Hotel Arts — Hotel in Calgary

Stayed here over the weekend for one night to celebrate my birthday.

A few positive things, they upgraded my room for the same price as the regular room and I got the luxury king. The room was nice and seemed pretty clean.

When we left the manager I spoke to at the end who checked me out (male, brown hair with black glasses) was super awesome!

Now the negative, we booked pool side weeks advance. I was running behind so I arrive just after 3pm (when the reservation was for) but had to check into my room etc. The hostess was kind and moved my time to either 3:45 or 4. I picked 3:45 thinking we would be good. Everyone was already there and we were in the room, trying to push everyone out we got down to the pool at 4pm.

We were 11 people, I booked for 15 and was told rudely by phone twice they wouldn’t accommodate my number of people because there wasn’t any space. Well the pool wasn’t full so not sure why.. regardless of how annoying that was it turned out to be fine because I had some people not come.

The spot that was suppose to be for us (the large couch area) which I had also specifically asked for was now taken.. hostess didn’t mention that when I came down the first time.

The hostess was kind but shy and had zero idea what she was talking about. (Later found out she was new and hosting wasn’t her specific job). Saying it was first come first serve but I was down 45mins previously and she never told me I’d lose my spot and that I was also late (but they have a 15min window which I did make).

We spoke to a manager (tall curly haired guy) and who was absolutely AWFUL. He gave zero f’s about the situation but liked to “pretend” he did. He also said this was the third time it’s happened today. Well clearly your system isn’t working so maybe try something different? I was not informed of proper information and I was upstairs the entire time!!! I would have sent people down had I known they would give away our spot. We did still get offered another table but it was crowded as hell for 11 people and just not what I wanted which is why I specified when I originally booked.

So we ask for another manager because he was useless. Brings out a blonde hair Asian lady who was the front desk manager, she was even worst. Again zero f’s given about the situation. She was rude and condescending and needs some serious courses on customer service. After arguing for 30MINS they finally said they will compensate something on our bill. They could have said that in the first couple minutes, problem solved but nope - we had to fight for it. It ruined our entire mood. Drinks are over priced and not very good. Food is terrible and again over priced with a limited menu. Server was great (Paige) but very slow. We found out after they have NO bartender… so these poor servers have to serve and make all these drinks.. terrible.

After our two hours was up we were immediately kicked out when the pool wasn’t even full. And to top it all off these good looking people who were given our original couch reservation were still there, yet they got there before us? Strange.

Safe to say people only come here for the pool but it’s honestly not worth the headache. They don’t even have a hot tub.. it’s poorly organized and it’s been this way for year yet they aren’t doing anything to fix it?

For the price of the room and the lack of customer service and terrible poolside you’re better off going to another hotel because you aren’t getting anything better here.

I should also note, the room was nice and big and we slept ok but omg the noise coming from the hallway is insane. It’s extremely loud in the room with anything or anyone in the hallway. There needs to be better sound proofing at the door to limit noise coming in.

After all this I unfortunately won’t be back. Might be the only poolside experience in town but it’s...

Edit. ...after submitting a review on the online survey they sent after checkout as well as also emailing their main email and submitting this review, I was issued a full refund on the breakfast. My advice on using any of their promotions would be to get full clarification from somebody at the front desk upon checking in as they have multiple promotions on. While I'm happy that this was the resolution, I do wish the first manager that I had spoke to would have just applied the credit due to the miscommunication and I didn't need to post the review in the first place. ..

We stayed 1 night May 24th to May 25th. I want to commend the staff for great customer service from the moment of checking in, and the room was quiet and clean. I really appreciated when I booked that I spoke to a real person that was in that hotel. So many chains are a toll free number in which you struggle to get information on that specific location. Parking is free, and easily accessible. Location is desirable too. Very close to Stephen Ave, CN Tower and more. I was a bit worried when our room was on the second floor, over the bar, and across from the gym. The gym is underwhelming as well, so if you are going for a longer stay and work out, this may not be the best choice for you. But, it was quiet, cool and clean. Beds are very comfortable. We did not use the pool as I was in town to get a tattoo, and could not go in...and it was still quite cold. But, it looked really great. To note- no hot tub. However, I am very disappointed in the management I spoke to today. When I booked, I was told we had a $20.00 food credit with the stay. This morning, my daughter was still sleeping, so I called room service, and specifically asked the staff member if my $20.00 credit was able to be used to order eggs benedict via room service. Her exact words were, yes Ma'am, they will take it off at check out. After checking out, I was emailed my receipt and was charged $35.00 total for the eggs benedict, and no credit was given. When I called the staff member put me on hold to investigate, and came back to tell me that the credit was dine on only. When I explained that I only ordered because the staff member ensured me the credit could be used, she put me on hold again for a while, and a manager came on. She said that the staff said it could be used because there is "another promotion going on for that, but it is not the one I have". So, in the end, I have been charged $35.00 for eggs benedict, which were "OK", but not $35.00 worth. I feel I did my due diligence prior to ordering, and your staff made the error. I am very disappointed, and will be sure to leave this in my review. Having worked in customer service, and hospitality, I am not impressed with this outcome. This would actually be enough for me to guarantee I would not be a repeat customer, and would take my business elsewhere in the future. I know it's only $20.00, but I only ordered it as I was told it was part of...

I booked a recent stay at Hotel Arts for myself and two friends, hoping for a relaxing and enjoyable time, but unfortunately, our experience fell far short of expectations.

One of the highlights of our stay was meant to be the massages we booked for the three of us. However, the reality was far from serene. The 'spa' room barely accommodated the three massage beds, the lights were bright and harsh, and the only 'spa' decor in the room was a little fireplace, creating a cramped and uncomfortable atmosphere. The setup of the room could make it an awkward experience, especially if you're not comfortable being naked in front of your friends in such close quarters. When the massage therapists flipped us onto our backs, we had small towels over our faces (mine was placed over my whole face, making it difficult to breathe and causing me to have to reposition it) but we could still see the bright lights in the room - they weren't even slightly dimmed. Additionally, there was music playing but it was so quiet that we could hear every breath anyone took and hear the massage therapists whispering to one another or to us at times.

To make matters worse, two of us were very dissatisfied with our massage therapists, who seemed to lack the necessary skills. One friend advised her therapist of pain in her left shoulder, only for the therapist to spend the majority of the session working on her right shoulder. Plus, when they handed us papers to fill out for payment and tip, they stood over us and gave us no privacy, making it extremely uncomfortable. The whole 'spa' experience left us feeling more stressed than relaxed.

Our reservation included a brunch buffet at Yellow Door Bistro, and I had called ahead to arrange a pool-side dining experience. The front desk assured me it was not a problem, but when we went to enjoy our brunch, we were met with a different story. A female staff member at the restaurant rudely informed us that this arrangement was not allowed and proceeded to complain about the front desk noting that she will have to "have a talk" with them, displaying a lack of professionalism. She said she would let it happen this one time, but proceeded to make us feel like an inconvenience as we were rudely told they had to find plastic plates because glass was not allowed by the pool, as if it were our problem. Then, the service by the pool was abysmal, with slow greeting and response times and constant delays in receiving the drinks we had ordered.

To add to our dismay, the condition of the pool was a major letdown. It was not clean and well-maintained, and seeing it in the daylight revealed issues that were not apparent to us when we swam in it the night before. The lack of cleanliness left us feeling disgusted and questioning the overall standards of the hotel.

From the disappointing spa services to the extremely unprofessional behaviour at the restaurant, our girls' night was...