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| - I was traveling through Calgary with a big group and we were all planning to stay at a friend's, but eight people in a one-bedroom apartment makes for slightly cramped living conditions (and a hell of a line for the bathroom)...so two of us decided to branch out and look for a hotel.
Unfortunately, we didn't have a car and all the hotels downtown were too far to walk to.
Fortunately, we stopped at a random pub and asked some locals for a recommendation, and a sweet lady named Paula told us about Westways.
We followed the directions she gave us and arrived at a charming three-story house amidst a block of what looked like retirement homes and apartment buildings.
Once inside, we were very warmly greeted by Jonathon and his two adorable dogs Mika and Bebe (sp?), who gave us a small tour of the downstairs area and the (per our request) cheapest room available.
There's no cheesy, ugly, canned motel decor here; our room featured a hardwood floor, plush Oriental rug, and tasteful paintings....as well as a high-def TV with cable, Blu-Ray DVD player, and alarm clock with iPod dock. Badass.
Unfortunately, a prior commitment required us to spend most of our time in town away from our beautiful room, and we only got back in time to pass out (on the incredibly comfortable bed with memory foam and thick, fluffy duvet) for a few hours before getting up for breakfast.
Yes, we could've gotten a few extra hours' shut-eye if we slept until check-out (11am), but how much sense does it make to stay at a "bed and breakfast" and not take advantage of the latter?
We dragged our hungover butts out of bed and were rewarded with fresh fruit, offerings of cereal, pastries, coffee, tea, juice, and/or yogurt, and the main event: Eggs Benedict with roasted potatoes and tomato. The chef even took my pescatarian diet (I don't eat mammals or birds, only seafood) into consideration and subbed the ham on mine with some smoked salmon. It was so good...I drooled a little writing that just now.
And the best part: the rates at Westways are surprisingly competitive (our room cost less than most of the cheapest rooms at the hotels downtown (I looked up prices on my phone--yup, hardcore nerd AND cheapskate), and you can bet your ass those places don't serve a breakfast like Jonathon does). That said, I know exactly where I'm staying next time I'm in Calgary.
I'm actually really surprised and disappointed this place hadn't been reviewed on Yelp yet; this is how I find out about new/nearby businesses to try and was the main reason we had so much trouble finding somewhere to stay in the first place. Yelpers, do everyone a favor and get your asses to Westways if you need a place to crash in Calgary, then review it...more people need to know about them.
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