WHY YOU SHOULD STAY AT THE MALCOLM HOTEL IN CANMORE

Living in Calgary we are lucky to be so close to the mountains. Driving out to the mountains is the perfect way to escape the city and spend the weekend!

Most people usually think to visit Banff but lately, I’ve been opting for Canmore. It’s closer, quieter, you don’t need to purchase a Park Pass and you are still surrounded by amazing mountain views. Last month Canmore’s first luxury hotel, the Malcolm Hotel, opened so I had to check it out.

My friend Mirissa and I decided to have a girls trip in the mountains which started by heading to the rope swing in Canmore to snap some fun photos. I would recommend googling “Canmore rope swing” and heading here to get some Instagram-worthy pics. Then we headed to the Malcolm Hotel.

We parked our car in the underground parkade, checked into our room, and explored the hotel. First of all, the hotel is BEAUTIFUL and everything is so clean. I loved all the details from the lighting to the huge fireplace and how warm and inviting the lobby is. I also like that the name of the hotel comes from the Scottish King Malcolm III who was nicknamed “Canmore”, there’s an impressive painting of him in the lobby.

We stayed in the King Suite which felt open and spacious with the vaulted ceilings. It has a king bed, a pull-out couch, the most amazing bathroom with double sinks, separate bath and shower, wet bar, fridge, and everything you would want in a hotel room.

I think the best part of the hotel was that no matter where you are, you have an incredible mountain view. This photo from our balcony doesn’t even capture half of it:

The Malcolm Hotel is in the perfect location. It’s just a few minutes walk from the main downtown street. We decided to go for a walk through Canmore and stopped at Communitea, one of my favourite cafes, to get a snack.

I love walking through the downtown area, there are lots of cute stores popping up all the time. Some of my favourite spots are The Grizzly Paw, Communitea, Rocky Mountain Bagel Co., and Toniq, It’s not surprising that those are all restaurants…

Every time I’m in Canmore I walk down the Policeman’s Creek Boardwalk which will actually take you right to the hotel. On our walk back to the hotel we got to see the prettiest sunset.

Not that soon after our snack we went for dinner at Stirling Grill and Lounge which is the new restaurant in the hotel.

The chef at Stirling Grill and Lounge created the most incredible vegan meal for us. If you would like a vegan meal I would recommend calling ahead, they do have a couple of options on the menu already but these were mostly off-menu.

We started with an amuse-bouche which was a Caesar-like shot without the alcohol with a grilled slice of avocado topped with a cilantro and lime foam. It was a very interesting and unique start to the meal.

Next, we had a shared plate with three different types of bruschetta: tomato, golden beets, and beets. So yummy!

For our third course, we had a cauliflower steak which was crusted with pecans and vegan cheese with a chimichurri on the side. We were very impressed by all the flavours and presentation.

For the main course, Mirissa had the ravioli (not vegan) and I had a watermelon steak. Yes, I said that correctly. I have never seen anything like this. I was so impressed by the creativity and how much it looked and tasted like steak. The texture was a bit different but it was so crazy! On the side was a quinoa and hummus mix.

We were so full but our meal ended with the perfect dessert, a strawberry sorbet. The whole dinner experience was amazing and I cannot wait to go back.

To end the night we took advantage of the hot tub. The hotel has two hot tubs and a heated pool and it’s open quite late which was perfect. It was so peaceful and relaxing to be surrounded by the mountains in the dark and under the stars.

We had the best time at the Malcolm Hotel, we came home feeling relaxed and refreshed, I would recommend it to anyone. The room was amazing, the value is great, the location is perfect and I wish I could go back every weekend.

Check out their website: The Malcolm Hotel and their Instagram: @malcolmhotelcanmore.

Photos by: @rissakampf