Review: Westin Edmonton

I stayed at the Westin Edmonton during a recent visit to the city. This was actually my second time staying at the property, but the first time was coloured greatly by pandemic-related service reductions.

My second stay was much more pleasant than the first, and I had the opportunity to enjoy all of the hotel’s facilities. 

Let’s take a look at the experience.

Westin Edmonton – Booking

I booked a base level room using a travel agent rate of $125 (CAD) for a Sunday night on a long weekend. 

Regular rates for the hotel hover between $180–250 (CAD) throughout the year, with some nights exceeding $300 per night.

Booking with Marriott Bonvoy points, the current rate hovers consistently between 15,000–20,000 points throughout the year.

Based on our current valuation of Marriott Bonvoy points of 0.9cpp, booking with points could be a reasonable option at times. This is especially the case if cash rates are on the higher end of the range.

Westin Edmonton – Location

The Westin Edmonton is located in the city’s downtown core. The hotel is within walking distance of many hallmarks of Edmonton’s downtown, as well as steps to the River Valley.

The Edmonton Convention Centre is just down the street from the hotel. 

The iconic Fairmont Hotel Macdonald can be seen from the south-facing windows. Just beside the Fairmont is the 100th Street Funicular, providing a smooth ride down to the River Valley.

Edmonton’s ICE District and Rogers Place are a 10-minute walk from the hotel, making it a good option for catching a hockey game while you’re in town.

Many of the downtown’s bars and restaurants are also within walking distance of the hotel. Whyte Avenue, home to much of the city’s nightlife, is a quick 10-minute drive.

The closest LRT station to the Westin Edmonton is Churchill Station. The LRT provides easy transit to the north and south of the city, and is currently expanding to many more destinations.

Edmonton’s airport is situated south of the city. By transit, the journey takes around an hour, and by car, it takes around 30 minutes.

Westin Edmonton – Check-In

I arrived at the hotel in the late morning after running some errands with a friend. I spoke with the hotel via the app to see if my room was ready, and there was no problem checking-in around noon.

I also made a very casual attempt at “suite-talking” over the app. After looking into my reservation, the hotel staff confirmed that there was a Deluxe Junior Suite available as a complimentary upgrade for my Platinum status.

A bellboy welcomed me from my friend’s vehicle and opened the hotel’s main door for me.

The last time I stayed at the hotel, it was completely empty and none of the facilities were operational, which was quite disheartening. This time, I was delighted to see the lobby lounge busy with people packing up from a wedding the night before, and a number of guests enjoying a bite in the lobby restaurant.

The check-in staff acknowledged my status and went through the available facilities and amenities for my stay.

To my delight, as an additional perk, I was offered a choice of 10% off of food and drinks during my stay, two free beers in the restaurant, discounted parking, or 500 additional Bonvoy points.

I opted for the two free beers, and was given a packet that also included my complimentary breakfast voucher.

Pets are welcome and stay for free. Parking is available for $38 per day.

Content with everything so far, I headed over to the elevators to check out the room and finish off my work day.

Westin Edmonton – Deluxe Junior Suite

The Westin Edmonton has two buildings: one is attached to the main hotel and the hotel is accessed by a walkway to a separate wing. My room was located in the separate wing, at the far end of the dimly-lit hallway.

The room opens up to a large, tiled foyer. In the foyer is a closet, which has a luggage rack and an ironing board, as well as a door to the neighbouring room on the other wall. 

The space then opens up into a spacious living area, complete with a large sectional couch, a long desk, and a flatscreen TV.

The desk wasn’t cramped at all, and I found the chair to be comfortable. I had some live tennis from Wimbledon playing quietly in the background.

To the right of the desk is the coffee machine, an ice bucket, and some water bottles. A mini-fridge is housed underneath the coffee machine.

The room overlooks Centennial Plaza and the Citadel Theatre. 

A doorway provides access to the bedroom, which is quite spacious, too. Along the wall at the foot of the bed is another desk and flatscreen TV. 

In the corner of the room is a lounge chair and tiered coffee table. 

The king bed was comfortable, and I didn’t have any trouble falling asleep with the blackout curtains blocking out the sunlight from the late sunset and early sunrise. 

On the sides of the bed are bedside tables and lamps, with power outlets for charging devices. 

I found it a bit odd that the mountain painting behind the bed was not aligned with the bed. I imagine this might irk some people.

The bathroom is connected to the bedroom. Inside, you’ll find another closet with another luggage rack, which then opens up to an LED-lit vanity. 

The vanity was equipped with standard amenities and a number of facecloths.

There is a separate room with the toilet and shower/bathtub combo. The shower had good water pressure, and the curved shower curtain bar prevented the shower curtain from flapping against me.

Overall, I found the room to be spacious, quiet, and well-equipped for both working and relaxing. The décor in the room wasn’t inspiring whatsoever, but I wasn’t expecting for that to be the case.

Westin Edmonton – Breakfast

After a morning run, Kirin from the Prince of Travel team joined me as a plus one for breakfast. 

Breakfast is served in the hotel’s lobby restaurant Share. On weekdays, it is available from 6:30–10:30am, and on weekends, from 7–11am. 

The restaurant was pretty quiet by the time we sat down. The waiting staff came by to check on us often, and suggested that we take a look at the buffet for best value.

Naturally, we both opted for the breakfast buffet. I also ordered a cappuccino and orange juice from the friendly staff, which came without delay.

The buffet had a standard selection of hot items, including eggs, bacon, fried tomatoes, potatoes, beans, waffles, and oatmeal. There were also a couple of stations with cold items, including cold cuts, cheeses, cereals, granola, and yogurt.

We enjoyed catching up over breakfast, and I was glad to see the return of a hot, self-serve buffet.

Westin Edmonton – Dining

The Westin Edmonton has a single restaurant on site, Share, which is also where breakfast is served. The restaurant serves casual, Canadian dishes from 12–10pm from Monday–Thursday, and from 12–11pm on Friday, 1230–11pm on Saturday, and 12:30–10pm on Sunday.

I enjoyed two pints of Alley Cat beer here as part of my welcome amenities, but didn’t order anything else from the restaurant.

Westin Edmonton – Other Facilities

Just next to the elevators on the main floor is a small business centre. Inside the business centre are two computers and a printer, as well as some chairs. 

On the third floor of the hotel is a small indoor pool. I saw a few families with kids here splashing around, but didn’t take a dip.

While there isn’t a hot tub in the pool area, there are saunas in the men’s and women’s changerooms. Just before wrapping up my work day, I popped down to preemptively heat it up.

By the time I came down for a sweat, the sauna had heated up to around 80 degrees Celsius. The sauna was a perfect place to sit for a while after a busy work day.

Next to the swimming pool is a small fitness centre, which is separated into two wings.

The first wing has some treadmills, exercise bikes, an elliptical machine, and a single weight-training tower.

The second wing had a number of free weights, kettlebells, two benches, and two more elliptical machines. There’s also a large flatscreen TV on the wall.

Conclusion

My stay at the Westin Edmonton was just fine, and it was a welcome improvement to my previous stay when the hotel was mostly shuttered due to pandemic-related service reductions.

I appreciated the ease at which I could confirm an upgrade, as well as the numerous amenities afforded to me with my status. I was quite happy with the breakfast buffet, too, even though it wasn’t as elaborate as others I’ve enjoyed.

The room was quiet, spacious, and had ample room for working and relaxing. 

In general, the hotel is probably in need of a refresh, as the exterior and interior all come across as quite dated. 

I’d consider staying here again on a future visit to Alberta’s capital city.