I should start by clarifying that Fort McMurray is a place that you will go only if you have to. Having said that, this hotel is pretty good, considering a series of not so good circumstances, mostly not related to the hotel itself.
“Downtown” is not really more than a couple of blocks, with a supermarket, a little mall and a casino being the center of it. The Franklin is around 7 blocks from it, which does not seem bad, but it must be a problem trying to get there walking in winter, when temperatures drop down to -40 C. It was also a problem a month ago (November) with strong, but at least manageable cold. However this happened mainly due to the fact that there was road work everywhere when I stayed there, particularly IN the entrance of the hotel, which made it quite difficult not only to walk (every inch of ground was covered in mud), but to get in and out with a car as well. Of course, as mentioned, this situation should be over by now and it is not really the hotel’s fault; but it kind of grayed my stay
Rooms are good, with plenty of space and comfortable. They have 2 TVs, coffee machine, microwave, fridge. As for the bathroom a couple of negative comments: the light is very dim, there is no way for a woman to fix a good make up with those lights, they need to install something better. And second point, water pressure is really poor
One thing on apparently every hotel in the area, they don’t have safe-deposit boxes, which for me is a security basic device every hotel should have…
Internet was free in the room (not sure if that applies for every case, or if it depends on company agreements), but it was EXTREMELY slow, wi-fi and cable. Air conditioning seemed to me easy to regulate, not sure how that would go with extreme cold though. And rooms are very quiet. What I found really useful were two treadmills in the gym; in other hotels there is just one, which is almost permanently occupied, so that is a plus. There’s really no place where to buy anything to eat at least within four blocks distance (7-11) and same thing about restaurants. Staff are really nice and helpful, another plus
An important drawback: there is no restaurant in the hotel. If you want breakfast there is a small place, and it is not included. Choices did not look really appealing…
I would say, hotel is better if you have a car, otherwise stay at the Clearwater