Today was departure day and for us we went from Hawaii via Canada back to Frankfurt. Two weeks of island hopping are over and we fly home with great memories like the Lava Hike on Big Island, the Koko Crater Railway Trail on Oahu or the sunrise on the Haleakala on Maui. But before we went home, we had a short stopover at the Calgary Airport Marriott In-Terminal Hotel.
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Our flight from Kahului via Calgary to Frankfurt
After returning our rental car to Alamo at the airport and being taken by shuttle bus to the terminal, we went to Air Canada check-in. We had a return ticket from Maui via Calgary via Frankfurt to Amsterdam. Since we live near Frankfurt, it would not have made sense for us to fly from Calgary first to Frankfurt, then on to Amsterdam and then again with a separate flight back to Frankfurt.
So our wish was to get off directly in Frankfurt and let the flight Frankfurt-Amsterdam expire. When we dropped off our luggage at the counter in Maui, however, it was unfortunately said that they checked the luggage automatically to Amsterdam, just as we had booked it. Also the hint that we need our luggage in Frankfurt did not interest the ladies at the check-in of Air Canada at Maui airport. This is because almost all employees at Check-in at Maui Airport are part of Hawaiian Airlines (and not Air Canada) and therefore are not allowed to make any changes to the ticket or baggage. Even after we had called Air Canada customer service at the airport and we were confirmed that we can of course already get our luggage in Frankfurt, the ladies were no longer interested in the check-in. Even when we gave them Air Canada’s customer service on the phone, they didn’t want to change that. So on our suitcase was the final destination Amsterdam 🙁
At 8 p.m. our plane went with Air Canada Rouge to Calgary,where we landed around 5 a.m. local time.
Our return flight with Air Canada Rouge
Entry to Canada
Since we had a stopover of about 12 hours in Calgary, we booked a hotel here directly in the terminal. However, this also meant that we had to check passports and customs in the normal way and also obtain an appropriate electronic entry permit in advance. But this is relatively easy for Canada, because as a German you can simply get a so-called eTA entry permit online. For more information on eTA in Canada, see this article.
But since we also had our “suitcase problem”, we visited Air Canada’s customer service at the airport in Calgary and we were really helped here. The employee told us that we have the right to get our suitcases at every airport of our trip. Our suitcases (which were now in transit during our 12-hour stay in Calgary) were then fished out and even taken to the room we had purchased at Calgary Airport. This is a service!
At the later check-in to Frankfurt we were able to indicate that we would like to have our luggage already in Frankfurt. It was absolutely no problem here. So the service of Air Canada was really very good and saved us a lot of time and nerves on our last day of vacation.
The Calgary Airport Marriott In-Terminal Hotel
For our 12-hour stopover in Calgary, we were looking for a hotel in the immediate vicinity of the airport and found a great one: The Calgary Airport Marriott In-Terminal Hotel is located directly in the terminal (level arrival) of Calgary International Airport (YYC) and is therefore super convenient and quick to reach before or after departure. From immigration and baggage claim, it takes less than 5 minutes to get to the hotel entrance.
The hotel has 303 modern rooms equipped with 49″ flat-screen TVs, fast WiFi access, iPod docking stations, mini fridge, seating area, desk and safe. The hotel also has a restaurant, an indoor pool and a gym.
Our room at Concierge Level
Our room 715 in the concierge level had floor-to-ceiling soundproof windows that offer stunning views of the Canadian Rocky Mountains and the runway of Calgary Airport. Far on the horizon you could even see the Calgary skyline. We really liked the room – a real “well-being room” with a very comfortable, large bed, a generously designed bathroom with a rain shower and various toiletries as well as a magnificent view. We really didn’t miss anything here, so we can definitely recommend the hotel for a stopover!
We had requested this room as a so-called Day Use Room. Here you do not pay the whole room price, but only half the room price from the website. This is of course ideal if you want to get fresh for a few hours between two flights or just lie down. A Day User Room can be booked by contacting the hotel directly.
Our room at Calgary Airport Marriott In-Terminal Hotel
The Club Lounge
If you have a room on the concierge level, you also have access to the M Club Lounge with complimentary breakfast, small snacks, desserts, fresh fruit, sweets and many soft drinks cold and hot drinks. So you feel completely cared for 🙂
The Concierge Lounge at Calgary Airport Marriott In-Terminal Hotel
After breakfast we lay down to sleep for a short time and were then able to take the 9-hour onward flight to Frankfurt in a relaxed and freshly showered way.