International Hotel Suites Calgary

Came here for work after checking out early from the hotel from hell… see my other hotel review for details. This place is like an alternate reality, the best hotel I’ve ever stayed in, in Calgary. As the pictures clearly show this suite has space in spades ;) the bed is extremely comfortable, it’s clean, pretty quiet. Easy walking distance from Eau Claire Market and the island park too. I would stay here again in a heartbeat.

What a fantastic hotel — so glad we stumbled upon this. Great value for what you get and the staff are ever so pleasant. Will definitely visit again when are in town next time.

I adore this hotel. The rooms are well furnished. Each room we have stayed in has a living area with a couch, two chairs, table with a lamp, and an ottoman/​coffee table situation. Some rooms have two lamps, some do not. You will get over it. There is also a television in the living area. The «kitchen» area has the usual; sink, coffee maker, microwave, fridge.
Depending on your room there is usually a table. Either a round 4 seater or a long, more boardroom table.
The bedroom is separated with its own doors. It is very spacious and also has its own television.
The breakfast is complimentary and serves hot food. You can have potatoes, scrambled eggs, and sausage or bacon with the usual fruit, yogurt, bread fare.
The parking is behind the hotel in a secure parkade with access directly to the hotel, in other words, attached. It makes it very easy.
The location is very central. There are many places within walking distance, including the C Train. There is a small convenient store just off of the lobby which is open until 10 most nights.
Stay here.

This is a GREAT hotel. Amenities were good, location is great!
Walking distance from great restaurants and Calgary tower.
Rooms were nice and roomy!
I would not have known about this place if it wasn’t part of our Rocky Mountaineer package.
Free and strong wifi!
2 not so good things:
Thin walls. Avoid a room by the elevators. Our room was 2308, right next to it. You could hear it going up and down. Luckily the bed rooms weren’t right up next to it, but at night it was a loud humming.
The parking structure. Its behind the hotel, and there is no lift. If you come with another person, better to drop off your luggage in the front. If you park and carry in your bags, the hallway is very narrow and there are stairs.
I would definitely stay here again when visiting Calgary!

Pros n cons:
Pros:
Great huge rooms
Great size desks
Full living room. One suite good for 4 people
Balcony
Great location downtown
Cons:
All views obstructed by other huge buidlings
Hard to open any windows without feeling like you are being watched
Front desk and entry area needs some fluffing up. Looks and even smells old and stale.

Highlights:
King suite was a large room
Updated reception, gym, and breakfast area
Great location downtown
Included breakfast
Price
Downsides we experienced:
Out-​dated room
Air conditioner makes a ton of noise and leaked water
Key cards in the elevator rarely worked, and it was just a hassle
Online advertised free parking, but at check out we were charged $ 30
Parking in the garage and walking back into the hotel took us through a back hallway including the back side of the restaurant and laundry, which was just strange
Overall, not a bad experience, and decent for the price. But, we would not stay here again, as the downsides out weighed the highlights for us.

The room was situated so that the living/​den area is separated from the bed, which I like. The bed was fantastic. I think it’s one of the most comfortable I’ve ever slept in. Gym was nice, though small and in a dingy basement. The hotel is a little dated, but the service and bed were great.

Definately an older hotel. Styling is very outdated and the hallways aren’t the cleanest. The rooms, however are huge and the bedding is clean. The staff is always professional and friendly. This is my preferred hotel in downtown Calgary for the price.

A big fan of the food at this place. The BEST beef dip in the city!

Update for recent stay at the end of Feb 2014. The wifi in the hotel has been updated, it’s now normal speed, and is free.

Although rooms are very comfortable one bedrooms. Lobby area lamps filled with dead bugs and the cleanliness is lacking. This would make a great Residence Inn if Marriott took the helm, but it’s not so service and cleanliness is lacking.

