Ramada Calgary Downtown

From the outside, the Ramada doesn’t look like anything great but it’s one of those don’t judge a book by its cover hotel. There’s a small convenience store attached to the lobby and going in there are a few chairs in the lobby. The check in was quick and they offered me a free water bottle.
There was only one elevator working during my stay but I never had to wait longer than 5 minutes. My room was on the 7^th floor and not far from the elevators but didn’t hear any noisy people. But there was noise, I noticed a rumbling sound when it was bedtime, and could hear water from the other rooms. Good thing I was able to get a decent sleep.
The room had a jacuzzi which was nice and they offer bath salts and robes too! I didn’t like there was no place around the sink for toiletries but just outside of the bathroom, there were a mirror and counter space. The bed was comfortable with lots of pillows and a desk chair and another chair. WiFi was reliable but not great when using FaceTime. There wasn’t a mini fridge though and a view of a building next to the hotel. I didn’t like that I couldn’t change the temperature in the room but glad it wasn’t too warm.
My friend told me there’s an outdoor pool and I didn’t go visit it but I did see it from the Husky building across the street. There’s a restaurant in the lobby and they offer a breakfast buffet for $ 15 or you can order off the menu which is what we did.
Great location and within walking distances to lots of places downtown and also to 17^th Avenue. The train is also one block away.

Just wanted to say that this hotel was exceptionally professional and courteous during my recent stay. When I checked in there were some complications that were handled in a swift and level-​headed manner and I was made to feel welcome. The hotel was great for my needs on a small business trip, with a gym and wifi at my disposal. When I checked out, the shuttle bus didn’t show up and the situation was again rectified by the manager Tony on duty in a very generous and professional manner as well. I would definitely recommend this hotel to others and will definitely stay again on my next trip. It’s very conveniently located dowtown and I was able to walk to a number of destinations within 10 – 15 minutes. Left me with a great impression.

We switched from our previous hotel, the Fairfield Inn & Suites, and stayed for one night in this Ramada hotel. We regretted not staying at Fairfield.
We booked a king room with a jacuzzi. The first thing I noticed in the room was a weird smell. It’s a non-​smoking hotel, so the smell might just be because it’s an old building. I don’t know, but my mom couldn’t smell it. I searched the room once we got in, and thankfully did not find any bed bugs or bugs. One thing that bothered me was anyone can use the elevator, you don’t need a room key.
Moving on, the air conditioner was in a weird location and we had no control over the temptrature which really bothered me since I’m picky about it. The room was hot. You wouldn’t have control over the heat too, I assume. The bathroom was very small, including the toilet and shower. I’m a bigger girl and can barley move around in the shower.
They offered a shoe polisher, massage bars, shampoo, conditioner, mouth wash, and a shower cap in the bathroom. Our view from the window wasn’t that great, and there was no parking around other than $ 25 per day valet parking. There is no breakfast included.
The Jacuzzi was the only good thing about the room, other than the fact that there was no bed bugs. Overall cleanliness was fine, but they could have done a better job since there was visible dirt in places. There was no microwave or fridge, so we couldn’t keep any food overnight, which sucked.
Overall, compared to the Fairfield, this place wasn’t that great. Our view from the Fairfield was amazing, we had a free breakfast buffet (which was SO GOOD), more security, parking options other than valet, and it’s a newer hotel. Ironically, we booked with Ramada thinking we can save some money but ended up paying much more because of parking and breakfast. We will not book here next time we visit Calgary.

It’s a tad dingy, definitely in need of an update.
The walls are very thin — I heard neighbors on both sides well past 2am.
The air conditioning was not controllable and was noisy with hums, buzzes and rattles through the night.
One thing that gets me — why do some places have their cleaning staff knock to do room service before you leave on the day of check-​out? It’s quite disruptive.
The desk staff were great, and provided fine service. However that’s really the only thing I can praise about this hotel.

Yep, it does need renovation, but for $ 125 it is alright for downtown Calgary. Clean, wifi is surprisingly strong, good shower pressure for a 9^th floor. Parking is additional, $ 15 during weekend, $ 25 during the week. Oh, and its valet underground which is kinda useless. Front desk is not so helpful (one was in training, another one was helping her super slow and annoyed). They knock on your door in the evening and offer ice which I found strange.

Atrocious service. Staff appears in need of their pain meds as they seem to hate their jobs. Rooms are worn out. Decent location. Most unfriendly hotel staff I have encountered in years.

The only thing this place has going for it is the location.
The hotel itself is pretty outdated. The internet is pretty terrible. I couldn’t get reliable access for the life of me. It cut out right before an meeting I had with my boss, so I had to take my phone off airplane mode and call back to the US, costing me extra. After that I went to Starbucks every evening for my meetings.
The pool is outdoors. Whose genius idea was that to have an outdoor pool in Calgary? Jimminy Christmas. The workout room is pretty meager as well. I might consider staying here again because it’s the only hotel in this part of town, but it’s a shame because I’d pay much more if there were a superior hotel close by.

