Solara Lodges (Aurora Bow Chinook) — Hotel in Alberta

My family and I recently had a rather unfortunate experience at the Solara Resort and Spa. Apparently the resort is actually full of AirBnb’s (which is not clearly indicated on their direct website). It says “condos and suites” but does not indicate that you will not be staying in an actual hotel.||I made my reservation in May. I called shortly thereafter to request that we be placed on a low level (ground preferably) and near to my sister (on a separate reservation) because of my mother’s mobility issues. At this time whoever answered the phone said they would “see what they could do”. I was not told that Solara is not a hotel and that we would be in a rental managed unit. I also requested 2 cribs for my niece and nephew for my sister’s room. The staff said we could request one now, but I would have to call back a week before check in to request the second one. Why? ||I called Monday (our check in was Friday) to reiterate the request for our rooms to be close together and on ground level because of my mother’s mobility issues. I was given the excuse that they were fully booked and could not move people around. This didn’t actually make sense to me because no one would know what “hotel” room they were going to be put in until they actually got there. The staff person also reported there was no record of this request and that I “should have called sooner”. As I had already called in May specifically requesting close rooms and the cribs, this was a repeat request. ||We called a THIRD time the night before, just to be safe and make sure we would have two cribs for the babies. At this time, the third person informed us we would not be in the same building because the room I booked was bigger. Why did it take 3 phone calls to tell me that? It was never given as a reason prior. Had I known that initially, I would have made adjustments to my reservation then so we could be closer together. In addition, the front desk agent that we spoke to on the phone was rude and lacking in interpersonal skills. We had also asked for early check in as we were traveling 4 hours to get there with a baby and a toddler. It was not even entertained. Upon check-in, my sister was told her room was not ready and it ended up not being available until close to 530pm. As she had two small children with her, she had to switch rooms with another family member on that reservation to allow her children to rest. We were also denied late check out (again, no room for negotiation), but it was perfectly fine to be 90 minutes late on checking customers in. The front desk agent said they could not adjust our leaving time because we “booked a condo” (on what appears to be a hotel website).||In addition, one of the pack and plays was not even useable. It was completely flimsy, had holes in the netting, and one of the legs was broken. It would have been completely unsafe for a baby to sleep in. My sister ended up dragging her own pack and play up to her room because that one was not functional. This was all made worse by the elevator taking extremely long when called (Aurora building). My sister and her family waited close to 12 minutes for the elevator in the parkade with luggage and exhausted children to get to her floor. We just ended up carrying them up and down the 3 flights of stairs because it took so long for the elevator to come. Because of this, my mother could not visit them in their building as she is unable to manage stairs like that and the elevator was simply too unreliable. The other two family groups on their reservation were all in Aurora, but were nowhere near each other either (one was on a completely separate floor). The elevator in Bow building was somewhat more responsive.||The carpeting throughout the hotel and in our room needed replacement. The hallways felt hot and smelled musty. The “leather” chair in our room was peeling to the point where it looked like it might disintegrate if you sat on it. The blinds were old and gross. The kitchen was nice to have, but the toaster was semi useless and the kitchenware was cheap. The first bedroom had a wall mount for tv, but no tv. The second bathroom had a nice soaker tub and walk in shower. Unfortunately the towels were thread bare and small. The towels provided for the pool were the same low quality. Toiletries were cheap and basic. The pool area was small and the pool looked dirty enough that we went to the town rec centre and spent $50 swimming there instead. The shower curtain in my sister’s room did not have enough shower rings and therefore was folded in half. It only covered 1/2 to 2/3 of the shower, leaving the shower open to water getting all over the floor. ||For $750 a night, I expected a lot more. Especially when we were required to take out our own garbage and run the dishwasher before we left. Housekeeping was knocking on our door at 0940. Check out is 10. And no later! (Doesn’t matter if they are 90 minutes late getting you checked in). Upon initial arrival to our room, we observed two young women (one in a sports bra/crop top) cleaning one of the units. This unprofessional dress should have been our first clue that we were not in a hotel. ||The website did not give any indication that we were booking an Airbnb and not a hotel. It says Canmore Hotels/Solara Resorts. Had we been in an actual hotel, I would have asked for compensation for the late check in, the multiple inconveniences, not honored requests, lack of communication, etc. I’m not even sure who to voice my concerns to as the front desk did not seem to have anything to do with customer service involving the rental. ||I would not recommend this place to anyone to stay. Ever. I did reply to the survey sent out by the hotel. It didn’t even list the name of a general manager…. So again unclear who to voice concerns too. DO NOT waste your money on this...

Apparently the resort is actually full of AirBnb’s (not clearly indicated on their website). Website is misleading- it says Canmore Hotel/Solara Resort. I can't find any indication we would be in a rental- not a hotel. I made my reservation in May & called shortly after to request placement on a low level (ground preferably) and near to my sister (separate reservation) because of my mom's mobility issues. Whoever answered the phone said they would “see what they could do”. I wasn't told Solara isn't a hotel and that we'd be in a rental unit. I requested 2 cribs for my niece/nephew for my sister’s room. Staff said we could request 1 now, but I'd have to call back a week before check in to request the 2nd one. Why?