The second you step into the room it’s obvious that this hotel is geared towards business travelers as the rooms have large closets, a desk space and even a complimentary shoe shine kit. Since it was the weekend, we were able to score a decent deal while visiting friends in Calgary. The incentive also included free parking and free wi-​fi that was a bit sketchy at times. The room was large and had separate bedroom and living areas. The living area also had ample room to sit and relax, and even a separate eating area with a large table. Not much of a kitchen for a «suite» as it just had a microwave and fridge.
The worst part about the rooms is that they have paper thin walls. We heard noise from the hallway and other rooms surrounding us. It sure didn’t sound like business people were staying the weekend here because we were awoken at 3AM by two guys talking loudly in the hallway about weed. And this was heard from inside our bedroom! Then at 6AM I don’t know what was going on upstairs but there were some people talking extremely loud and running around as we could hear a lot of thumping on the ceiling. This went on for well over an hour. Finally at around 7:30AM we called the front desk to make a complaint. I’m not sure if they did anything but the noise did subside and we were able to get another couple hours of sleep.
The check-​in and check-​out process wasn’t particularly welcoming or friendly but it was efficient. The faucet in the bathtub wasn’t working great. When the shower was on, water was still coming out from the faucet as well, so only half the water was making it to the showerhead. Good thing the water pressure was decent. While it’s nice to have a balcony, I stepped outside to check it out and immediately went back in because it was so dirty. Same goes for the windows… it’s easy to tell that they haven’t been cleaned in a few years as its condition was extremely dirty. I can tell because my condo in Edmonton hasn’t been done in a couple years and this was even worse.
Overall, the sleep quality was lacking here. Maybe some bad luck on the surrounding clientele but I don’t remember the last time where I could hear so much noise from the hallway and surrounding rooms. I got to say, very comfortable mattress though.

So. lets get the negatives out of the way. It’s an old building, so … with that seems to come a dingy look inside the buildings exterior… (elevators, hallways) HOWEVER, once inside your room, which yes, all rooms are suites, it’s all good. Very nice rooms, as I have found out, the rooms were updated, and its definintely obvious because the rooms do not match the yucky elevators and not so great halls. There is a 24 hour fitness center, but unless you’re simply wanting to get cardio it, it’s not great. It’s in the basement… no windows, feels rather lonely and like you could be assulted from someone sneaking up behind you at any minute. There are some free weights and a BOFLEX machine, but… it just was just not good. (2 Ellipticals, 2 treadmills, 2 bikes) Apparently there was something wrong with both treadmills, as there was a guy trying to run on the treadmill and went between both of them cursing up a storm, at each one. I’m sure he had a big weiner.
Very friendly staff at the front desk when we checed in last night around 10pm… They were more than happy to tell us where to go in our free time and must have spent a good 10 minutes with us going over the map on where different venues were… So, I like this place. and feel a little snotty for not giving it more stars simply because it’s an old building with a kind crappy fitness center. However, If those issues arent a concern to you– this place is GREAT. A clean, spacious room, 2 flat screen televisions, microwave and mini fridge.

Great hotel! Extremely spacious and clean rooms with nice views of the city. Quiet, yet in the middle of the bustling downtown Calgary. Perfect location and great staff! Will be back if ever in Calgary again!

Stayed here on a 32 hour layover for work.
We arrived late at night & were promptly checked in. The rooms are well appointed suites with a large dining table with 4 chairs, a large couch & 2 arm chairs. A large ottoman doubles as your coffee table. Coffee maker, microwave & a mini fridge with an assortment of juices, Pepsi product soft drinks & bottled water. Bedroom good size with it’s own flat screen tv.
Workout room is in the basement. Very low ceiling so you feel like you’re in a dungeon. Kinda scary if you’re working out alone. Fair selection of free weights, 2 treadmills, 2 elliptical machines.
Ate a decent steak sandwich in the hotel restaurant. Got it with a side salad. Ordered some sweet potato fries as an appetizer & they were wonderful.
Just a few blocks walk to a very large mall with lots of shopping & restaurants.

Stayed here for a few nights and the rooms are great. They are huge and the bed is incredibly comfortable. The staff was nice and helpful as well.
The downsides were the noise outside from cars driving by. Even being over 20 floors up you can hear them go by at all hours. If you are by an elevator they are very noisy and its hard to keep the noise out. The biggest negative however is the lack of free wifi. The hotel charges $ 9.99/day for wifi. I only had my phone on me and this irritated me during my whole trip.

