Even staying 6 weeks in Canada this accommodation will be the only one I write a comment about. I booked the room with the jacuzzi and really enjoyed it after a couple of weeks in backpackers and budget hotels it was a great delight spending an hour with the sun shining into the bathroom, sitting in a jacuzzi. The staff Sharon and Kent were really inspiring and even the encounters with the owner (referring to the previous comments) I found very interesting. Usually I don't prefer staying in B&B's because I don't like to take part into a foreign family, but this stay was very different and amusing. All together I really enjoyed it and would recommend this accommodation. If I ever get back to Calgary this will be the place to stay.

Sabine
Germany

Having decided to go to Calgary I searched Trip Advisor and found this B & B. It had many negative reviews from last year and this year. It had also been highlighted that things had changed for the better. I placed this as my wild card for my trip through Canada, I was not sure. On arrival I found that the front was a car park with stairs upto a wooden veranda over the garages and then the house met us. The front car park and first visual sight was not exciting and the house looked OK from the front. BUT, on entering the house it was a really beautiful wooden panneled house. The room we were given was exceptional with a jacuzzi bath. It was a massive double room. Apparently there were other rooms similiar one with a snooker table. Kent our host was delightful and extremely friendly and helpful. The owner was never seen. Breakfast in the morning was served by Sharon who was also lovely. This venue was just minutes from the main river across the road, this led to lovely nature walks where you can literally walk for miles. To main Calgary (8th street), its a good 20-25 min walk,. We were on 5th but if you go to 4th you can get a bus straight to the City centre. Also on 4th are lots of lovely restaurants and bars, well worth looking at, all at our end of the area, easy walking. The reason I have titled this place Fawlty Towers is that although lovely there was no structure or plan, the place appeared to bumble along day by day. There are apparently great plans by Kent and Sharon to do the place up next year. I would definately recommend this place to for people to stay if visiting the city or passing through, now and especially next year if the place is done up. Its quirky, fun, relaxed, chilled and thats just the staff. You can't but help liking the place it has character its just not organised

We were very pleased with our experience at Elbow River Manor! The house is a lovely old Mission home with much of the original wood and period details retained. The inside was spotless and neat as a pin. Our room had 2 very comfortable double beds with our own bathroom across the hall and plenty of lovely fluffy white towels , bathrobes, and accessories. The situation is very convenient for the shopping and restaurants on 4th St. and it was a short walk to the Stampede grounds. Rae, the housekeeper, brought some ice water to our room when we arrived and we were served a beautiful fruit plate and tea before bed.
The next morning we were served a delicious bacon and egg breakfast (our choice) by Sharon , the hostess.
Originally , when I had first made enquiries about staying here, my calls were not returned, so we stayed instead at Twin Gables (which I have also reviewed) , where we were very happy . But as it was Stampede ,TG could not accommodate us for our entire stay , so we moved next door to Elbow River Manor for our last day . But I would have been happy enough if we had spent the entire week here.
There seems to have been a major revamping since the previous reviews, as there were no car wrecks and no smoke smell that I could detect. Apparently, it has been recently painted and some new staff hired since my first attempts to book with them.
Sharon and Rae were lovely hostesses.
Roger, the owner, is definitely an idiosyncratic guy, and he and his young friends, can be a little bit boisterous, but they were always friendly and helpful, letting us leave our bags , send an email, booking our cab for us, etc.
And we had a great view of the Stampede fireworks from our window. I would be happy to recommend this place .

I inquired of this bed & breakfast via email initially. I had many questions about possible restrictions due to the allergies associated with bringing my 20-month-old baby. I received a warm email back saying allergies were no problem and that I was to call them to make the arrangements via phone and put down a 50% deposit via credit card.

When I called to make my reservation I spoke with the owner who said he could not make reservations and that I should call back to speak with the girl who did. I thought this was odd but I did not mind calling back. My husband and I desperately needed a break and I was willing to put a lot of effort into making our getaway special.

I called back and was able to make the booking at which time I discussed the issue of allergies again with the girl taking the information. She reassured me the allergies were no problem whatsoever and she even offered to modify the breakfast selection of all the people staying there that day just to accommodate us. I would have been just as happy to take the food up to our room and I certainly did not request this but since she offered, I’d be happy to participate. She also agreed to make available a toaster we could use to toast my daughter’s special bread. This was a very nice gesture and I was impressed.

However, my first impressions were quickly dashed when we arrived for our getaway. We were welcomed in the home by the stench of cigarette smoke. I thought since their website indicated a strict $200 fine against anyone caught smoking, that smoking would not be an issue. I asked the girl about it and she said “they guys in the back smoke but they smoke underneath the exhaust fan”. She was hoping I’d be okay with that. I asked if she could ask the guys to smoke outside and she did make this arrangement as well as opening all windows to try to air out the place.

We got settled in our room but the stench of cigarette smoke was ever so strong - it saturated the air and all the linens. I looked out the window and found the sill was being used as a butting out station. The stench never eased up during our entire stay. I sent my husband out to get some candles to take off the edge.

I went downstairs to get some water and a utensil and ran into the owner who wore tattered clothing and a cowboy hat, which made it hard to see his face. He approached me in a confrontational manner and asked me strongly “why would you come to a bed & breakfast if your daughter has egg allergies!? There are eggs everywhere!” I explained to him that her allergies were not anaphylactic and that I had made all these arrangements well in advance. I further explained that the girl/chef volunteered to modify the breakfast so we could enjoy it together with all other guests. I was so put off by his tone and demeanour not to mention the stench of alcohol exuding from him. He further indicated that his business had an onsite cat and dog and that concerned him as well. He did offer to refund my money and help me find another place but I was not looking for that. We had just arrived and thought the arrangements had been made but apparently he did not think so. After I reassured him we were relaxed about the allergies and that he could relax as well, he proceeded to show me his dog in his basement suite. He brought me down there and I felt very awkward. He was excited about his drum set as well and brought up a guitar to show my husband. I had not asked to see these nor was I showing interest – all I came down there for was some water and a utensil. Lord knows how he would have reacted had I brought up the issue of smoke in our room!!

We tolerated the night there because we just simply did not want to go anywhere else. We kept thinking it might get better but it didn’t. The railings by the stairs leading up to our room are not up to code and my daughter’s head was easily placed between them. This was an obvious hazard and this room should not be given to parents with a toddler or baby with them.

The chef had the best of intentions and we really appreciated dealing with her instead of the owner. The only restriction we had that morning was to the cooking of eggs around my daughter. Had we been offered bacon, pancakes or hashbrowns we would have gladly taken some but we only received fruit, fruit juice and bad coffee.

We will never stay here again nor will we ever recommend this place to anyone for any reason. The exterior was cluttered with alcohol bottles and looked generally un-kept. We would have been able to put up with much of the grievances described but what put us over the edge was the owner and his terrible lack of professionalism. We certainly did not get the getaway we were looking for.