Location/Exterior:
Located in downtown Edmonton, the Edmonton House Suite hotel is right on the edge of the River Valley. South facing rooms will offer the best view over the valley. Unfortunately, downtown Edmonton is somewhat dead after 5 pm, and does not offer quite the same excitement and variety as most downtown cores. There are 2-3 older coffee shops close-by, and the Edmonton Centre shopping complex is about a 5-10 minute walk. The one benefit to downtown Edmonton is it’s concession to the cold extremes in winter with a complex underground/overground series of walkways attaching buildings. Bottom line is that there are things to do and places to eat but you need to walk about 10 minutes to get to what is offered. Additionally, call the hotel prior and get *specific* directions if driving - downtown Edmonton is a series of 300 one-way streets and the hotel is located on a weird cul-de-sac.
The Edmonton House Suite hotel is a round tower, somewhat old in appearance. I believe it used to be a residential apartment complex, and was converted into a hotel some years ago. The roundabout for drop-off is congested and you have to be quick in getting your luggage out, as there is really only room for about 3 cars. I will second the fact that the parkade underneath is a tad confusing (noted by my fellow-reviewer) – remember your floor/door number!

Lobby and Check-in
The lobby area is small but adequate and reminds you of the lobby of an apartment building rather than a hotel, which I suppose is fitting given the hotel is suited to long-term guests. Check-in was speedy and staff are friendly and efficient. The group I travel with frequent this hotel and as such I think our treatment may exceed the norm, but what I see from others checking in, the staff seem equally helpful. One thing that does annoy me, however, is the transition from lobby to your guest floor and back: elevators. The elevators seem to work in shifts, so that of the 4 available only 2 work at a time and then only very slowly. I have close to 5 minutes to get to the lobby at times.

Rooms:
Rooms are a highlight in this hotel when compared to your average one room bed/TV/dresser standard. The hotel is all-suite, and our suite was clean on arrival. Be advised that there are classes of room within classes. By this I mean that the Tower versus Executive suite. While the room size is the same, the hotel has received infrequent upgrades and the Exec rooms have better furnishings and a 2nd TV in the bedroom. If travelling with a family this can be a bonus. I was able to negotiate the same rate for an Exec room vice a Tower room and expect that in low season this is reasonably feasible – it pays to ask, and as my philosophy goes NEVER pay rack rate!
The suites look like small apartments with a mini kitchen (fully equipped with fridge, stove, microwave, coffee maker, toaster, dishes, etc) just off the doorway, a living room/mini-dining room combo with a pull-out couch (suitable for children but mattress too thin for an adult), lounge chair and TV. The dining room table is the size of a small desk with a couple chairs but fine for small meals. There is also a desk for working, although the “modem plug” on the lamp did not work and I had to plug/unplug the phone to connect my laptop. High-speed connection is available but my laptop was not equipped for this so I can’t report on the success of this feature
Attached to the living room is a large bedroom with dresser, wall to wall closets and a smallish bathroom with shower/tub combo.
The TVs were both sufficiently large and modern and offered a large selection of cable (40+ channels) and movies on demand.
The hotel will also fill a grocery list if you leave it with staff for a nominal fee (5$ as I recall), which is handy if you’re there for a week on business and want to have a working dinner or something.

Amenities & Restaurants:
The hotel caters to long-term guests and this is obvious in small but appreciated perks such as free local calls, free shuttle to Edmonton’s amazing (and in my opinion too-large) West Edmonton mall, and abundant laundry facilities on 7 separate floors.
There is a bar/dining room on the main floor, which provided meals at good prices compared to most hotels inflated rates.
There is a pool and small workout room. The equipment in the workout room was actually good for it’s small size with a universal weight system, mats and modern stationary bikes, which actually worked.

Check-out:
Check-out was quick and uneventful, and you can actually simply zip out in the morning and get your bill in the mail if you agree with the bill left under your door in the morning.

Service:
Service was friendly and accommodating throughout, although I had little interaction aside from a phone call to book and check-in/check-out

Family Tilt:
I would say this hotel is best suited for families. If you want to feel pampered with the "Four Seasons” experience this is not for you, but if you arrive with 2 kids it’s great. I find sharing 1 room with the whole family is a bit tough as the kids crash at 8 and my wife and I have to crash at the same time or be silent for an hour until they fall asleep. Here the kids slept in the living room and we could work/read/watch TV easily in the bedroom and we all had ample space.
There is a games room (kids need to be supervised), which is handy, and any hotel with a pool gets bonus points with the kids.
You will have to travel about 30 minutes drive to get to the West Edmonton Mall. Kids will love the rides, dolphin shows, etc, but the hotel offers free shuttle which worked great as I was working while the family was at hotel in the day.


Recommended: Yes