A-​OK with me…
I used to stay here all the time, but about 8 years ago I swore «never again» The hotel was getting old and not aging well. I tried it again this year, and they have renovated the rooms and it’s a great place to stay again.
I’m in agreement with Derek about this hotel — spacious suites, Two flat screen TVs (one in living room, one in bed room) which do NOT swivel, spotty internet access, and cramped bathroom, but overall a good place to stay. Elevators are tiny and you do end up waiting a lot for them. Swimming pool, hot tub, and gym buried deep in the basement so not particularly nice. Courteous and attentive staff — when I had problems with the toilet not working at 10 PM there was a maintenance person there immediately, and the problem fixed in less than 5 minutes. Conveniently located in the heart of downtown Calgary, I expect you’ll enjoy your stay..

I have been staying here for three days now with one to go… I have to say I am impressed with the service at every point of my stay. Every dealing I have had with an employee of this hotel has been a positive one!
The room is fantastic with a pretty cool view (34 floor facing North). Lots of room for me to spread out! Of course they have what every hotel has nowadays mini fridge, coffee pot (Starbucks grounds) provided and a microwave. Room service is fantastic and QUICK, basically you put the phone down and they are at the door! The king sized Bed is like sleeping on a cloud. 2 TV’s in the room one in the «Living Room» & one in the «Bedroom». Shower and bathroom are little small when compared to the rest of the room but not bad.
No office chair at desk! this is a huge deal for me because I actually spend all night staring at a laptop (Posting reviews on Unilocal). If your going to cater to business please think that we may have work to do and want to do it comfortably.
Also Flat screen TV mounted to the wall?!? Great I love this feature but when I am at my laptop, posting reviews on Unilocal,I like to watch TV. The mounted TV doesn’t rotate from the wall at all really all they would have had to do is spend an extra few dollars and get a better mount.
Internet isn’t all that great or reliable and they only provide you with a 3ft cable so you really have no choice but to stare at the wall… I did unplug the network cable from the back of the lamp which enabled be to work at the «Kitchen Table». (Also please note that I didn’t call down to the desk to get a longer cable I am sure if I had they would have provided me one)
Now, my reason for staying at the International was because I was attending a workshop at the hotel. The snacks & beverages that were provided were fantastic. The only issue I really had was the temperature controls in the room. Granted it is one of those strange times of year in Calgary when everyone is experiencing hot and cold flashes but I swear at times we had both the heat going and the AC at the same time. Sometimes it was way to hot other times way to cold!
Overall though I really enjoyed my stay and I will be back…

****UPDATE**** Prehaps there is some truth to dealing with the people at the top. Last night after I posted my review, I sent an email to the General Manager of the Hotel and I must say I have been completely impressed with how he has handled the items below. This morning there was amazing hot water when I showered, and maintenace even looked and, and managed to speed up my internet connection, somethingthing that I wish the people at the desk would have offered to do earlier. I have also been informed that in the near future they will be offering video confernece class in room wifi to all rooms. Given this I have upped my rating and will actually concider staying here again when I am back in the area.
*****Original Post**** I have been staying at the International Hotel for 5 nights now and all I can say is NEVER again. The «High Speed» internet downloads somewhere near Dialup, 46kb to be exact, and if you like a hot shower you might want to call the front desk a few hours before you wake up to make sure that someone has lit the pilot light on the water heater because that is something that apparently you have to do here because I have had 2 cold showers so far during my stay.

Great little hotel. Do you know that saying,. don’t judge a book by it’s cover? Ok, apply that here.
The lobby wasn’t impressive and the phone in the lobby for enterprise didn’t work. But the rooms and overall attentiveness of the staff made this a wonderful stay. I felt like I was in an executive suite at the Hyatt.
Great lighting, in the work areas, shower and washroom. Microwave, not that I needed it but I appreciate the option. Various complimentary drinks in the fridge.
Great comfy bed, Didn’t move an inch throughout the night. All the furniture in the rooms were comfortable. How unusual!
I also ordered the 5 spice chicken stir-​fry from their restaurant downstairs. It was light but flavorful and not at all oily or greasy.
Globe and Mail at the door in the morning, with Starbucks in room and or in Lobby! It’s attention to the little things that make me happy. Free Wifi in Lobby but only ethernet in room. =(
International Hotel Suites is a great little gem of a hotel for downtown Calgary. I highly recommend it. =)