoo. There’s free wi-fi and the executive suites have huge living rooms and a kitchenettes, giving me plenty of space to spread out. There’s lots of meeting space, a pool and waterslide (I didn’t go down) a bistro and a 24-hour gym. My suite had a deluxe bathtub with a view, and it was lucky I discovered the blinds went down by an automatic switch before I jumped in as I was at first under the impression that the windows had one way glass. Yikes!
I was upgraded to the modern penthouse, and barely left the room as it was so comfortable. I lounged a bit, slept very well, went for a workout and got a lot of work done at the dining room table. I left only to explore some restaurants and cafes in the area; truly spoiled here.
On the first night I arrived I was dropped off by the shuttle, and met a friend for dinner who drove me to the amazing Notable restaurant in Calgary where we enjoyed some superb mussels of the best steak I’d had in a very long time. Notable and many of the other hot spots in Calgary are a bit far from the hotel, but uber is rampant in these parts and the hotel is near a few spots worthy of dining as I found out.
In the hotel there’s a bistro where I had a fairly basic breakfast and the Kitchen Table Restaurant where I ordered from the second night, but chose to dine at the hotel bar as it was a bit more lively and I was solo and the lamb shank was precisely what I needed after I’d done a fairly long run on the gym’s treadmill, and the burger looked superb. Should you have a few people with you, the restaurant would be preferable, but I liked the social aspect of the bar’s bistro.
I don’t know how I missed this, but looking at the website I now see the there’s the Soma Hammam & Spa onsite, where there is Calgary’s only Hamman Turkish Bath. I’ll have to check this out next time.
In the area there’s a few restaurants that are worth checking out. I had a nice lunch at Starbelly, and would have loved to return for happy hour, as the bar looked promising here, and the Good Earth Coffeehouse & Bakery provided great coffee and a tasty breakfast sandwich before I headed out to the airport on my final day.
If you are looking for a place for a quiet escape the Courtyard By Marriott Calgary South provides a change of scenery and modern comfort with prices below those of downtown Calgary.
