Hotel Review: Calgary Airport Marriott In-Terminal Hotel

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.

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.

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.

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.

Two Queens

Two Queen Room Shower

Two Queen Room Vanity

Games provided by the Marriott YYC for our enjoyment!

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. Read our review of Yakima here. 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.

Presidential Suite King Bed

View from the Suite

Another angle of the suite (With Rewards Canada's youngest utilizing the telescope!)

The huge Presidential Suite bathroom!

One of the two vanities and the walk in shower

Presidential Suite Living Room

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.

Hot Breakfast food options

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: 4
Points required for a free night (Standard) 25,000 Points
Points required for a free night (Off-Peak) 20,000 Points
Points required for a free night (Peak) 30,000 Points
Points required for a free night (PointSaver) 17,500 - 27,500 Points
Cash+Points Requirement: 8,000 - 15,000 Points + US$105 per night for standard rooms
You can use your anniversary bonus of a free night up to 35,000 points from the Marriott Bonvoy American Express 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 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.