Hotels, Motels, Campsites
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We where invited for a Wedding in Thunder Bay so wanted to find a hotel to stay in that was not to expensive but still had everything we wanted.
So after looking a bit online we decided on the Price Arthur Hotel. It was at that point one of the cheapest hotels available so that was a plus.
I will go on telling you the story from booking to check out just so you can see what we found and we thought of the Prince Arthur Hotel.
After we decided to stay in this Hotel we try to book it online at the Price Arthur website but unfortunately that option was not working for more then a week so finally we decided to call them and see if we could book that way, but also picking up the telephone after business hours is not there strongest thing so we ended up booking our room through the Expedia website but this meant that we could only book a room with city view instead of a view over the lake and the Sleeping Giant. 
On the day off our travel we arrived at the hotel around 11 P.M. and we walk in to the hotel to check in but there was nobody on the front desk we needed to wait for 10 minutes for someone showed up OK the apologized for that but still it was a little bit strange. But luckily our booking was there (two times) so we got our key and where up to our room for the next 6 nights. We got room 408 what is situated on the 4th floor of the Price Arthur Hotel. in general the hotel looks nice it is an old building and still has some of the old fashion feel to it.
OK now we get to our room and it is big it has lots of room and two double beds an desk and a TV cabinet with drawers, TV and fridge. But our first impression was a bit distracted by the duct-tape that was holding a piece of wood up around the air conditioning unit. The room smelled a bit like stuck air but unfortunately you can’t open the window but the AC has a ventilation option so soon we got the fresh air flowing.
The furniture of our room was OK it all looked a bit old and could use a overhaul but it was clean and functional.
The bathroom had a big tub, toilet and sink and a hairdryer. It seemed like they try to update the bathroom but they forgot a mayor thing in my eyes. The bathroom doesn’t have a exhaust fan so there is a little bit of mould growth on the ceiling. I was also not really impressed with the shower it gave great pressure but the temperature kept fluctuation from extreme hot to cold and that is not a fun way of showering.
The Prince Arthur Waterfront Hotel & Suites offers free wireless Internet for there guest and it is available throughout the Hotel. We used the WiFi Internet everyday and it worked sometimes it was hard to connected but it always worked out and it is nice to be able to check your email on the road. The hotel also has an PC in the lobby for there guests that didn’t bring there own computer.
Also on the ground floor you can find a pop, ice and vending machine. The Prince Arthur also has a restaurant and banquet facilities but we didn’t try those.
One of the reasons why we booked the hotel is because it has a pool. The Pool is available between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. and has next to the pool also a hot tub, kiddy pool and a sauna. I just used the pool and i was happy with that it has nice size to swim your laps. the pool facilities also look a bit dated but they are clean and save and all the times i was there i was the only one using them so that made it perfect for me 
you can pickup a towel at the front desk before you go to the pool so that you don’t have to use your rooms towels.
The Prince Arthur Hotel is situated close to the water. From the back of the hotel (parking Lot) you can take the walkway over the road to the marina park where you can walk around and enjoy the lake and the nice scenery. The hotel is also downtown and close to bars and things like that. It is also close to the Thunder Bay Casino for the gamblers.
Conclusion:
The Prince Arthur hotel is nice place to stay if you don’t expect to much. It has the same kind of quality that you get from the super 8 motels and if you are fine with that then that is great. In general the staff was nice and friendly and very helpful. The rooms where cleaned nicely (even better then Chateau Lake Louise) Parking is free and easy right behind the hotel.
I would not hesitated to stay here again. The neighborhood feels a bit dodgy at night but i believe it is save. And to finish this Review i would say think about the Prince Arthur Hotel next time you visit Thunder Bay.
Written by George on September 10th, 2007 with no comments.
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We took a flight with Westjet from Calgary to Thunder Bay and unfortunately this means having a stop in the middle.
Our stop was in Toronto and we had to wait 4 hours for our next flight. And that doesn’t have to be a bad thing but this time we got stuck in between gate C40 and B15
and that is probably the worst part to get stuck at.
First of all there is NO real restaurant there just some sandwich places and they charge outrage prices. Also for shopping you don’t want to be stuck here.
Just two magazine shops and two duty free shops and a Canada souvenir shop.
OK we can survive with those shops but the worst part is that you can see all kind of nice restaurants and shop through the window but can’t reach it.
