jollyrogers

Hi everyone,
I'm a newbie and this is my first post.I've just posted our application to London CHC and am awaiting our AOR.
I am flying over to Calgary in September to sit my Electrician's exam and hopefully having a few job interviews and job offers( fingers crossed) I'm trying to fast track my application with HRDC approved job offer.
Does anyone have any ideas for good,cheap accommodation in or around Calgary, on bus/transport route.
Thanks

Judy in Calgary

Welcome to the forum, jollyrogers.

If you can mention the address of the place at which you'll be doing your exam, that would help to make suggestions that are more useful to you.

I'm guessing that some of your job interviews will take place in the southeast and northeast industrial areas. While the SE is served by buses, and the NE is served by buses and a train, those areas are not exactly saturated with public transportation. It would be easier to get around if you had a car.

Hope that helps.

Daveyboy_The_Red

i once spent a night in a place called Cecil's Motel after cycling to Calgary. It was horrid and has scarred me! that was 10 years ago though.

not sure of the relevance of that other than don't stay there!

Rich_007

Urk, the name would have put me off, a bit like the Addams Family Mansion, Bates' Motel, etc. :scared:

Rich.

Daveyboy_The_Red

I had promised myself a night in a hotel after a long time in a tent and was on a tight budget. i was put off somewhat by a local describing it as on 'skid row'. arh, live and learn.. back to the exchange rate!

jollyrogers

I'm sitting the exam in the Willow Park Centre,Bonaventure Drive S.E.
I plan on hiring a car for part of trip, but for the first part I'll be revising and studying in and around the city centre(libraries etc).I have seen mention of a 'Motel village' any ideas?
Thanks

Judy in Calgary

There is a basic and inexpensive but clean place that is less than a stone's throw from Willow Park Centre. I have not stayed there, but have seen a favourable review of it on a travel discussion forum. It is called Stetson Village Inn.

Quite aside from the fact that it's conveniently located with respect to Willow Park Centre, it's on Macleod Trail, which is a major north-south artery that connects the southern suburbs of Calgary with the downtown core.

The hotel is located about half way between Southland Drive and Anderson Road, each of which has a train station close to its intersection with Macleod Trail. It would involve a little bit of a hike, but the hotel is within what I would regard as walking distance of either of those stations.

There also are shops and restaurants along Macleod Trail. There are hardware stores, like Rona and Canadian Tire, into which you can take a peek just to see what's available in Canada. There also are a Wal-Mart and a Canadian Superstore that you can look at for the same reason.

There is an enclosed shopping mall called Southcentre at the northeast corner of Macleod Trail and Anderson Road. That too is within walking distance of the hotel.

At the east end of Southcentre Mall's parking lot, there is a public library. After the W.R. Castell Central Library on 7th Avenue SE in the downtown core, the Fish Creek Library at Southcentre is the next biggest branch that I know of. Perhaps it will have the information you need. You can't miss it, because it looks like a big glass pyramid.

There is another hotel that would be relatively convenient. It is Calgary Macleod Trail Travelodge at 9206 Macleod Trail South. It is located at the intersection of 92nd Avenue and Macleod Trail between Heritage Drive and Southland Drive. I regard it as being within walking distance of Southland Station, although it's also within walking distance of the next station to the north, Heritage Station.

We've stayed there a couple of times, once when we'd vacated our house in preparation for our departure for an expat assignment in Houston and once when we vacationed in Calgary during that expat assignment. That was some years ago. The hotel was clean and comfortable then.

Calgary Macleod Trail Travelodge's location would be slightly less convenient for your purposes than Stetson Village Inn, but it still would be feasible.

There are two Travelodge's on Macleod Trail. The other one is even further north, closer to Chinook Mall. Its called Calgary South Travelodge, and its address is 7012 Macleod Trail South. I wouldn't recommend it. First of all, it's further away from places that potentially could serve you, e.g., Willow Park Centre, Fish Creek Library, etc. Secondly, they are widening Glenmore Trail, which is a major east-west artery a couple of blocks to the north of Calgary South Travelodge. It's a major construction project, and it's not pretty.

