adventures in hankiland

when the holiday inn express west edmonton got in touch with me to chat about their new property opening up near the west edmonton mall, i jumped at the chance to head there to check it out with the family for a weekend. we’ve been wanting to try a staycation and the timing was perfect — we actually celebrated our eleventh wedding anniversary there with the kiddos and didn’t even have to cook or wash dishes 😉

this new hotel is unique to edmonton as it’s IHG’s first dual-branded property in canada, with the holiday inn express on one side for short term visits and the candlewood suites on the other for longer stays, but the most exciting things for our kids (and us) were the family friendly amenities and the proximity to the mall (yay shopping!)!

lila is currently going through a phase where she loves to know the weather forecast at all times so she was more than thrilled with the interactive screen in the lobby on which she could check out the day’s weather, among other things, and the boys were most excited about making up the couch bed for themselves. having three kids, it’s sometimes hard to find hotel rooms with enough sleeping space for everyone so having the two beds plus the pull out couch was a welcome change and we quickly made ourselves right at home. (meanwhile i was impressed with the modern decor and clean lines that aren’t always to be found in hotel chains!)
next on the agenda, was checking out the pool, which mark and the big kids would have loved to stay all day. oscar and i were perfectly content to hang out in the hot tub while the sunshine streamed in through the giant windows (a photographer’s dream come true).
while there isn’t a full restaurant in the hotel, they do serve up a pretty awesome little complimentary hot breakfast buffet. the kids were, of course, thrilled by the plethora of cereal options that we don’t usually have around the house, and even more excited to watch the hotcakes slide out of the one minute pancake machine!
after breakfast we headed over to west edmonton mall for a round of mini golf with the cousins and a bit of shopping, because what’s a staycation in edmonton without hitting the second largest mall in north america, especially when it’s just minutes away? 😉  (for those of you unfamiliar with our mall, there’s also the option of ice skating, the water park, an indoor amusement park, a mirror maze and a small aquarium if your heart so desires!)
overall, our staycation was a total success, thanks largely in part to the hospitality of the holiday inn express west edmonton, and we can’t wait to do it again!