Ramada High River
1512 13 Ave SE
High River AB T1V 2B1
Phone: 403 603 3183
The Ramada Hotel in High River is situated on the outskirts of town but very easy to reach from Highway 2. Around the hotel are several food establishments, like McDonald’s, A&W, Dairy Queen, Subway, Boston Pizza, Smitty’s, and Joey’s Only Seafood Restaurant.
Stepping into the Ramada in High River makes you feel at home right away. Every hotel experience begins at the front desk, and here the front desk staff were delightful and attentive. It was like being welcomed into a small, family-run inn. Yet small is not the right word for the Ramada Hotel in High River. The hotel is very spacious, starting with the front lobby. On the right is the front desk, and on the left a roomy lounge and breakfast area with dining nooks, inviting armchairs, sink-into couches, books, artwork, a fireplace, and a TV.
We were looking for a king-size bed and given Room 319. This room was impressively clean - I daresay the cleanest hotel room I’ve ever stayed in.
Room 319, like the hotel lobby, is very spacious. To the left of the entrance is the large bathroom, with a big tub, a roomy sink and counter, and a wall-to-wall mirror. The special touch in the bathroom was the hair-dryer. What’s so exciting about a hair-dryer? Well, this one had a small orange light on the handle, which functioned as the perfect night light. The bathtub was equipped with a fantastic showerhead that could be adjusted to more than five settings, guaranteed to make you linger even longer in the shower.
The room’s main hallway has a full-length mirror above a fine sitting bench. It also has the only closet in the room, stocked with an iron and ironing board. There is a small sink and counter outfitted with coffeemaker, fridge, and microwave, which is really handy if you want to eat in. We didn’t find plates and cutlery, but the staff would surely help with that in a pinch.
Farther in is the sitting area, complete with sofa, work desk, and a dresser supporting a flat-screen TV. The desk area gets bonus points for having power sockets for plugging in your laptop and other electronics. There is also a cable for wired Internet access, which you get for free along with wireless Internet access (no password needed).
From the sitting area, a set of double doors open into the bedroom. Here is the massive king-size bed topped with no less than five plump pillows. The bed is flanked by two side tables with lamps. It gave us no small pleasure to discover that the table lamps could be turned on and off by simply pressing a lever (instead of fiddling helplessly with obscurely placed knobs). The lamplight was too bright for winding down at night, but at least the bulbs were energy-savers. Facing the bed is a second dresser holding a second flat-screen TV, as well as another full-length mirror and sitting bench.
The bedroom window looks out to a nice view of the area and a close view of McDonald’s nearby, open 24 hours a day. Having said that, we were not bothered by any outside noises.
The only thing about the room that bothered me was the noisy heating system, but I am sensitive to these things and it was not running all the time. I simply turned off the heating before going to sleep, and the room was still warm the next morning despite the deep-freeze temperature outside.
Let’s now explore the rest of the hotel. On the third floor (and probably on each floor) next to the elevator, there is an ice machine and a vending machine that sells not only candy but also items like toothpaste, razors, and Tylenol. There is also a drinks vending machine. Curiously, the third floor drinks are more expensive than the ground floor drinks. The General Manager was surprised about that and promised to take it up with the drinks vendors who set the price.
The ground floor houses the main amenities: meeting room, business centre, fitness room, indoor pool, and convenience mart.
The fitness room boasts an impressive array of modern equipment: treadmill, elliptical machine, upright stationary bike, recumbent stationary bike, three weights machines, free weights, two exercise balls, and exercise mats. All the equipment looked new and well-maintained. A leisurely workout in this fresh and bright fitness room was both relaxing and energizing.
The pool area is right next to the fitness room. There is a good-sized pool with a looming waterslide, which shoots you down very fast but adds great fun, as well as a big whirlpool (hot tub). There is a men’s and a women’s washroom/changing room, but no stalls to shower in. There is only one showerhead in the common area for rinsing before going in the pool.
For a quiet evening, you can make yourself at home in the lounge. Grab a book, a cup of tea from the breakfast area, and a delicious homemade cookie compliments of the front desk. Or help yourself to some popcorn from the popcorn machine while channel-surfing on the big-screen TV.
If you’re in need of anything else, such as a frozen dinner, drink, magazine, or other small thing, you can try the convenient little Ramada Mart next to the front desk.
After enjoying a great night’s rest, we were up and eager for breakfast. The Ramada’s complimentary breakfast is served from 6 am to 10 am daily in the lounge/breakfast area. The breakfast spread exceeded even our wishes. There was bacon, sausages, boiled eggs; toast, English muffins, bagels, pancakes, muffins, pastries; assorted jams, peanut butter, cream cheese; pre-mixed batter and two waffle irons for making your own waffles; instant oatmeal, six kinds of dry cereal, yogurt, and fresh fruits; three kinds of juice, several kinds of tea, and of course coffee. No other hotel I’ve stayed in can compete with this breakfast.
One thing about the breakfast that did disappoint was the use of paper plates and plastic cutlery, which is not so friendly to the environment.
Last thoughts: Staying in the Ramada Hotel in High River was a wonderfully memorable experience from beginning to end. We were treated without fail to superb service from general manager Gale Jacobs and her staff, who truly welcomed and engaged us like family. Our room was a dream to stay in, the breakfast was a feast, and the amenities were a retreat for the mind and body. I already want to go back!
Location +++
Room +++++
Service +++++
Ambiance +++++
Pool ++++
Breakfast +++++
The Lakeview Inns & Suites is a fairly new hotel in Brooks. It’s easy to find, just off the highway behind the Tim Horton’s / Wendy’s. And despite the name, it does not have a lake view.
Super 8 Motel in Revelstoke is situated just outside of town, along the Trans-Canada Highway and next to the Shell gas station and the Tim Horton’s.
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