Motel Village has a handy selection of motels and hotels. It's located in the northwest quadrant of Calgary, close to the University of Calgary and McMahon Stadium, which is our city's stadium for Canadian football (I use the term lightly ).

The properties in Motel Village are in a convenient location because they're just off 16th Avenue NW, which is what the TransCanada Highway is called when it passes through Calgary. It is the route by which travellers access Banff. In addition to that, they are adjacent to Banff Trail Station on the train line that starts out at Dalhousie in the northwest, runs through the downtown core, and ends up at Somerset / Bridlewood in the south.

On another Calgary vacation during still another expat assignment I stayed at the Quality Inn in Motel Village. It wasn't fancy, but it was clean, comfortable and friendly.

Although Motel Village is a good location, I think the Stetson Village Inn is an even better location for your purposes.

Here is a map of Calgary's Light Rail Transit (LRT) System. It will help you to understand the locations of all those stations I've mentioned.

There are a number of mapping web sites that help you to see where places are in relation to each other. One of them is Map Quest, and another is Google Maps.

Hope that helps.

Judy in Calgary

Holy cow!

The only time I've been there was during one Calgary Stampede when my husband and I went bar hopping with friends. During Stampede you have a kind of diplomatic immunity. It's acceptable to enter premises you wouldn't frequent the rest of the year. The part I can tell you about is the guy who tried to sell us a set of bargain hubcaps. The rest I am not prepared to discuss.

Actually I regard that as highly relevant.

Posidrive

All I'll say is don't stay downtown. Don't get me wrong, I have already fallen in love with the city and it's a great place to be during a sunny day, but once everyone has gone home you notice all the bad things like the bums. It's also depressingly quiet at weekends.

When we did our research trip last year we spent 4 days downtown at the start of the trip and by the end of them my wife was almost dragging me back to the airport to get away from the place.

We now live here though !!!!!!!! so there are many many better palces

hawkeye

Hi jollyrogers this is who I use when I'm out there.
Hope it helps

http://www.super8calgary.com/

Alberta_Rose

We have decided to pop over for a quick landing and jobs visit 1st week in September as hubby has been offered an interview.

I've just been searching for B&B's as we decided we'd rather stay in a friendly B&B where we might have the chance for a good old chin-wag than a hotel where the staff are distantly polite.

I came across this site:
http://www.bbcanada.com/alberta/calgary_area/calgary

All sorts there!

Woodstock62

Glad to see you have made your mind up! The right decision, I think!

Judy in Calgary

Morwenna, if you have not yet settled on a B&B, I can recommend Lions Park B&B. Although it's in the relatively close-in northwest, at the other end of the city from the one in which I understand you ultimately want to settle, it's close to Lions Park train station and, as such, would give you good access to downtown. Disclosure for the sake of fairness : I know the owners of Lions Park B&B, and have seen the interior of the house.

I'm not familiar with B&B establishments in the far south. There is a cluster of them in the close-in southwest. They include Twin Gables, Westways and 1910 Elbow River Manor. I've never been into any of them, but have driven past them. The neighbourhood in which they're situated has exceptionally good bus service to downtown, and it also has a good selection of restaurants.

Alberta_Rose

Thanks Judy, I'll bear that in mind.

I was wondering where you got the impression we were keen to settle in the SE?
LOL We don't know where we want to go yet ..... can't make up our minds!
We are going to have another look at Okotoks and visit Cochrane ..... the NW is actually quite appealing, but I did quite like McKenzie Lake ....... See what I mean?

Judy in Calgary

Sorry, Morwenna, a quick search reveals that I've confused you with Carolyn (ross&carolyn). Back in March 2005 she posted an enquiry about the schools in Lake Sundance, which is in the far southeast. That was quite soon after I'd joined the forum and was becoming familiar with posters' names.