Hotel Hilton Garden Inn West Edmonton (Edmonton, Canada)

Even seasoned travellers are moved to comment on how welcome each employee makes them feel. The well-drilled workforce will go the extra mile to make you feel at home, whether it be helping with luggage, offering tourist tips or simply stopping for to ask how you are.

Perhaps the biggest surprise in store for first-time visitors is the sublime standard of the in-house restaurant. Small, but rarely oversubscribed, the intimate space is the perfect place to unwind while speciality chefs prepare a mouth-watering meal. Attentive service staff add further to the excellence experienced.

Though small, the salt-water swimming pool is rarely full, and allows adults to swim lengths at quiet times. Pool toys are hugely popular with the kids, and in the event of it being overrun with little ones, parents appreciate being able to relax in the heated hot tub.

One recurrent gripe of reviewers pertains to unpleasant smells that occasionally pervade some guestrooms. While hard-working housekeepers generally ensure spotless living spaces, musty odours still annoy some guests with higher expectations, while strong smells of cigarette smoke linger in some rooms.

From time to time, a guest will have a poor night's sleep on account of noise from an old air-con unit or an overly-firm mattress, or a billing blunder will blight an otherwise great stay, but such incidences are rare and not indicative of the excellence enjoyed by most.