Hotel Arts Kensington

A Riverbank Boutique in Calgary’s Most Walkable Village

Most of Calgary’s hotels stand in the downtown core, among the office towers. Hotel Arts Kensington chose the other bank. Set on Memorial Drive, directly across the Bow River from the skyline, this small boutique hotel, once known as the Kensington Riverside Inn and now part of the Hotel Arts family, has nineteen rooms and suites, a restaurant that doubles as the lobby bar, and a calm that is hard to find so close to the city centre. Behind it, the cafés, bookshops and boutiques of Kensington Village make it feel like staying in a neighbourhood rather than a business district.

Why It Works

We selected it for its scale and its sense of place. Nineteen rooms means the staff know who you are by the second morning, and the design, contemporary, warm and built around art, avoids the generic finish of larger hotels. The rooms to book are the ones with a feature: a fireplace for Calgary’s long winters, a soaker tub in the luxury suites, a patio opening onto the garden, or a view over the river. Add a restaurant worth staying in for and free parking, and it becomes the rare Calgary address that works as a destination and not just as a base.

Why This Location

Memorial Drive runs along the north bank of the Bow, and the hotel sits right on it, with the river pathway just across the road. Walk east along the water and the red helix of the Peace Bridge carries you over to Prince’s Island Park and into downtown, with the Eau Claire district and Stephen Avenue beyond. Turn the other way and you are in Kensington Village, a compact grid of independent cafés, restaurants and shops around 10th Street and Kensington Road. For the Rockies, the Trans-Canada Highway to Banff is an easy drive west.

Fast Facts

• Price: Premium

• Vibe: intimate, artful, riverside, neighbourhood

• Rooms: 19 rooms and suites, with river view, garden patio and fireplace options

• Best For: couples, weekend city breaks, travellers heading on to the Rockies

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: a fireplace room looking across the Bow River to the downtown skyline

• Dining: Oxbow, a restaurant and lobby bar working with local, seasonal Canadian ingredients, plus breakfast on site

• Amenities: fireplaces and soaker tubs in select rooms, garden patios, rain showers, free parking, concierge

• Attractions: Bow River pathway, Peace Bridge, Prince’s Island Park, Kensington Village, downtown Calgary

Rooms With a Point of View

The nineteen rooms are designed as a series of variations rather than copies. River-view rooms face the water and the city beyond; garden patio rooms open onto a private outdoor space; fireplace rooms are the ones to request between November and March. Bathrooms are generous, with rain showers, and the luxury suites add deep soaker tubs, while junior suites include a proper desk for guests who need to work. Throughout, art on the walls sets the tone, a signature of the Hotel Arts group.

Oxbow, the Hotel’s Living Room

Oxbow is restaurant and lobby bar in one, which gives the ground floor the feel of a lively neighbourhood living room. The kitchen takes an imaginative line on simple food, built on local and seasonal Canadian ingredients, with comfort dishes given a more generous finish. It is as good for a long dinner as for a drink after a walk along the river, and breakfast here is a relaxed start before crossing the bridge into town.

Before You Book

With only nineteen rooms, the feature rooms, river view and fireplace, go early, especially during the Calgary Stampede in July. Parking is free on site, a real asset for guests planning day trips to Banff or Kananaskis. Couples will find it ideal; families who need connecting rooms or a pool are better served by a larger hotel downtown.