Hotel Near Pengrowth/Stampede Grounds
Dec 23rd, 2005, 09:36 AM
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Hotel Near Pengrowth/Stampede Grounds
I'm attending an event in March at Pengrowth Arena which I understand is on the Stampede Grounds. I'm trying to determine what hotel to stay at. I currently have reservations at The Hotel Arts which used to be the Holiday Inn Downtown, but it got mixed reviews from what I've read. But it's supposed to be the closest to the Stampede Grounds which would be convnenient.
I've looked at the map but have a hard time determining how far things are. Are any of the hotels within walking distance (and is the walking safe for a woman alone?) Any recommendations for a good, but convnenient hotel?
I've looked at the map but have a hard time determining how far things are. Are any of the hotels within walking distance (and is the walking safe for a woman alone?) Any recommendations for a good, but convnenient hotel?
Dec 23rd, 2005, 12:04 PM
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A colleague with whom I collaborate, who lives in Edmonton but who regularly travels to Calgary, stays at the Hotel Arts (ex Holiday Inn) whenever she comes to Calgary. The primary reason for her choice, I suspect, is that she often has meetings in a nearby office building. She has never mentioned the quality of the hotel, one way or the other, but I'm sure she wouldn't stay there time after time if she was unhappy with it.
I would ask her about the Hotel Arts on your behalf, but right now she and her husband are camping in the jungles of Guatemala with the members of an indigenous tribe. Mind you, the fact that they would choose a vacation like that might tell you something about her approach to accommodation. Let's just say I don't think she's a princess who's disturbed by a pea under twenty mattresses.
If you trust her judgement, I can ask her about Hotel Arts when she gets back early in January.
Google Maps says that it's 1.2 km (0.7 miles) from Hotel Arts (at 119 - 12 Avenue SW) to the Saddledome (at 555 Saddledome Rise SE).
Other hotels to consider are the Marriott at 110 - 9 Avenue SE (1.5 km or 0.9 miles from the Saddledome) and the Hyatt Regency at 700 Centre Street SE (1.8 km or 1.1 miles from the Saddledome).
Which hotel you choose depends on the type of trip you're anticipating. If you're going to be very wrapped up in the event that you'll be attending, and if you'll be staying at that event well into the evenings, I would guess there would be merit in staying at the closest hotel, that is Hotel Arts.
If at least some of your evenings will be free, and if you'll have time to seek out pleasant restaurants for dinner, you'd have a better selection if you stayed at the Marriott or the Hyatt. The Hyatt is right on, and the Marriott is very close to, 8th Avenue / Stephen Avenue Walk, which is a pedestrian mall with several restaurants.
The restaurants, clubs, pubs and bars in the immediate vicinity of Hotel Arts cater to a very young crowd. My 21-year-old son, who now is doing a year's internship in Vancouver, used to be a part-time disk jockey at the clubs close to Hotel Arts. He is into Jungle and Drum & Bass music, if that gives you an idea.
>>>>>>Are any of the hotels within walking distance<<<<<<
It depends what your idea of walking distance is. The three hotels I've mentioned are consisent with my idea of walking distance.
>>>>>>and is the walking safe for a woman alone?<<<<<<
That question is really difficult for me to answer. It depends on your personal danger threshold.
Downtown Calgary has grown rougher in the last few years, and some of my women friends who used to feel comfortable walking alone in the downtown core at night no longer feel comfortable doing so.
I still feel okay walking downtown at night. But to put that into context, I should explain that I am not afraid of beggars, and in fact engage some of them in conversation. I'm on first name terms with a couple of beggars and about four vendors of the "Calgary Street Talk" newspaper.
If you are like my women friends who don't feel comfortable walking alone at night, then I would say that you would not feel comfortable walking even the couple of blocks from Stampede Park to Hotel Arts.
Something else I should warn you about is March's weather. It can be warm and springlike, but it also can be devilishly cold. Check the weather forecast just before you leave home.
The Weather Underground web site has statistics for Calgary for the last 9 years. In March the average daily high has been 32 deg F, and the average nightly low has been 12 deg F. The highest high has been 68 deg F, and the lowest low has been -23 deg F.
Hope that helps.
I would ask her about the Hotel Arts on your behalf, but right now she and her husband are camping in the jungles of Guatemala with the members of an indigenous tribe. Mind you, the fact that they would choose a vacation like that might tell you something about her approach to accommodation. Let's just say I don't think she's a princess who's disturbed by a pea under twenty mattresses.
If you trust her judgement, I can ask her about Hotel Arts when she gets back early in January.
Google Maps says that it's 1.2 km (0.7 miles) from Hotel Arts (at 119 - 12 Avenue SW) to the Saddledome (at 555 Saddledome Rise SE).
