Ramada Plaza by Wyndham Calgary Downtown

The staff were friendly and accommodating, and the workout facility was quite nice compared with many hotels. It had pretty much every cardio machine you need for a good workout, plus weights up to 50 lbs, weight machines, kettlebells and benches. Those are the only reasons this gets two stars. We arrived Friday and checked out Sunday. The hotel is quite old, the rooms weren't the cleanest, and the bathrooms were pretty beat up. We had to move through three different rooms, each with its own problem. For the value, I'd look for a more modern hotel.

The people working at the hotel were friendly and pleasant throughout my stay. Ivy and Ar Rum especially were welcoming, helpful and professional, giving the kind of service you hope for when you travel. Thanks to the staff, I had a great experience at Ramada, and I'd recommend the hotel because of them. The hotel is very old and needs renovation, but it was impeccably clean, and housekeeping did a great job.

The staff were genuinely nice and made an impression, but several things made this short stay uncomfortable. The room was dirty, with old soap stuck in the shower and water stains all over the shelf. Some things also switched on by themselves at night, keeping me awake for part of the stay. The area looked nice in the pictures, but there were a lot of sketchy people around and I felt uneasy. And although I think the hotel is supposed to be non-smoking, I could smell weed and cigarettes coming under the doors all morning. This wasn't just smoke from the city.

The rooms were clean, and the valet service was fine, but location was really the main thing giving this place value. The $20 daily parking charge wasn't clearly advertised on Expedia when we booked, and I couldn't find that price on the website either. Inside, the bathroom door and lighting were odd, the TV is old with no Netflix or similar, and the Wi-Fi was hit or miss. We had trouble connecting at first. Service was fine. I'm not a fan of valet parking myself, though I can see it being useful if you have a larger vehicle. It doesn't feel much different from any other Ramada.