The enthusiastic watch parties for the Edmonton Oilers’ playoff games, which took place in the ICE District plaza, brought $281 million in total economic impact during the spring of 2024. (Photo courtesy of Explore Edmonton)
It’s minus-11 outside but I leave my hotel room without a coat, scarf, or gloves. I could be in a T-shirt if I wanted. I’m headed to Rogers Place to see Bruce Springsteen and the legendary E Street Band perform in the Alberta capital for the first time since 2003. Back then they would have played in the old Northlands Coliseum, where Wayne Gretzky made magic in the 1980s but by the turn of the 21st century the Oilers were struggling and the city lacked a focus for its tourism initiatives. That has changed dramatically in recent years with the ICE District — the incredible new neighbourhood that has transformed Edmonton and how people experience it.
Most fantastically is the idea that you can actually visit the city for a short stay and be warmer than in Calgary or even Vancouver. That’s largely because of the JW Marriott Edmonton ICE District, a mammoth hotel that feels like a small urban enclave with vast amenities, most notably its attachment to Rogers Place via an above-ground covered walkway that makes warmth possible when the temperatures drop below comprehension for most of us.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band rocked Rogers Place in Edmonton on November 18, 2024. (Adrian Brijbassi photo for Vacay.ca)
You can walk to the show or an Oilers game, return to the hotel and enjoy one of a number of outstanding drinking and dining establishments. Something similar can be found at Bar Henry, which is not part of the hotel but is within the ICE District. As such, hotel guests can access it during most hours without venturing into the cold — and if you were to go out late at night you would only need to be outside for mere seconds before entering into the cozy feels of the bar. Like Rogers Place, Bar Henry is also accessible from the JW Marriott Edmonton via the PedWay — a covered route, similar in purpose to Toronto’s PATH network — that connects to malls, hotels, and attractions. You can enter Bar Henry through the opulent Henry Singer menswear store that specializes in boutique Italian brands and is worthy of a browsing session in itself. Bar Henry, which is conceptualized by Edmonton culinary master Daniel Costa, complements the store with an Italian sensibility of its own.
Bar Henry serves cocktails inspired by Northern Italy, including a Cava-based spritz (left) and Portofino, made with rum and Brancamenta, which tastes like a minty amaro. (Adrian Brijbassi photo for Vacay.ca)
After I’ve sipped on a cocktail and savoured some bites on its menu, I commented to beverage director Camilo Torres that I felt like I might be in Milan.
“That’s the biggest compliment we can have. People come in here and say, ‘I don’t know where I am.’ It just doesn’t feel like Edmonton,” Torres says, adding that opening the new bar was a conscious decision to be part of the feverishness of the neighbourhood. “Ever since the new arena opened this part of downtown has been growing by aggregation. Incrementally, new things have been added and we wanted to be involved. It’s an exciting area to be part of; it’s brought a re-birth of downtown.”
Guests enter Alchemy through a bookcase and walk into a stylish cocktail lounge. (Photo courtesy of JW Marriott Edmonton ICE District)
Torres credits the JW Marriott and its excellent restaurants for creating a culture of connoisseurship in the ICE District. Braven, the flagship restaurant, will challenge any steakhouse in the country. It serves massive butcher’s cuts of tomahawks, porterhouses (38 ounces) and Chateaubriand (20 ounces), along with mashed potatoes and grilled vegetables, in a decadent dinner platter that can feed a foursome. All in an elegant and cavernous dining hall with a wine and cocktail list worthy of a five-star hotel. On the hotel’s fifth floor is another contemporary cocktail experience, Alchemy. A swanky space that jets you in an instant to London’s Soho district or midtown Manhattan, Alchemy delivers a drinks menu that has all the touches of craftsmanship — including changeover. The food and drinks are shuffled out regularly to keep the team’s creativity flowing. But the stylishness never vanishes. It’s a sleek space with boldly colourful lounge chairs, an elegant bar, and a speakeasy vibe. I tried one drink — the Pirate Punch, made with 15-year-old El Dorado rum, Campari, Pedro Ximénez wine, a touch of pineapple, and lime— and found it to be a new favourite.
As with Braven, Alchemy is run by Toronto’s renowned Oliver and Bonacini, and benefits from the cornucopia of ingredients easily sourced in Alberta and adjacent British Columbia. The hotel also includes Kindred, an Italian eatery that turns out crowd-pleasing pizzas and pastas, and the Lobby Bar, a large space that serves drinks and light bites.
At Braven, butcher’s cuts are the specialty. Here, a 20-ounce serving of Chateaubriand is delivered on a platter with broccolini and mashed potatoes. (Adrian Brijbassi photo for Vacay.ca)
As much as you’ll find high-end culinary experiences in the ICE District, there’s also the gigantic crowd magnet called the Canadian Icehouse that dominates the area. Don’t let the sports-bar looks fool you — the place is a 30,000-square-foot wonder and you have to step in to learn about its quirks and novelties.
The Icehouse blends frat-boy features (video-game stations, golf simulator, batting cages) with European touches (regulars can purchase their own beer stein for use in the bar) and some panache (the largest rooftop patio in Western Canada). For pub food, it is very good, and harkens to the small-business mentality that permeates the Canadian Icehouse and Canadian Brewhouse brand.