Other hotels to consider are the Marriott at 110 - 9 Avenue SE (1.5 km or 0.9 miles from the Saddledome) and the Hyatt Regency at 700 Centre Street SE (1.8 km or 1.1 miles from the Saddledome).
Which hotel you choose depends on the type of trip you're anticipating. If you're going to be very wrapped up in the event that you'll be attending, and if you'll be staying at that event well into the evenings, I would guess there would be merit in staying at the closest hotel, that is Hotel Arts.
If at least some of your evenings will be free, and if you'll have time to seek out pleasant restaurants for dinner, you'd have a better selection if you stayed at the Marriott or the Hyatt. The Hyatt is right on, and the Marriott is very close to, 8th Avenue / Stephen Avenue Walk, which is a pedestrian mall with several restaurants.
The restaurants, clubs, pubs and bars in the immediate vicinity of Hotel Arts cater to a very young crowd. My 21-year-old son, who now is doing a year's internship in Vancouver, used to be a part-time disk jockey at the clubs close to Hotel Arts. He is into Jungle and Drum & Bass music, if that gives you an idea.
>>>>>>Are any of the hotels within walking distance<<<<<<
It depends what your idea of walking distance is. The three hotels I've mentioned are consisent with my idea of walking distance.
>>>>>>and is the walking safe for a woman alone?<<<<<<
That question is really difficult for me to answer. It depends on your personal danger threshold.
Downtown Calgary has grown rougher in the last few years, and some of my women friends who used to feel comfortable walking alone in the downtown core at night no longer feel comfortable doing so.
I still feel okay walking downtown at night. But to put that into context, I should explain that I am not afraid of beggars, and in fact engage some of them in conversation. I'm on first name terms with a couple of beggars and about four vendors of the "Calgary Street Talk" newspaper.
If you are like my women friends who don't feel comfortable walking alone at night, then I would say that you would not feel comfortable walking even the couple of blocks from Stampede Park to Hotel Arts.
Something else I should warn you about is March's weather. It can be warm and springlike, but it also can be devilishly cold. Check the weather forecast just before you leave home.
The Weather Underground web site has statistics for Calgary for the last 9 years. In March the average daily high has been 32 deg F, and the average nightly low has been 12 deg F. The highest high has been 68 deg F, and the lowest low has been -23 deg F.
Hope that helps.
Dec 23rd, 2005, 02:19 PM
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Thank you, that was extremely helpful. I do expect to spend most of my time at the arena (it's the figure skating championships and there are practices or competitions from early in the morning until around 10:30). I've been to Calgary once before in the summer, so I have been stocking up on warm clothes in anticipation of this trip. If your friend sees a woman walking around Calgary in nice weather wearing clothing made for the Arctic, it will probably be me! Thanks again for your opinions and help.
Dec 25th, 2005, 02:27 PM
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Travel Kitty, I've stayed at the Hotel Arts and if you're looking for a boutique style hotel with nice linens, stylish design and mood lighting then I would definitely recommend it. However, if you book it make sure to ask for one of the "renovated rooms" seeing not all floors have been changed from the Holiday Inn style.
As for walking to/from the Saddledome I'm not sure I would recommend doing it alone -- its only about four blocks but the neighbourhood you need to go through is "transitional" and full of businesses, not my idea of a nice stroll. For easier transportation you might want to stay at one of the downtown hotels that Judy suggested. Both the Marriott and the Hyatt are on the C-Train track which will take you right to the Saddledome stop. To get to the C-Train from the Hotel Arts you would have to walk about three blocks into downtown.
If you post your specific concerns/questions about the Hotel Arts I'll try to answer them.
As for walking to/from the Saddledome I'm not sure I would recommend doing it alone -- its only about four blocks but the neighbourhood you need to go through is "transitional" and full of businesses, not my idea of a nice stroll. For easier transportation you might want to stay at one of the downtown hotels that Judy suggested. Both the Marriott and the Hyatt are on the C-Train track which will take you right to the Saddledome stop. To get to the C-Train from the Hotel Arts you would have to walk about three blocks into downtown.
If you post your specific concerns/questions about the Hotel Arts I'll try to answer them.
Dec 26th, 2005, 08:59 AM
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Thanks for the input. I didn't take the trains on my prior trip to Calgary - are they well traveled and generally safe to take at night?
One good thing about going to Calgary in the winter is that hopefully, is that I can "bundle up" - Calgary has to have the highest percentage of young, good looking, fit people that I've ever seen!
One good thing about going to Calgary in the winter is that hopefully, is that I can "bundle up" - Calgary has to have the highest percentage of young, good looking, fit people that I've ever seen!