This Ramada is very centrally located in downtown Calgary, and offers a standard, no fuss experience.
The wifi is very good — fast, easy to connect and reliable, unlike other hotel wifi I’ve experienced. The rooms are modern, but show signs of older design choices; something that cannot be avoided in an older hotel. No matter, they are clean, comfortable, and overall, well kept.
The only thing I found frustrating was the lack of control in our room for heat/​AC. I’m still not sure what was going on, and it wasn’t a problem as the temperature was okay, but I prefer getting to set the temperature myself.
Overall, service is fantastic, staff are helpful and we enjoyed our stay. If in downtown, it’s a reliable option to be sure.

You know the old saying about lipstick on a pig. That applies to the Ramada Downtown, a relic in desperate need of some updates and renovations. Despite their many efforts to counteract the dated facility with quality service, there is little here that I can recommend considering the over $ 200 a night price tag.
I’ll start with the good. The service, like I said, is exceptional. Everyone who works here is attentive and follows through with their duties. It’s also relatively quiet at night, which is due more than anything to Calgary’s ghost town of a downtown after 10 pm. Strange to say, the biggest plus in my mind is… their water pressure. By God it’s good. While most hotel showers feel like the water is being lazily hand-​pumped from a basement fifteen stories below, here it radiated off my body and massaged me into submission in the corner of the tub.
Now the bad. Where to start? The wi-​fi reception is spotty at best and cut out on me several times. Only a couple channels can be received through the TV’s horrible «digital» reception. There is no bottled water in the rooms and the soaps provided smell horrible. And the vending machines, at least on two of the three floors I visited, didn’t even work.
What really made this a mediocre experience was that pretty much everything is dated. The whole hotel, from the furniture to the drapes to the elevators to the coffee cups in the restaurant downstairs, look as if they haven’t been touched or replaced since 1984. It’s all in working order, but I like a hotel that feels like what I’m paying for and not something frozen-​in-​time.

This is a decent hotel for the location & the price. We got the executive king bed room. The room itself was a good size. But I thought the bathroom was a bit small. It was the size of a closet really. Just a shower, no tub & only a little counterspace beside the sink. No towel rack, just a shelf holding the towels. The closet beside the washroom was really small & open to the room. The hotel is a bit dated, it’s true. The décor is mostly dark woods, the carpet is dark green & blue. But it doesn’t look horrible. We had a coffee maker in the room & a small fridge. It would’ve been nice to have a microwave as well. But we made do without it. Room service food was good, but pricey, which is typical of hotel food. Also all staff at the hotel were courteous & efficient. When printing our boarding passes the printer was out of ink & the front desk was nice enough to print it out for us on a different printer. I think if they renovated the décor this place would be so much better.

I’ve used this venue a couple of times for different corporate events (for different companies).
The upside: Staff are friendly, location is really good and they did a solid job of catering. The front door greeter man was a hoot and made us feel very welcome.
The downside: It looks SO dated. For a brand name hotel in a prime location, it seem dark, dingy and out of the early 90’s. I think they may have recently reno’d the ballroom areas. It is fresh looking but again, very dark, and VERY purple. With a very dated ceiling.
The washrooms near the conference area however are spacious, more updated and bright. I just think the rest of the décor might limit their ability to get some events. It also leaves the impression that the hotel rooms would be just as dated. I don’t know if they are but I’d be hesitant to encourage someone to stay there based on how the rest of the place looks.
Solid place to do corporate meetings but no sure if a more formal or social event would work as well here.

The Ramada is an old hotel which has yet to move to the modern times.
The rooms at the Ramada are about what you would expect. They have a TV, a bed, and a bathroom. I guess you don’t really need anything else, but the microwave and mini-​fridge are often a nice luxury. I have always had a clean room there, but it’s obviously dated. It has been around for a while and it really shows that.
The breakfast at the Ramada in the lobby is a pretty basic warm breakfast. The food is not very tasty and is quite boring. I would actually prefer the breakfasts that they have at the other Ramada locations around the country.
The best part about the hotel is it’s location. The Red Fox pub is a close second. The Red Fox isn’t the classiest of places but it has decent food and can be quite fun if you bring your own crowd.
Overall, the Ramada is an old hotel in a great location. Hopefully it gets renovated soon.

Ok so there’s the deal, the reason the prices here are so much cheaper than other downtown hotels in Calgary are clear, this is practically dumpy!
The reception hall is small dark and dingy, the small «café» adjoining had terrible breakfast (i didn’t eat there, but all my colleagues that tried it said to avoid it), the place is grossly overheated, and the rooms that claim to be updated, really just have a new flat screen TV and a remote attempt at updating the furnishing… the bathroom in the room was TINY, the lighting was absolutely HORRIBLE and I say it hasn’t seen a facelift in 30yrs. Being there in Oct it wasn’t very cold but a lot of us had trouble turning off the heater — it wouldn’t shut down… we had to open our windows to be able to sleep and the staff”s solution was to send us a fan to plug in…
We all decided to move out after a couple of days, and fair to say we will not be staying there again — downtown or not.

