Our Staycation At The New alt Hotel At Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ)

Courtesy TripAdvisor/alt Hotels

We have found there to be a few nice perks of running a Blog.  This post might not be wine related but it sure is Blog related.  Since starting our Blog, we have been provided with wine samples,  asked to attend events, but a unique offer was a free night's stay at Halifax's newest airport hotel from alt Hotels.  They are a small chain of boutique hotels here in Canada.  From their website it looks like they have some pretty strong expansion plans from the current four properties they have today.

We received this cool offer at a Blog Jam hosted at the Halifax Offices of National Public Relations back in the Winter.  They brought together a bunch of local Bloggers just to chat and share ideas.  It was a pretty cool networking event.  In our Swag Bag was this certificate for a free night's stay at the soon to be completed (and now completed) alt Hotel at the Airport.  At the time we thought it was a great idea to get folks with an audience to take a closer look at the new property.

That said, with a baby on the way we thought that this long Canada Day weekend was a perfect time to take a look.  It is a dreary weekend and we are only 20 minutes away from the airport so off we went.

We started off the staycation at Inn on the Lake for dinner.  We had a nice relaxing dinner at the Inn which has really good food in a great atmosphere.  We ate early so it was fairly quiet but we had great service and it kicked things off right.  We checked into the hotel and immediately afterwards and right off we knew it was a different type of place.

First impressions are that it is very unique.  The Lobby is very modern and I guess we would call it chic looking.  It feels like a cross between the Apple Store and a hip restaurant.  Really nice.  They don't have a traditional restaurant, but what they do have is a food kiosk with grab-and-go meals with a prep area in case you want it heated up to go back to your room.  They also have a bar area and small games area.  They have salads, sandwiches, and some other meal options.  If you were expecting the typical airport hotel this would take some getting used to but it is definitely a unique experience.  It is a pretty cool look and for an airport hotel with a nice arrangement for the vacation or business traveler.  They also have meeting rooms for anyone wanting to hold meetings close to the airport.

They gave us a fantastic room on the 15th floor on a corner overlooking the airport (photos below).  Awesome view!  We really liked the room and the decor.  It is urban and modern and looks exactly like the rooms you would see in an IKEA that no one is ever able to replicate.  Concrete and paneling....very cool.  The beds are comfy and the facilities are minimalist but functional.  You put one of your room keys in a slot at the door to power the room.  Nice touch and green to boot!  You also get free Wi-Fi and a Flat panel TV with HD Cable (not too shabby). The only challenge we found was that the HVAC didn't kick in when we wanted a cooler temperature and the Cable went out this morning. We didn't call down to the Front Desk for either but we are chalking those up to start-up pains. No biggies.


Our first experience with alt Hotels was a really good one. For travelers moving through Halifax or Toronto these are great options for a stay.  Again, this is not wine related but worth the recommendation.  This is a great addition to the amenities at Halifax Stanfield International.

Happy Canada Day!!

Chris & Shannon