Holiday Inn Express & Suites Edmonton N - St. Albert by IHG — Hotel in St. Albert

I booked this hotel for a weekend trip from southern Alberta for my family and I to enjoy a weekend in Edmonton (a trip we do once or twice a year). It was out of the way but as such I figured that it could be a calm relaxing “base camp” so to speak. I was wrong.

To start off, check in was average, albeit slightly archaic, most modern hotels facilitate mobile check in through an app and use of a smartphone as a key, this hotel does not offer that, so count on waiting in line.

The room was nice, very clean, exactly as pictured online when booking. However, amenities were overlooked (this seems to be a running theme with this property). The room I booked sleeps 6 (2 queen beds and a sofa bed) however there were only 2 bath towels and a single roll of toilet paper. Also the sofa bed was completely un made (no sheet) so it had to be completely set up, very abnormal for this room type. I guess the bath towels made sense though for how horrible the water pressure was.

Once we had wound down after our long drive we left to explore Edmonton and have dinner, the return to the hotel however showed the single largest hotel flaw I have ever encountered in 22 years of travel. There are no where near enough parking spots. At 11:00pm I should not have to chose between driving laps around the parking lot hoping someone leaves, and parking in a neighbouring businesses dimly lit parking lot all the while wondering if I’ll be towed. Luckily I had all night to think about it as the room was super loud from the hallway, the door does nothing to insulate from sound, other guests weren’t being abnormally loud, you just hear everything.

As for “bonus amenities” which were the main reasons I booked this hotel they continued on with the trend of being overlooked. On the final day of my stay my kids and I utilized the pool. However there were no towels, frustrating considering I had walked past the pool several times that day and it wasn’t busy at all. On the final night of my stay I hoped to utilize the complimentary EV chargers to reduce my travel time. However when I returned to the hotel in the evening after the event I attended I was met with 3 of the 4 on site charging locations occupied by non EV’s. When myself and another guest brought it up with the front desk we were met with refusal to do anything about it.

The final grievance I had with this stay however I don’t know how to categorize outside of just being awkward. On Saturday evening flyers were put up in the elevator’s advertising/inviting guests to an on site church service. Had I known that was part of the culture here I never would have booked this property. I don’t push my beliefs on others, don’t push yours on me.

Overall the hotel is nice and the “indoor” issues can easily be rectified. However the parking/EV charging issues are a deal breaker for me so I...

My partner and our cat stayed for three nights. We booked through Expedia for the trip. We checked with a staff member over the phone ahead of time that the hotel (and our room) was pet friendly and even showed the front desk staff our pet as we were checking in. We had paid ahead of time through Expedia, though the hotel did charge a refundable $50 deposit on our credit card during check in.

We were pleasantly surprised that we weren't charged an additional pet fee through Expedia or while we were checking in. However, upon checking out, the front desk worker asked if we had a pet. We replied "yes", and we were charged an additional $80 pet fee. I was shocked and felt misled. I wish we were told about the pet fee prior to checking out. I would have been happy to pay an additional pet fee while we were booking or while we were checking in, but to not be told that there was a pet fee and then get the additional charge while were checking out felt dishonest and misleading.

I will say that the hotel's amenities were great. We used the 24/7 on-site gym and enjoyed the wide variety at the continental breakfast. The hotel and our room were very clean, modern and spacious. The rooms are pretty sound proof, offering great privacy. The lighting from the lamps and large window made for a relaxing environment. My only complaint about room was the slow draining sink.

There was free parking on site, though our GPS had trouble finding the location since it's off the highway and surrounded by construction. Be prepared to navigate a bit of a maze if you aren't familiar with the area. Otherwise, the location felt safe and relatively close driving distance to local restaurants and shopping.

Other than the staff member that sprung the additional pet fee charge on us, the rest of the staff, including the housekeeping team, were very accommodating and friendly. Again, though, I really would have appreciated the mention of a pet fee on that first night -- it would have made more sense to me to charge us for the pet fee while we were also being charged for the deposit.

I would give this hotel a higher rating, but that surprise pet fee was pretty surprising and upsetting, and, unfortunately, it was the last impression of the hotel. This undisclosed charge left me with a bitter taste in my mouth. Maybe this is an issue with Expedia not disclosing it, but I feel like someone should have mentioned it over the phone or while we were checking in instead of springing it on us as we were checking out.

I would stay at a Holiday Inn again in the future, but probably not...

This Hotel is a Triple 5 star experience! Rooms - so comfortable! Beds are probably the most comfort I ever remember sleeping in. Clean Quiet atmosphere - well equipped and the bathroom is got an added uniqueness that for me sets it apart from other hotels . This is an odd thing to appreciate but the tile flooring in the bathroom I could actually stand on without having an issues. Normally standing barefoot, due to a massive injury to my ankle years ago, standing barefoot on tiles just to apply make up is incredibly painful for me in a very short period of time. Yet for whatever reason, and I actually got excited and mentioned it to my son, how amazingly fine I felt standing in front of the bathroom mirror for approximately 20 minutes while doing my hair and make up. For me that's a huge incentive to stay again. The service, just amazing. From the moment I called to book, to checking in late and mentioning our stay was because I was waiting at the St. Albert emergency room to see a doctor, gaining a lowered rate. The beautiful warm welcome from Michelle at the front desk to the helpful Front Desk Clerk, I spoke with at 6 am (after I finally got done at the hospital) - these 2 girls alone made a great impression. Then there's the amazing and friendly staff that bustles around quietly cleaning the rooms and working in the breakfast kitchen. The breakfast itself AWESOME! Just awesome! Bacon, Eggs, Hashbrowns, Pancakes, Bagels, Cereal, Toast ..the works! I didn't even get a chance to see the pool or the gym but imagine it's a great benefit for those staying more than a night, whether it be for work or with a family on holiday. And you definitely can't beat the location, leaving or entering into St. Albert it's so convenient. So many shops, dining and amenities near by giving anyone who isn't familiar with the area a much more pleasurable commute to things like cosco, the movie theater, shopping, hair and nail salons, and a surplus of other things. Thank you to the staff and kudos to whoever was part of the hotels design and construction Enjoyed my stay so much and that's saying something after waiting 9 hours in emergency. And thank you, thank you for allowing us to check out late, allowing me to leave refreshed without concern that I would be driving home later over tired. 🤗 P S. ..Sidda, my cockapoo says Thanks too for the great welcome and the extra attention...