6000 Mile EV Road Trip - Stay 12
Banff, Alberta | July 6-7, 2024
Written by John Martinson
We departed the Westin Calgary after charging for 2 nights on a Level 1 charger in the hotel’s garage. It was all we needed to get to the next Tesla Supercharger in Canmore (we left a Tesla cache there). Before leaving the area, we stopped for breakfast to visit friends from Scottsdale who also have a home in Calgary and then were off to Canmore, re-entering the Canadian Rockies with its immense mountains and winding rivers. Canmore has two Tesla Superchargers, a 150kW station accessible to non-Teslas and a 250kW inaccessible to non-Teslas. We charged fully at the 150kW and drove the short 74 miles to the Moxy Banff hotel, where we again plugged into an available L1 charger in the car park. The Moxy has six L2 chargers (2 in each parking area) and a bank of L1 chargers. We opted for the L1 because that was all we needed to get to our next destination the following day.
Since we arrived around 1:00 PM, our rooms were not yet ready, so we opted to walk a mile or so down Banff Avenue to Magpie & Stump Mexican Restaurant + Bar, a recommendation from the Moxy’s desk clerk. The street was active and replete with shops and tourists. We chose to have lunch on the roof patio, which had a DJ playing a mix of familiar music with an integrated beat that kept the vibe going throughout the meal. The cocktails and food were excellent. We almost didn’t want to leave, but we walked back to the Moxy, arriving around 4:30 PM to get our rooms.
The Moxy Banff is no ordinary hotel. Everything is centered around a large oval bar and broad, sweeping lounge with a variety of unique spaces, and the design is mid-20th Century Modern. Hotel check-in happens at one end of the bar where a neon sign denotes “CHECKIN” in red neon light and an inverted polar wearing black headphones is suspended from the ceiling. Check-in amenities are pretzels and gummy worms in large glass jars at the counter and each guest is given a poker chip token for a free drink (a delightful concoction of soda water, gin, and a special blend of fruit “essence”). Seating surrounds the exterior of the bar and the interior provides bar equipment including a large espresso machine and space for the many barkeeps. Menus for cocktails and food are easily accessible and there is ample lounge seating everywhere, including outdoors (with a pool, various seating configurations, and fire pits). A pool party with DJ was well underway when we arrived to check in. Unique spaces in the interior lounge area include suspended egg chairs, game consoles, computer screens, mixed directional couches, fireplaces, conversation clusters, and an open bike storage closet. Mood music was everywhere including the hallways, elevators and rest rooms. The hotel’s restaurant is a ‘60s VW Microbus split open to order all-day meals for guests to enjoy throughout the lobby lounge, and there is a grab n’ go nearby.
The bar & lounge area is an active party area nearly every day of the week. A monthly calendar displayed at the check-in counter lists all of the events: Live #atTheMoxy. For the night we stayed there, it was an “Alpine Drag Bingo” with entertainers Karla Marx and Holtasoli from 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM (actually ran later). Much of the audience is local. Hard to believe Moxy is a Marriott Bonvoy chain. It was a blast!
The guest rooms are non-traditional. There are clothing hooks lined up along one wall and the beds are aligned end-to-end one the opposite wall, rather than side-by-side. This was reminiscent of “camp” bedrooms. The bathroom sink is in the hallway near the front door, and the bathroom which has a mottled glass sliding door, contains the toilet and shower. Very comfortable room! Other décor of note: the hallway featured an awesome ‘60s carpet design that was used on the floor and half of the walls. We all thoroughly enjoyed our time in Banff!
