Our stay at the Clarion Inn in Sherwood Park was one of the most frustrating hotel experiences we’ve had. The pillows were oddly tiny, like mini Chiclets, but overly puffy and uncomfortable. After sorting through the abundance of them, I finally flattened one enough to sleep, but it wasn’t great. To make it worse, I found hair on the comforter, which was definitely off-putting.
When you walk into the hotel, the lobby is huge and laid out like a conference center—makes sense, given it’s connected to one. But the space felt like a waste, with only a few chairs awkwardly placed in the middle and the front desk off to one side. Even my 13-year-old pointed out that it seemed they spent all their budget on the lobby because the rooms were a noticeable downgrade.
The heating and cooling unit in our room didn’t work, and when I called for maintenance, they sent a house cleaner who, understandably, couldn’t fix it. She tried something that caused the heater to blast uncontrollably, and there was no way to turn it off. My son had to crawl underneath to unplug it after we woke up drenched in sweat.
We requested to switch rooms, but the new room’s key cards didn’t work—they tried eight, no exaggeration. Eventually, they gave us a master key and said we’d need to find staff each time we wanted back in. When I asked for a manager, there wasn’t one on duty, and the staff said complaints would fall on them.
The staff were kind but limited by the poor management. Save yourself the hassle