PRICE:
Frommer's Very Highly Recommended

The lively Old Strathcona neighborhood, filled with students and artists, great nightlife, and dining, now also boasts the Metterra: a swank boutique hotel that's contemporary and sleek, but with homey warmth. The lobby sets the tone with striking art, a two-story rundlestone wall -- that would be stone from Banff's Mt. Rundle -- and waterfall, while the guest rooms are large, with contemporary and Indonesian art adding some funk. Some rooms offer fireplaces, others feature recliners. Rates include a continental breakfast and afternoon wine and cheese. Though not a typical business hotel, Metterra offers all the features and services sophisticated business and leisure travelers require. Be warned, though: As charming as some of the outdoor decks overlooking Whyte Avenue may be, on a Saturday night you might like to ask for a room facing north toward downtown instead -- if you plan on sleeping, that is.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Alberta, 1st Edition, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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