Outside, the hotel’s neighbourhood is improving; inside, many of the renovated rooms offer views of the Halifax Harbour through big windows that actually open.
WESTIN NOVA SCOTIAN 1181 Hollis St., Halifax; 902-421-1000; www.thewestinnovascotian.com. 310 rooms from $209; 15 suites from $395.
Once upon a time, guests who checked into this former railway hotel received a warm reception from ladies of the night near the front desk. But since Westin bought the dilapidated property and did a series of renovations, the crowd changed - along with outmoded plumbing and faded wallpaper - to make room for an entirely different sort of welcome.
The lobby now sparkles with marble pillars and Victorian stained glass windows, making the Westin Nova Scotian a linchpin of change in the city's previously neglected south end. Abandoned cargo warehouses located behind the hotel and overlooking Halifax Harbour have been reclaimed and renovated by artists and film studios who feel comfortable joining the neighbourhood since the Westin moved in. The biggest indicator of area gentrification is Nova Scotia Power Corp.'s decision to relocate its headquarters to a new $53-million building, scheduled to open next year to the rear of the hotel. Look for a spate of new restaurants and cafés to follow as the pier gets more crowded by day.
Design With its origins as a CN Rail hotel, the 11-storey brown brick modernist building was influenced by the streamlining effects of industrial design current at the time it was built in 1930. The railway station is still next door. But the facelift on the hotel's interior is likely to make guests want to stay put. Almost all the windows afford views of historic Halifax Harbour or Cornwallis Park at the front. They also open, making this rather solid-looking hotel feel light, bright and suffused with sea air.
Rooms A $13-million renovation, completed last year, upgraded all 310 rooms with modern-style furniture, plush carpeting, 32-inch LCD televisions and all-new bathrooms. Beds are firm and comfortable (a Westin hallmark) with crisp 250-thread-count linens and more down-filled pillows than you need. Featuring dark wood and strong lines, furnishings hide accessories like the TV and the mini-bar behind a modern, chic façade.
Amenities Kids of all ages will enjoy the Wii/X-Box Lounge, located just inside the lobby, with two large-screen televisions, and access to Wii and X-Box machines for playing a variety of games. An on-site fitness centre features an indoor pool, whirlpool and exercise facilities, including Life Fitness treadmills, bikes, elliptical and step machines with built-in TV monitors, complemented by an outdoor tennis court.
Service Maritimers are known for their hospitality, and here it's service with a smile, and then some. For instance, Elias Kiffel, the hotel's on-call limo driver, instantly makes you feel at home in the city by turning a routine drive in from the airport into a guided city tour - complete with complimentary beverages and your own choice of music from a selection of CDs - that takes in the sights, the best new restaurants and bars and shopping streets around Spring Garden, at no extra cost. Not to be outdone, the full-time concierge service located in the hotel lobby is as capable of storing guests' kayaks (while giving their own tips as to the best waterways in Halifax to explore) as giving up their own desks for those needing to shoot off an emergency e-mail.
Food Eating inside the hotel is easy and convenient, with 24-hour room service and the presence of Elements Restaurant and EVE Lounge, a popular coffee shop by day, a candle-lit cocktail bar by night, both in the hotel lobby. While the emphasis is on seafood (this is Nova Scotia, after all), the menu is eclectic and multicultural: Crab cakes and steamed mussels share the menu with Caribbean pork curry and Indian chicken on basmati rice.
Things get even more cosmopolitan at EVE's weeknight social event, Unwind, where there's live music and interactive culinary activities such as wine-tasting evenings hosted by hotel sommelier Jonathan Wilson.
Verdict The provenance and stateliness of a CN Rail hotel, with the latest amenities and luxuries to make it feel younger than its years.