Dec 26th, 2005, 01:51 PM
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>>>>>>are they well traveled and generally safe to take at night?<<<<<<
By 10.30 p.m. there are relatively few passengers on the train, but the train generally is safe.
Here's a map of the C-Train lines.
http://www.calgarytransit.com/Routes/lrt_stop.html
If you were leaving the Saddledome, you'd embark at Victoria Park / Stampede Station. If you were going to the Hyatt, you'd disembark at Olympic Plaza Station. If you were going to the Marriott, you'd disembark at 1st Street S.W. Station.
Unfortunately for you, Stampede Park is just beyond the 7th Avenue free fare zone. So, to travel from Victoria Park / Stampede Station to the very next station, which takes 3 minutes, it'll cost you C$2.25. You do not need exact change, but it would be an advantage of have the correct change, since the ticket dispensing machines on the train station platforms do not give change. If you'll be doing the train trip several times, it might be worth your while to buy a book of 10 tickets from a convenience store or from the official Calgary Transit store on 7th Avenue.
Around 10.30 on a week night, the trains run about every 15 minutes.
While you are pretty safe on the train itself, Olympic Plaza Station is close to the "Skid Row" part of downtown, which generally is considered to be east of City Hall. However, very soon after leaving the station, you'd be walking past the Epcor Centre for the Performing Arts where, depending on what time you were walking past, you would encounter theatre goers leaving the theatre complex as shows ended. Then you would be just a stone's throw from the Hyatt.
The Marriott is just over a block from 1st Street S.W. Station. The station platform itself and the strip of shops adjacent to it are okay but not particularly inspiring at night. However, once you're clear of the station, you have an acceptable walk past The Bay (a department store) to the next block in which the Marriott is located.
I have stood at Centre Street Station waiting for a train as late as 10.00 p.m. and 10.30 p.m., and have felt fine. Going back to my earlier comments about different women having different reactions, some of my women friends are not comfortable standing on train station platforms alone that late at night.
If you were going to be travelling on the trains at the same times as downtown office workers, I would have no hesitation in assuring you that you would feel safe. Since you'll probably be catching the train fairly late at night, we're back into the space in which I cannot predict your reaction.
By 10.30 p.m. there are relatively few passengers on the train, but the train generally is safe.
Here's a map of the C-Train lines.
http://www.calgarytransit.com/Routes/lrt_stop.html
If you were leaving the Saddledome, you'd embark at Victoria Park / Stampede Station. If you were going to the Hyatt, you'd disembark at Olympic Plaza Station. If you were going to the Marriott, you'd disembark at 1st Street S.W. Station.
Unfortunately for you, Stampede Park is just beyond the 7th Avenue free fare zone. So, to travel from Victoria Park / Stampede Station to the very next station, which takes 3 minutes, it'll cost you C$2.25. You do not need exact change, but it would be an advantage of have the correct change, since the ticket dispensing machines on the train station platforms do not give change. If you'll be doing the train trip several times, it might be worth your while to buy a book of 10 tickets from a convenience store or from the official Calgary Transit store on 7th Avenue.
Around 10.30 on a week night, the trains run about every 15 minutes.
While you are pretty safe on the train itself, Olympic Plaza Station is close to the "Skid Row" part of downtown, which generally is considered to be east of City Hall. However, very soon after leaving the station, you'd be walking past the Epcor Centre for the Performing Arts where, depending on what time you were walking past, you would encounter theatre goers leaving the theatre complex as shows ended. Then you would be just a stone's throw from the Hyatt.
The Marriott is just over a block from 1st Street S.W. Station. The station platform itself and the strip of shops adjacent to it are okay but not particularly inspiring at night. However, once you're clear of the station, you have an acceptable walk past The Bay (a department store) to the next block in which the Marriott is located.
I have stood at Centre Street Station waiting for a train as late as 10.00 p.m. and 10.30 p.m., and have felt fine. Going back to my earlier comments about different women having different reactions, some of my women friends are not comfortable standing on train station platforms alone that late at night.
If you were going to be travelling on the trains at the same times as downtown office workers, I would have no hesitation in assuring you that you would feel safe. Since you'll probably be catching the train fairly late at night, we're back into the space in which I cannot predict your reaction.
Dec 29th, 2005, 05:16 AM
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Since you obviously have purchased the complete package for the skating, I'm surprised they do not include shuttle buses from hotels. However if I were you I would stay at either the Marriott or Hyatt downtown as they are closer to the transit system. As you will be leaving the Saddledome with about 10,000 other folks, the train will be full and I would have no worries about using them late at night.
