Over the holidays last month we found ourselves crossing the border into Canada for a day and heading up to the bitter cold city of Calgary. While best known for the Calgary Stampede our trip took us there to check out a recently renovated designer boutique hotel. Hotel Arts started out as a Holiday Inn, but has been transformed into one of the hippest hotels north of the border. Filled with original contemporary art and each room outfitted with chocolate expresso modern decor the hotel has a nice ambiance. Their focus on good food is just as strong as their focus on good design, and the hotel houses one of the top ten restaurants in Canada, the Saint Germain. We really did eat some amazing food while we were there. Due to the -10 degree temperatures we missed out on the outdoor pool, but we did put our in room jacuzzi through it's paces. While all this sounds very extravagant and expensive I was amazed at comparatively how affordable it was. Room prices start at around $260 canadian ($200 USD) which compared to the $120 stay in a La Quinta in Great Falls Montana made Hotel Arts seem like the bargain of the century.

Check out some pictures I snapped after the jump.

Also do you know of any other "Modern" hotels? I'd love to hear about them....