Look out, Mac. The JW Marriott Edmonton is poised to give the 103-year old Fairmont MacDonald, three blocks south, a run for its money in the city’s luxury hotel market. Opened in August 2019, the JW property — Marriott’s high-end accommodation brand — sits across 104 Avenue NW from four-year-old Rogers Place arena, home of the National Hockey League’s Edmonton Oilers and centrepiece of a revitalization of this part of the city’s downtown in a portion of the Central McDougall neighbourhood. The 10-hectare area has been dubbed the Ice District by the developers, including the Katz Group, one of the nation’s largest privately owned companies founded by Oilers owner Daryl Katz. Once completed, its developers say the Ice District will be Canada’s largest mixed-use and entertainment district.

In keeping with the athletics and musical acts touring through Rogers Place, the contemporary JW (handily connected to the arena by enclosed walkway) has a youthful, energetic vibe. (Yes, those handsomely-appointed young men are likely to be visiting NHLers and that celebrity songster lookalike may just be the real McGraw — hotel management is notoriously protective of famous guests, but given the proximity…) The spacious lobby, replete with polished blue marble floors that resemble ice, is lively by night with guests and visitors hitting the main-floor Lobby Bar and/or fine-dining options Kindred Food + Drink and steakhouse Braven, all run by famed Canadian restaurateurs Oliver & Bonacini. The Marriott’s 346 tech-integrated guestrooms are equally fresh and modern.