And what is up with those toilets? You are sitting on the toilet doing you thing and then it flushes automatically and not once it just keep doing it. And not this was not the only one that did this and YES it is really annoying.
My advice would be to bring your own food and drinks and hope you can fill your time waiting…….
But i guess we have to live with this. Why do airport designers make such a bad place for people to kill some time? Maybe take examples in places like Amsterdam Schiphol Airport where they even have a Casino and Museum to make time pass quickly.
Written by George on September 5th, 2007 with no comments.
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I was at this fantastic location for a conference this month, I have to say absolutely amazing experience. Word of warning beofre I start, I was given all the good treatment a conference delegate recieves, this may or may not be true if you are planning to stay there on your own without affiliation to any group.
The location was amazing, set right in the heart of Tuscany on a hill, very close to the little town of Barga, this hotel had everything one could ask for, good food, good service, a large outdoor pool (with a cute pool boy) a gym, and clean comfortable rooms with great views of the valley. Most of the hotel staff, spoke or understood English and were more than willing to be of assistance. Various trips to Barga and Lucca were organized by the hotel, and everything was on time and as expected. The only problem is, this hotel is up on a hill, far away from any kind of shopping, so if you are staying here, make sure you bring everything you need for the stay, shopping for simple things such as aspirin etc.. may be impossible.
Highly recommend this hotel.
Written by Smriti on June 18th, 2007 with no comments.
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Let me start by saying WOW great location. This pensionne was only a 10 min walk from the Florence railway station, and situated on one of the most fashionable streets in Florence. Infact the hotel was right above the Prada and Gucci showrooms. Most importantly, the city sights are all 5 min walk away from this location, great for quick trips to the Duomo, or bridges across the Arno.
The room although small and smelly at first, was clean, with clean sheets, and large windows which one could open and bask in the warm Italian sun. The bathroom was huge and very modern, clean and completely functional. There was a phone line in the room which one could use to receive and make calls, and call the hotel staff for anything (front desk was non-existant). We got keys to all the doors to the building, hotel and rooms, making it easy for us to come and go as we please.
Anything negative, this hotel made up in their hospitality, the owner “Doreen” was absolutely amazing, she provided us with comfort and service to make us feel right at home, I was provided with a hair dryer, and plastic cutlery and plates within minutes of calling. She was more than willing to let us settle our bill the night before, as we were leaving super early in the morning, as well, we were able to easily split the hotel bill on two credit cards. The only negative thing i can think of is when we booked we were made to undertand that breakfast was complimentary, however upon getting there were were informed that in fact it cost 5€ each and started only at 8:30. The hotel staff seriously apologized for this error and promised to correct it with the booking agency.
All in all, I was very happy and content with my stay here, and will definitely be staying here again when in Florence.
Written by Smriti on June 18th, 2007 with no comments.
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I chose this hotel due to its closeness to Pisa airport, i was flying in late and needed a place to stay for the night. I was there on June 2nd 2007. The plus side was that it was relatively close, the minus was that it was across a huge highway, and only accessable by taxi.
I would definitely give this hotel high points for style and design, I arrived late, so the restaurant and room service were unavailable, but I had the choice of getting a sandwich at the bar. The room was clean and neat, and had 3 beds, there were enough blankets and the beds were comfortable, my wakeup call was right on time.
Breakfast was included, and was pretty good for Italian standards, good amounts of toast, fruits, juice and cereal. They also had a full selection of English breakfast, seeing as 90% of their clientelle were British, this was probably a good thing.
They had a free shuttle service (which you need to sign up for) to the airport, which ran almost on time.
All in all, I was very happy with this hotel and would stay here again.
You can Book this hotel right now by going to Booking.
Written by Smriti on June 18th, 2007 with no comments.
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The Jasper Inn is a pretty big Hotel / Motel Complex with lots of rooms. We where staying in a Two Bedroom Loft and that means 1 bedroom with a Queen bed, a Couch that can be converted to a two person bed and then 3 single beds in the loft.
This hotel room also comes with a complete kitchen with Fridge, Microwave and oven. So you don’t have to eat out everyday.
Jasper Inn is situated on the edge of the town and in easy walking distance to downtown.
