Does anyone have any recommendations for a reasonably nice hotel in downtown Calgary for, say, under $200 a night? I'd prefer not to have valet parking. This would be for June.

Holiday Inn Calgary Downtown, 119 -12th Ave. SW, 800-661-9378. This hotel is located in the heart of downtown Calgary, within walking distance to a number of clubs, the tower and the Calgary Stampede grounds. It is comfortable, clean, features full-service hotel ammenites, and it is an excellent value. There are several clubs that are literally within "shouting" distance -- something that can have a role if you like to keep your balcony door open at night on a weekend. Best bet: join the fun. <BR><BR>If you stay there, a really great place to eat and spend some time within walking distance is Cannery Row, 317 10th Ave. SW. Cannery Row features live music and an outstanding selection of fresh seafood, including live lobster and crab. There is a dining room separate from the live music area (we chose to eat with the live band). The food is excellent, the atmosphere is fun and this place should be on your 'A' list for downtown Calgary. <BR><BR>Happy Contrails!

I recommend the Best Western Suites Downtown. It is on the corner of 8th St. SW and 14th Ave. SW. The standard rooms are lovely and go for under $100 Canadian in the off seaon. Of course, it will be more in the summer and everything is through the roof during stampede. It has surface and underground parking. The underground parking is under video surveilance and you park yourself.<BR>It is two blocks from 17th Ave. and only seven blocks from downtown and the LRT. The staff are friendly and it's a nice areaof town. There are excellent eating establishment s near by and wonderful pubs. The Midnight Cafe has moved out of the hotel, I'm sorry to say, but, for me, that is the only negative.

Thanks for your replies. The Stampede in in July right? So we should be safe. We're going to Spruce Meadows but my husband thinks it would be fun to stay in town.

Have you checked out the Sheraton Eau Claire Suites. It is the newest and possibly fanciest hotel in downtown Calgary. The Gold Floor runs about $240/Cdn a night but the other floors are much less expensive. It does have valet parking but is right on Eau Claire Market. Also, perhaps the Delta Bow Valley?<BR><BR>

No I didn't know about them, traveller, but will definitely check them out. I know very little about Calgary actually and have never stayed in town. For instance I don't know how far it is from there to Spruce Meadows. While I have your attention, can you tell me how long, even vaguely, it would take to drive to Vauxhall from Calgary?<BR><BR>Would it be reasonably toasty in early June? I'm from the west coast where I'm nearly always cold so some heat would be welcome.

Plan 30-45 minutes to Spruce Meadows from downtown; 2 1/2 hours to Vauxhall (which is about 150 miles from Calgary).

Thanks, Sandy!

April,<BR><BR>If you are coming to Calgary for an event at Spruce Meadows then you might consider staying at the Fairmont Palliser Hotel. The hotel is right in the heart of downtown and it is also (or has been in the past) the "official" hotel of Spruce Meadows. What this means is you could rub shoulders with the athletes, officials and sponsors if you like that sort of thing. You can either valet park your car or there is a parkade if you prefer to do it yourself.<BR><BR>In addition, if you are planning on attending Spruce meadows on event day I must warn you that parking is wild (meaning lots of people attend and consequently lots of cars). If you stay downtown then you might consider taking the LRT (acronym for Light Rail Transit - it was built to move people during the Olympics in 88). You can catch the LRT downtown and ride to a station in the south end of town. Once you get off of the train you can hop a shuttle bus to the grounds at Spruce Meadows. Last year the event ran shuttle service from the Anderson Station to the grounds (about 15/20 minutes) but this year the LRT has expanded further south and I expect shuttle service will be from the Fish Creek stop.<BR><BR>Spuce Meadows is a wonderful facility and the event is first rate. Enjoy!

Thanks so much for the advice, Rita, particularly about parking. We're driving a brand new car that we don't want to get scratched up yet, so the LRT sounds like the way to go.