$50–100

The three-story West Harvest Inn (17803 Stony Plain Rd., 780/484-8000 or 888/882-9378, www.westharvest.ca, $99 s or d) has 160 well-appointed air-conditioned rooms and a shuttle to West Edmonton Mall.

$100–150

The pick within a cluster of choices along Stony Plain Road, a five-minute drive from the mall, is the Sandman Hotel West Edmonton (17635 Stony Plain Rd., 780/483-1385 or 800/726-3626, www.sandman.ca, $139–169 s or d). The rooms are handsomely appointed in sharp tones and comfortable furnishings. The central atrium holds a pool and restaurant—a pleasant respite from the busy road out front.

Over $200

West Edmonton Mall Inn (17504 90th Ave., 780/444-9378 or 800/737-3783, www.westedmontonmall.com, $169 s, $189 d) lies across the road from its namesake. It features 88 well-appointed rooms, each with two comfortable beds, a coffeemaker, and a Sony PlayStation. Check the website for packages that include mall activities.

Within West Edmonton Mall is the 355-room Fantasyland Hotel (17700 87th Ave., 780/444-3000 or 800/737-3783, www.fantasylandhotel.com, $249–449 s or d), famous for elaborately themed rooms that are way over the top. The hotel has over 100 themed rooms, as well as more than 200 regular rooms and a few extremely spacious Executive Suites with jetted tubs, and three restaurants. But it’s the themed rooms that this hotel is known for. No catching a cab back to your hotel after a day of shopping here—just ride the elevator to the room of your wildest fantasy.

The choice is yours—Hollywood, Roman, Polynesian, Victorian, African, Arabian, Igloo, Waterpark, Western, Canadian Rail, or Truck (where you can slumber in the bed of a real pickup truck). Each theme is carried out in minute detail. The Polynesian room fantasy, for example, begins as you walk along a hallway lined with murals depicting a tropical beach, floored with grass matting. You’ll walk through a grove of palm trees before reaching your room. In the colorful room, an enormous hot tub is nestled in a rocky grotto, and the bed is shaped like a warrior’s catamaran, with a sail as the headboard.

© Andrew Hempstead, from Moon Western Canada, 3rd Edition