On the outside the Jasper Inn Alpine Resort doesn’t look that great it looks a bit worn but the rooms are from good quality and are well taken care of. Outside the room there is a Ski locker so that you don’t have to take you dirty ski’s in your clean room.
The Hotels comes with a indoor pool, Sauna, Jacuzzi and steam room and they are available free of charge. And the pool is realy nice so if you like a swim think of it because it is worth a dip.
My Conclusion is after spending a night in the Jasper Inn Alpine Resort is that it is a great place to stay. It is close to downtown and it comes with everything you need. It has it’s own Restaurant and the room we stayed in had a complete kitchen. The room was clean and taken care of.
Don’t expect the Fairmont but it is worthy place to stay.
Jasper Inn Alpine Resort
98 Geikie Street
Jasper, Alberta, Canada
www.Jasperinn.com
Written by George on June 4th, 2007 with no comments.
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I was lucky to have a chances to stay in the Beautiful Chateau Lake Louise.
The Room:
We got room 447 a room on the 4th floor with a great view over the frozen Lake Louise.
Let me start with our room. The Fiarmont Chateau Lake Louise is an upper class hotel (believe it has 5 stars) so you expect something from you room.
Our room was nice and roomy it had with 1 bed a table / desk with a wired Internet connection and a nice bathroom.
The room also had it’s own save that you could program with your own code and one that was big enough to put your important belonging in (big enough to hold my laptop).
The Bathroom was not very big but big enough. It had a Bathtub, toilet and sink.
Our TV had a lot of options that i quickly looked at. It even came with a wireless keyboard so that if you wanted could use it to Internet (at an extra charge).
The room had a connection for my laptop and of course i wanted to use that 
Normally this service cost almost 14 dollars a day but if you decide to join the “presidents club” then you can use it for Free. And the membership to the presidents club is free so why not join
The room was well kept but the duster could be used a little bit more often, specially the bathroom had a lot of dust on all it’s chrome parts.
Cleaning was done daily and they did a good job. but after a couple of days i wondered if we would ever find a chocolate or mint on our pillow (it never happened)
The Hotel:
The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise has a big name and I have to say that it was nice to stay in a hotel where things are organised this well. The personnel is extremely correct and friendly. The hotel has a lot of services of witch i will list some now:
- Valet parking
- Free shuttle bus to the ski hills
- lots of shops
- lots of restaurants (of witch some open 24 hours a day)
- Indoor Swimming Pool
- Whirlpool
- Steam room (closed for maintenance when I was here)
- Spa
- Out door activities and excursions
I will not go to detail of all these services (and i probably for got a few ) But there are some that i would like to go in to a little bit deeper.
Let me start with the Pool. The indoor pool is nice but not to big, this is OK on week days but on saturday it was almost impossible to fit in the Pool. The same point is made for the Whirlpool, it was a nice one but it was basically just hotter water.
I was staying in Chateau Lake Louise with my wife who was here for a conference so i had a lot of time on my own. The Hotel has some nice shops to look at you can find things like a Photography store (with print service) a hairdresser, bookstore, jewelry store, clothes store and more so that makes it nice to just stroll around and enjoy the hotel.
Or course the outdoors is there to. The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise is situated on the shoor of Lake Louise. The lake is frozen between November and June and I our case it meant frozen enough to walk on it. So one day i got my snowshoes and of i was I crossed the lake to the other side and saw people ice climbing on a frozen water fall. There where lots of people cross country skiing on the lake. Often you can also ice skate on the lake but the ice rink was closed when we stayed there.
On the other side of the little village of Lake Louise there is a ski area and the hotel offers a free shuttle service to the slopes. They also can keep your ski equipment in storage and even have equipment to rent. So if you like to ski then this is an extremely nice place to stay.
Lake Louise is just a tinny village with not really anything happening but they have the necessary stores and a helpful tourist information. And don’t forget Lake Louise is situated in the Banff National Park and is only 74 km from the village of Banff so ideal for a day trip.
Let me close this story with my conclusion:
The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise is an extremely nice hotel to stay at. The atmosphere of the hotel the surrounding are just impressive and i would say even if you are not able to stay in the hotel just go look at it one day when you are in the area.
I hope that we will find a new changes to visit this hotel, maybe next time when the lake is not frozen and then hike up to one of the six glaciers above the lake.
Written by George on March 30th, 2007 with no comments.
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