Just attended the Noctis Metal Festival & Conference at this hotel last weekend.
First off. Amazing staff, service and courtesy. Hotel was in great shape, the rooms were great.
Second and most important to me, they treated all of us metal heads with utmost respect and the whole weekend was peaceful and it was the most amazing atmosphere.
Literally all the bands who played except Calgary bands stayed there, and most of the out of town fans who came as well. The pool deck was a party all day Friday & Saturday. I even hung out with Venom at one point out there. The staff didn’t bother us and everything was totally chill.
They also hosted the conference on Friday and Saturday, and though I didn’t attend that portion this year, I heard nothing but positive feedback on the catering and set up they did.
All in all, hats off to the Ramada for hosting such a diverse crowd, and handling it with nothing but class.

Staying here for a business trip. First must say that I am from the Southern US (Texas) so the area during December is a cultural shock to me. Next, Calgary is known as Little Houston, being an oil town as well. So, suffice it say, I was expecting a little better quality of room. The place looks like it’s from the Rat Pack era of the late 50s. Everything is in dark colors and tones, maybe to disguise the muck and mud from the streets. The chairs in my room had disgusting and filthy upholstery, the bathroom looked eerie in the diffused fluorescent lights. No free breakfast here, and the breakfast buffet is the same day in day out. Ok, those are the negatives. The positives are definitely the staff. They are always available and always busy keeping the area clean. They just need a serious makeover!

The Ramada Hotel is currently one of two potential wedding venue choices for my fiancé & I. The process of getting the original list of 20 down to 2 has been long and arduous. It’s Survivor, Wedding Edition (actually, I’m sure TLC already has a show covering just that). Both this hotel and our other top choice were pleasant surprises. Being downtown, on Stephen’s Avenue, we were expecting the Ramada to either:
1) Not care.
2) Be too expensive; or
3) Not accommodate.
We were wrong. It happens, rarely.
I will mention a lot, until I’m blue in the face, that the people you deal with should ultimately shape your final decision. No matter how beautiful, how delicious, or how inexpensive a location is, it won’t matter if they don’t understand what you want. To that end, Ramada excels.
Our research at Ramada has been guided along by Alison. New to the position at Ramada, she has been fantastic. Every question has been answered promptly and she has been delightful to work with. Our experience with Alison has definitely influenced our decision to include the Ramada in our top 2.
On the décor front, Ramada is beautiful. It is amongst the nicer venues we have looked at. From the lobby and throughout the hotel it is very nice. The restaurant leaves a bit to be desired, but ultimately irrelevant to our decision.
The room we looked at and will use should we choose Ramada is amazing. It is, without a doubt, the best looking room we’ve seen yet. The 3200 sq ft. grand ballroom has a great 12 ft. chandeliered ceiling and a visually appealing backdrop. It’s a big room, but more importantly, it’s shaped well. Too many places we visited had great big rooms that were shaped oddly or had pillars in strange places. Ramada doesn’t have this problem. The room is also setup to allow ceiling decorations, and includes hooks on each of the main pillars and center ceiling. Actually, there isn’t much we can’t do to change the room to suit our needs. Which is really nice.
Our tasting experience at Ramada was, like our other top choice, not perfect. It was great that they included the full meal with 2 different menu choices. However, the food wasn’t prepared perfectly and the salad wasn’t very fresh. Embarrassing for them and a little troubling for me. But considering most other hotels don’t offer a tasting, and the ones that do don’t offer the full meal, I won’t hold it against them too much.
One major item that you need to be aware of here is parking. Parking is available to your guests at $ 25/​vehicle, $ 15 if they are staying at the hotel. Your only other option is downtown parking, which is a nightmare on a good day. If free parking is important to you and your guests, look elsewhere. But if you’re like us, and would prefer nobody was drinking and driving, removing options like free parking is actually a good thing.

Only ranking this 3 stars, because I have stayed at way nicer hotels… but the Ramada was good. It served its purpose as a hotel downtown, and close enough to Stampede events.
There is an outdoor pool which gets sun most of the day. I recommend getting a room facing the pool, as it is much brighter. On the other side, the rooms face another building. When we first arrived, we were on the other side. We were staying for 4 nights, so we asked to see if we could be moved across the hall to a room with a better view, and the staff was able to accommodate us right away.
They are slowly renovating the rooms. My friend got a nicer, renovated room — very modern with flat screen TV on the wall. My room was circa 1986 décor and furniture.
My room didn’t have a mini fridge or microwave, but all you have to do is ask, and they bring it up to you, free of charge.
Public transit is very close by, as is the parade route. We took the train to the Stampede grounds — $ 2.50 for a train ticket. Very easy system.