The Canadian Icehouse in Edmonton includes access to the upstairs Banquet with a bowling alley, Price Is Right-style spinning wheel, and inviting bar. (Adrian Brijbassi photo for Vacay.ca)
Like Torres, Pat Kehdy, the regional sales director for Canadian Icehouse, has witnessed life in his city change dramatically since the neighbourhood started in 2016 with the opening of Rogers Place, and exploding in interest and notoriety when the JW Marriott Edmonton launched in 2019.
“The ICE District is huge for us and for Edmonton. I feel like if they didn’t have the ICE District and just have the Oilers’ games and some concerts, you would just see people come in for the events and leave. But it’s a playoff atmosphere here, even for the recent shows with Zach Bryan and Bruce Springsteen. All you see is floods of people walking into downtown and you wouldn’t see that in the past,” Kehdy notes. “Now you can have a mini-pub crawl in the four blocks around the arena and you could hit up 10 spots if you wanted. Before this area, I was never downtown and I could speak for a lot of our guests here who would say the same thing.”
The rooftop patio at the Canadian Icehouse can fit up to 400 people — and it’s often at capacity for big events. (Photo courtesy of the Canadian Icehouse)
Those sentiments exemplify why the ICE District is one of the most successful urban projects in Canada this century. It not only has completely changed the city’s downtown and boosted civic pride, it has been a boon for tourism. It averages two million visitors per year, according to Explore Edmonton, the city’s tourism agency. The Katz Group has already made money on its $2 billion investment in the ICE District. So far, the combined total of visitor, capital, and operational spending attributed to the area has totalled an estimated $3.2 billion — and that’s just in Phase 1. The next phase will add another 12 acres of development in downtown Edmonton. From April to June 2024 alone, Edmonton saw $281 million in total economic impact because of the Oilers’ playoff run that took the team to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. During that period, 600,000 residents and visitors spent time in the ICE District.
The heated pool is one of the many luxurious amenities guests can take advantage of at the JW Marriott Edmonton ICE District. (Photo courtesy of JW Marriott Edmonton ICE District)
At the heart of it is the arena and the luxe hotel — a shining star that is used plenty by locals. The gym, called Archetype, is a new wonder of Canada. At 20,000 square feet, it is the largest hotel gym in the country. Designed by a former trainer for the Oilers, it is a world-class athletic facility that includes high-performance training sessions and the equipment needed for them. There are classes for spin, yoga, barre, boxing, and more. Leisure guests should book a 20-minute session in the unique Somadome Meditation Pod that uses light, energy, and sound therapy to foster mental acuity and positive thinking. While some luxury hotel experiences give off the feel that they are strictly for out-of-towners, the JW Marriott Edmonton is keen to encourage local involvement. Many of the clients at Archetype are Edmonton residents with memberships who take advantage of the state-of-the-art apparatus.
The old saying in tourism is that if something is good for the locals, it will be good for the visitors, too. The ICE District is emblematic of that truism. In reimagining the downtown for its community, the city and developers have engineered a destination that seems very much like it is in the throes of a hot streak.
MORE ABOUT EDMONTON’S ICE DISTRICT
Among the highlights of the ICE District is the open-air Neon Sign museum that celebrates Edmonton’s history. (Dan Schykulski photo)
Where to Stay: JW Marriott Edmonton ICE District is the place to stay in the city. Room Rates: Nightly stays can vary greatly depending on the event schedule of Rogers Place. A weekend night in January costs as little as $227, based on a recent search of the hotel’s booking engine.
Where to Dine: The menu at Braven is pricey but utterly worth it. The Chateaubriand ($200 for a 20-ounce serving, with potatoes and grilled vegetables) is buttery and the roasted carrots are brilliant. Alchemy on the fifth floor of the JW Marriott Edmonton ICE District is a cocktail lover’s dream with a late-night lounge vibe and trend-setting menu. Bar Henry whisks you to Northern Italy in an instant. It doubles as a coffee bar, serving excellent cortados, and a wine and cocktail hot spot with divine small plates like the Millie Panino ($19), a decadent grilled-cheese sandwich made with black truffle pecorino and honey. The Canadian Icehouse serves Montreal smoked meat sandwiches ($21.99 each) that taste like the authentic thing and other well-executed pub fare. Lots of Alberta craft beer is on tap, too.
The donuts menu at newly opened Fawkes changes every two weeks. So you may not see this cranberry-orange flavour when you arrive, but no doubt there will be something equally scrumptious in its place. (Adrian Brijbassi photo for Vacay.ca)
Opened in November, Fawkes Coffee is one of the newest additions to the Edmonton dining scene. It serves extravagant vegan donuts and baked treats, along with excellent gourmet coffees. It’s not an official part of the ICE District but it is only a five-minute walk away.
Watch for more coverage of Edmonton’s culinary scene on Vacay.ca.
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Note: Vacay.ca Managing Editor Adrian Brijbassi was hosted by JW Marriott ICE District Edmonton and received support from Explore Edmonton for the production of this article. No business or agency reviewed the article before it was published.
