Everything is where it should be at Hôtel Le Germain Calgary, which opened in March in downtown Calgary, AB. Pivot around Central 899, the boutique hotel’s sunken champagne bar, and you’ll see the curvy flank of the Calgary Tower. Toss a Stetson out the front door, and it could very well land at the Glenbow Museum or some resto on Stephen Avenue’s pedestrian strip. But leave your chilled flute of bubbly (one of nearly 25 varieties) and come with me—inside one of the 143 coolly seductive rooms.

What’s this? A walk-in closet instead of a collapsible luggage holder—and that’s in the most basic of rooms (a 425-sq-ft or 39.5-sq-m “Superior”). And the in-closet safe? Roomy enough for a laptop. A fold-out iron is cleverly concealed behind walls of sleek wooden built-ins; you’ll also find bedside remote controls, a sneaky pull-out tray for change, keys and doodads, a Tivoli Audio stereo system with iPod station, plus discreet AV cords that connect your computer to the 42-inch (107-cm) HD TV. More extras: a nine-ft (2.7-m) tall mirror, free Wi-Fi and luxurious bathrobes. Topping my all-star list: an espresso maker. The rooms have massive Low-E glass windows; a wee one opens up if you prefer the swish of Calgary’s cool night air to air con.

Those are the invisible gems (plus a geothermal heating and cooling system) you can’t see when you first arrive. More obvious details: the Deluxe and Luxury suites’ Frette linens, buttery white leather bucket chairs, a purple chaise lounge, sleek Artemide lights, a massive rainfall shower and a stylish sink that could double as a bathtub for a toddler.

To design a casually hip-but-elegant property is precisely what Hôtel Le Germain Calgary has done amidst Cowtown’s forest of glass towers and big hotel chains. Yet the scope of the 19-storey, mixed-use development is only evident when you step outside the loft-like rooms.

Not only was this hotel-condo-office-space venture a first foray for the Quebec-based Groupe Germain, but it’s a unique concept to Calgary as well. The 40 luxury condos that two years ago sold out in a day (the average selling price was $940/sq ft) are above the two towers. All three components collide in a handsome bridge, creating an open area in the centre of Lemay Michaud Architecture’s overall design.

You’ll find the future spa (opening towards the end of 2010) at the bridge level. There are also meeting rooms, an outdoor terrace and the chef’s rooftop garden—which will soon supply fresh fixings for the hotel restaurant, CHARCUT Roast House. The long-needed, stylin’ Euro hotel and farmhouse chic restaurant are finally open.

Belt out “Bravo!” or “Yee-haw”? Your call.

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