A river runs through it. Well, two, actually. Downtown Winnipeg is where the Red and Assiniboine rivers converge, and it's also where nature's best meets urban cool by way of the Inn at the Forks.
Winnipeg's first boutique hotel opened in June last year, and has been an instant hit owing to its prime location, hip aesthetics, meeting rooms, ballrooms, restaurant, bar and luxury spa.
It's exactly what Winnipeg was waiting for: A way to forget about cold-weather car hook-ups, and instead start dreaming about hot-stone massages.
Design
The glass frontage and cantilevered steel awning is flanked by dark slate and light Manitoba Tyndall stone. It has a modern Mike Brady-esque mien, while the cobblestone drive is in keeping with the aesthetics of The Forks National Historical site that surrounds. The check-in area is sleek marble, glass and mosaic tile work, while the loungy lobby is done up in natural neutrals, more Tyndall, a two-way fireplace and loads of extra-large chocolaty club chairs. It's an instant warm welcome.
Delving deeper into the main floor, the Current restaurant and lounge have plush chairs and blonde wood floors, the bar is backlit and there are modern graphics throughout. Wraparound floor-to-ceiling windows add light and action to the scene.
The Riverstone Spa is also in keeping with the tributary theme, both in name and design. River stones accent the walkway that leads to the spa's glass doors, and once inside it's more slate and blonde wood perked up with citrus-green accents, waterfalls, fireplaces and heated floors. The 10 treatment rooms (including one for couples) have been operating at full tilt since opening, offering everything from remineralizing salt baths to purifying detox facials.
Rooms
The idea here is casual luxury, and the hotel's 115 standard rooms and suites pull this off via clean lines and colourful prints and paintings by local artists. Not too big and not too small, there are deep sage walls, tone-on-tone striped curtains and modern graphic carpeting. The desk, armoire (no closets) and bedside tables are also blonde wood with dark accents, but oddly, they jet out too far, taking up valuable room space. It's as if the contractor for the built-ins fell through, so they hightailed it to Ikea instead.
Bathrooms are small but serviceable, with focal-point vanity tops that are a thick wedge of green bubble glass. Rooms come replete with all of your boutique-business hotel necessities, including wired and wireless high-speed Internet access, in-room coffee, a privacy doorbell and a newspaper in the morning.
Some of the premium rooms feature fireplaces and washrooms finished in slate, walk-in rain showers and whirlpool tubs. The Waterfront Suite garners panoramic views of the downtown skyline.
Ambiance
The wind may be bending trees horizontal outside, but it's warm and cozy in here.
Clientele
A typical weekend of R & R at the inn sees amorous couples in the restaurant, a wedding party loading into limos, out-of-towners sporting designer eyewear at the bar, a nurse school's 25th reunion in a ballroom, and a group of 10 bridesmaids indulging at the spa.
Service
Helpful enough, but not as friendly as one would expect of that winning Winnipeg hospitality. Then again, this is a boutique hotel, where cold is cool.
Food and drink
The Current Restaurant & Lounge offers jazzy tunes, a bartender shaking martinis, an inviting vibe and a menu featuring stylish contemporary cuisine for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Some of the local delicacies include pickerel cheeks fried in panko crumbs with a caper-lime remoulade, a refreshing salad of hand-picked hermitage greens, basil leaves, watermelon bruinois and lemon oil, and a napoleon-like stack of portobello and cremini mushrooms with braised spinach, roasted red peppers, wild rice polenta and beet syrup. Wash it all down with a locally brewed Fort Garry Ale.
Things to do
Full of shops, restaurants and galleries, The Forks is basically a bull's-eye in the centre of Winnipeg's bustling downtown riverfront area, and by staying at the Inn at the Forks you're less than a half-hour walk to most of the attractions found in Winnipeg's downtown core. Many of the city's river walk paths begin at The Forks, and come winter it's a starting point for two kilometres of skating trails on the Red and Assiniboine Rivers. Other than that, you've got the Manitoba Children's Museum just across the parking lot, CanWest Global Park (baseball) is a five-minute walk away, and Union Station (Via Rail) is about three minutes on foot. The French Quarter is 10 minutes distant, as is the Winnipeg Convention Centre and St. Boniface Museum. In addition, the Exchange District, Osborne Village, and Portage Place are all 15- to 20-minute strolls away.
Bottom line
This is a gorgeously inviting spot with all of the modern-day amenities several other Canadian cities have taken for granted over the past few years at their own boutique hotels. Winnipeg, welcome to the club.
Information
Inn at the Forks: 75 Forks Market Rd.; http://www.innforks.com; 1-877-377-4100. Standard rooms start at $129 a night.