I called Monday (check in Friday) to reiterate the request for our rooms to be close together/ ground level because of my mother’s mobility. I was given the excuse they were fully booked/couldn't move people around. This didn’t make sense to me b/c guests don't know what “hotel” room they are in until arrival. The staff person reported there was no record of this request and that I “should have called sooner”. As I had already called in May about these issues- this was a repeat request. We called a THIRD time the night before, to ensure we'd have 2 cribs. At this time, the 3rd person informed us we wouldn't be in the same building b/c my room was bigger. Why did it take 3 phone calls to tell me that? It was never given as a reason prior. Had I known that initially, I would have made adjustments to my reservation then so we could be closer together. The agent also lacked interpersonal skills. At check-in, my sister's room wasn't ready until close to 530pm. She had 2 small children with her & had to switch rooms with another family member to allow her children to rest. We were also denied late check out (again, no room for negotiation), but it was fine to be 90 minutes late checking in. Front desk couldn't adjust our leaving time because we booked a "condo" - on their hotel website.

One of the playpens wasn't useable- completely flimsy, holes in the netting, and a broken leg- totally unsafe for a baby. My sister ended up dragging her playpen up because it wasn't functional. She waited 12 minutes for the elevator in the parkade with luggage/exhausted children to get to her floor. We frequently carried them up/down the 3 flights of stairs because it took so long for the elevator. Sadly, my mother couldn't visit in their building as she is unable to manage stairs like that & the elevator was unreliable. The other 2 family groups on their reservation were all in Aurora, but were nowhere near each other either (one was on a completely separate floor). Carpeting t/o the hotel/our room needed replacement. The hallways felt hot/ smelled musty. The “leather” chair in our room was peeling to the point where it looked like it might disintegrate. The blinds were old and gross. Kitchen was nice to have, but the toaster was semi useless & the kitchenware cheap. 1st bedroom had a wall mount for tv, but no tv. 2nd bathroom had a nice soaker tub/ walk in shower. Unfortunately the towels were thread bare/small. The towels provided for the pool were the same low quality. Toiletries-cheap and basic. The pool area was small and looked gross so we went to the town rec centre and spent $50 swimming there. The shower curtain in my sister’s room didn't have enough shower rings and was folded in half- resulting in water getting all over the floor. Housekeeping knocked on our door at 0940. Check out is 10- denied request for 11 check out. Had we been in an actual hotel, I would have asked for compensation for the late check in, the multiple inconveniences, not honored requests, lack of communication, etc. I’m not even sure who to voice my concerns to as the front desk did not seem to have anything to do with customer service regarding the rental. I wouldn't recommend this place. Ever. NOT worth $750/night. location was good- quick drive to downtown. Had a nice partial view of...

We spent several months reviewing places to stay in Canmore. We decided on the Solara Resort based on the location and pictures of the resort. When we arrived the check-in process was great. The front desk staff were very friendly. We when arrived to our room the keys did not work. Called the front desk they arrived promptly with two more keys. Those keys did not work either. They let us in with their master key but we had to wait on maintenace to come replace the locks which took about an hour. When the staff let us in to our room we noticed some small trash on the floor. We asked if the suite had been cleaned prior to our arrival and they said yes. While we were waiting on the maintenance man to come repair the locks we checked around the suite. We noticed peanuts shells and other small trash on the dining room and bar chairs. We decided to check our master bed and when we pulled back the sheets we were shocked to find hair in our bed. Not just one or two but clumps of hair. We immediately called the front desk. No one from the management staff came up but they did send someone from house keeping. Since it was after 4pm the cleaning staff had gone home but someone from housekeeping was still on-site. When the gentleman arrived we showed him the bed and he said "I'll see if I have new sheets". I told him if you don't we are not staying here. He in turn said "so you might leave if I don't change the sheets". I said "I am not sleeping in this bed with all the hair". He said "let me see what I can do". He came back later and changed all the sheets. Our whole night in town was wasted due to having to having to wait to see if the sheets were actually changed. We were not leaving the suite unless we knew we had new bedding. The next morning we made breakfast and as my wife got the dishes down from the cabinets she felt something sticky and noticed the plate was not clean. In fact, the entire set of dishes and glasses that were provided had not been cleaned. We had to go into town to eat breakfast while we put the dishes into the dishwasher for cleaning. We called the front desk that day and told them how disappointed we were to find our suite that we paid almost $600 a night for was not acceptable. They gave us a small credit at checkout. Our overall experience was very disappointing. I own a real estate firm and customer service is first and foremost. I was surprised that I did not get a phone call from anyone on the management staff to check to make sure that we were being taken care of. Especially after what happened on our very first day. The resort is beautiful! The rooms were a great size. We loved the location. When we booked the suite we knew we were paying top dollar. It was just so disappointing to know that for $600 a night we walked into a suite that was not cleaned, the sheets not changed and the dishes put up dirty. Our expectations quickly turned negative. We were considering possibly purchasing a unit for sale for our family to come to in the summer months. However if that is the expectation of the staff we are NOT interested. No matter how beautiful the resort. I want to come to a place where our expectations...