Best kept secret for budget travel. I was treated like family and given a room near the bathroom. Because it is inexpensive, people like me stay for weeks. Cigarette smokey and I didn't like the cleaning product smell either. Music from barroom nice, pigeons not nice. Feels like going back in time and room looked like a Van Gogh painting. Hard to sleep with maid vacuuming loudly at 8am. Owner's girlfriend is unprofessional and snarly - glad to avoid her and her jailhouse tattoos, but the other staff were really sweet. Walls are thin and voices carry, but I wasn't bothered. When you just want a roof overhead and a lock on the door, stay here.

This really happened. First of all I checked into the hotel to the snarliest front desk clerk ever(female). After a few snarls from her I went out of my way to be really nice to her but to no avail. When I went to bed later that night I turned the bedspread back to go to bed only to see blood stains in the sheets. I went down and asked for another room or at the least a change of sheets but was told we don't let anyone change room. (half the hotel was empty) he wouldn't go and get new sheets for me. I asked for my money back and he said he had no authorization for that but come back the next day to talk to the manager. I went and took my things and left immediately. I came back the next day and was put off until later. Came back again and said well the clerk should of given you another room. I told them I asked for one or a change of sheets but to no avail. The final result based on a discussion between the manager and other people when I wasn't present was that I would not get my money back because quote "the stains weren't that big". I guess the blood stains have to be a certain size to get my money back??

I went to Edmonton with some friends for a quick trip and listened to one girl's ideas in regards to almost the entire trip because she had been to Edmonton more times than me. We were on a tight budget and she'd said that she found a hotel on Whyte ave that was 'old and funky' and really cheap, so it sounded good.

Long story short, homeless people and hookers definitely go there to do drugs. It was dirty. We found a crackpipe under our bed. When we showed the crackpipe to the front desk clerk, she picked it up with her bare hands, said nothing, and walked away.

By the time we'd arrived, we were too tired and it was too late to find anywhere else....I did NOT sleep under the blankets...I just slept on top of the bed because I was so creeped out.

Oh yeah, your rooms don't come with bathrooms...or a shower.

To start with, I must say that I've never actually stayed the night in a room, but you have to expect when heading to the Strat that it is going to be DIRTY!
This is a classic piece of Edmonton history that people's parents and grandparent's can still talk about. The bar there is dirty and serves the best cheap beer in all of Edmonton. Think $8.95 for a pitcher. This is a place where you can walk in, not know anyone and sit down at a table, split a jug, and meet some very cool people. Being a girl, you never feel harrased or scared for your safety like at any night club in town. It seems wierd, but it's the happy vibe you get from everyone. Maybe there's something to do with having lights on too!
To top things off, where else can you go and get popcorn and pickled eggs at a bar? Or drink gladiators made with orange tang?

To stay at the Strat, you have to be prepared for the dirt involved and the people found in Edmonton area, but for a good night and a cheap place to stay, I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who's not squeemish or too prissy to have a good time and handle themselves in this sort of situation