If you’ve stayed at the Metropolitan Hotels in Vancouver, BC, or Toronto, ON, you know all four properties have an urbane vibe—chic, sleek and a magnet for foodies. Vancouver’s Diva at the Met and Toronto’s Sen5es are legendary for their contemporary cuisine; chef Patrick Lin is known as the master of East meets West.
So how will that edgy, big-city style translate to a new hotel in Canmore, AB, an outdoorsy mountain community at the edge of Banff National Park and the quintessential Canadian wilderness? We’ll see this May, when the Grande Rockies Resort has its official opening, a new Canmore hotel owned by Edmonton’s SFJ Hospitality and managed by luxury hotel brand Metropolitan Hotels.
Whether you invest in the real estate, or simply come to stay for a family ski holiday, it’s the latest trend in Rocky Mountain accommodation.
Unlike many of the new condo-style hotels lining this popular lodging strip between the Trans-Canada Highway and Canmore’s Railway Avenue—most with fully or fractionally owned self-contained units—the suites at Grande Rockies Resort have the added amenities of a full-service hotel. That means a restaurant, lobby bar and a large family-friendly indoor pool with waterslide. It also has a small business centre, and plenty of conference and meeting space for corporate retreats and weddings.
Inside, the 150 one- and two-bedroom suites come with full-sized kitchens, granite countertops, laundry, large flat-screen TVs with Blu-ray players and wireless Internet. Computerized shower units translate into everything from back and foot massage jets to rain showers and telephone service. Comfortable Vera Wang beds with crisp white Italian linens, Margaret Kisza’s modern mountain canvasses, plus finishes in dark wood, granite, leather and stone give Paul Waddell’s interior design a contemporary feel.
Another family-friendly mountain property that recently opened is The Residences at Fairmont Ridge, part of the new Fairmont Hot Springs, BC, master plan. The whole- and fractional-ownership vacation property, a mere three-minute walk to the steamy hot springs pools, is also part of the RCI Property exchange system. Visitors can stay in a luxury condo by the night or buy into the project, with one-eighth fractions starting at $78,000.
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