Canad Inns Destination Centre Transcona — Hotel in Winnipeg

Could have been better.

I stayed recently at the Canad Inns Regent for one night to have a "staycation" of sorts. Super Bowl weekend I typically head south to Grand Forks or Fargo for a little escape and to watch American commercials during the S.B. broadcast. This year with Covid and blockades , that wasn't possible. To get to the meat of the matter. I received a decent price ($90.00) for the room and the room was clean and comfortable. There , now that that is done, the bigger picture.

I was so eager to 'get it right' that a week earlier I attended the hotel to be shown a room and to check out Tavern United ( their sports lounge) to ensure my experience would be all it could be. The plan was to bring a laptop in order to watch the American commercials if the lounge wasn't showing the American feed. The advertisers had to pay $30,000,000 per 30 second spot this year and , because of that cost, the commercials are often better than the game. Having a room rented also meant no drinking and driving plus , the aforementioned "staycation". The menu was surprising in a good way with several types of menus. One of which is "keto" which I appreciated. The food was tasty and the WIFI signal strong for the Laptop. All was looking good for the Super Bowl!

Check in time at Canad-Inns is 4pm, not wanting to miss any of the pre-game show , I checked to see if I could get an early check-in. You'd think I was asking them to relocate the building! After being on hold for 20 minutes the Friday before the game (giving ample notice) I was told that " this is a central switchboard" and that I would have to call the hotel directly on the day of , to see if I could check-in early. I thought I was calling 'the hotel directly' but obviously redirected. So Saturday I called the hotel directly to give some notice hoping that I wouldn't get rerouted again. I didn't, but I did get the same response. "Call on the day" . Even thought I live in the City I picked a Hotel that was far from me to give the illusion of going somewhere. This created a problem as to when to leave. If I couldn't get an early check-in I would have to leave later and just sit around waiting with my bag packed biding time. I consoled myself with the thought that I could have a beer in T.U. while I waited. Hold that thought :-)

Super Bowl Sunday arrived I phoned to inquire about the room and was told that they should be able to accommodate my request and with eager anticipation I headed to my "staycation destination". Things got off to a rocky start when I was charged double my room rate and not told about that. I received a notice on my phone of the charge and immediately called the desk. I was told that this was standard procedure and that I would be refunded the extra charge upon check-out. I replied that maybe this should be mentioned on check-in but got the same 'standard procedure' comment. As someone that doesn't frequent Hotels in my own city (let alone Canada) , I was not used to this. No big deal just quite the surprise.

My next surprise was coming soon. Apparently Tavern United does not open until 4pm. Which is their standard opening time. I talked with the manager about it being Super Bowl Sunday but he said that it wasn't a big deal in Canada so they wouldn't open sooner and they wouldn't have any specials.(understandable and not a huge deal, just another let down).

To give perspective, myself and my buddies would have been setup at a table in whatever lounge in Grand Forks we had chosen , by 3pm at the latest. Watching the pregame shows and 'cheaper' commercials and cheap beer & nachos. I asked the manager if they were going to show the game and he assured they would. "With audio?" I queried. "Yes". When I arrived at T.U. they were playing a hockey game and music was playing. It was 4:05 :-(

This has been a long enough review so I'll end it by saying that, the food is good , the hotel room was good and the service was ok. Just "it could have...

My family stayed here for the weekend for our son's baseball tournament, which was in the area. It is by no means a bad place to stay, but we definitely had some accumulating issues that led to just the "OK" experience. First, we noticed the extra doors requiring a key card to enter, including hallways to rooms. On one hand, you're comforted by the extra security, on the other hand you curious about the extra security needed? Then on the 2nd evening, we were sitting in the foyer as parents and 2 or 3 of us had an alcoholic drink with us as we visited. In hindsight we should have realized this was not allowed, however we didn't think of it at the time. A young female employee(a manager or supervisor by appearance), came by to speak to us and it wasn't in a pleasant manner. I think she tried to keep her composure, but she was rude, plain and simple! We were essentially talked to as though we were idiots for the few of us that had a drink. Only one was an obvious drink, the other 2 were in travel cups. We were not being noisy or obnoxious in any way, but needless to say, my wife's drink was told to be given up and it was taken away. I think a pleasant explanation and an opportunity for us to return to our rooms with our drinks could have been offered. We also as a group inquired if a hospitality room was available for our ball team to gather in and possibly order pizza so that we could come together as a team, for supper. We were told "no" and that outside food was not permitted. I've been to many hotels for ball tournaments and other functions and these kind of amenities are usually available...not here. And the comment about outside food not allowed was just another point of contention. The rooms were clean and nice, but the bathroom was one of the smallest I've encountered in a hotel. We had a suite, which had 3 TV's. Only 2 of the remotes worked. Lastly, do not by any means put any extra money into the vending machines. They take bills, not only change. On 3 different occasions these machines took $5 extra dollars each time, and the front desk would not refund the loss. They would only tell you to contact the vending company for refunds. Really? These machines are in the hotel for the guests convenience, by the hotel. It should be their responsibility. Paying $7.50 for a gingerale was just another annoyance or inconvenience upon others. I would stay again if I had limited options, but at least I will have learned about some of the issues...

Great rooms, but front desk consistently poor and disappointing housekeeping service The room was spacious and updated, but the front desk service was sub-par. Each time we approached the front desk we had to wait in line or specifically ask for assistance. Often the person working the front desk was busy with paperwork and didn't acknowledge our presence and/or greet us first. When my wife and I were assisted the service was positive and they were very flexible with the swimming passes. We didn't appreciate being greeted by the cigarette smoke of staff at the rear entrance. Our room overlooked the service entrance -- not a great view. When we arrived in our room there was someone (not a guest) hanging around outside our window (presumably an employee?). We did ask for another room that had a better view with a bit more privacy, but that wasn't available for our two-night stay, so the front desk person gave us a small discount for the inconvenience -- that was appreciated. But Monday morning around 7:30 am we were woken up with the sounds of a delivery truck and staff. We had a snack and multiple drinks at Tavern United. The customer service was good and they made poutine for us, even though it wasn't on the menu, but the four different alcoholic drinks that were ordered were all watered down or had poor mixes. While it's not uncommon to receive a poorly made margarita, the other three drinks were equally poor. It could have just been a bad bartender -- we don't know. The main pool area was well-maintained, but the switch for the water slide was not working when we arrived. Fortunately, staff was able to get it started without using the public switch, but it was yet another snafu. We left our room for much of the day on Sunday, but when we returned around 3 pm housekeeping had not yet done their work. We asked the front desk to have that taken care of and they did while we left for another two hour period ... but when we returned, the bathroom sink area was not well done -- the cup by sink was not replaced with a new one. Again, we've been to many hotels over the years and this was another "first time" for us. Last, I forgot my bathing suit on the bathroom door hook. Friends came by around 6 pm to pick it up (we had already left the city) and the bathing suit was not to be found. We're not sure what to think of it, but we don't understand how it did not end up in...