Westin hotel in the downtown area is nice and reasonably priced if you can find a package for the dates you are staying. Best area to stay is near the Eau Claire market which is central and has some good value eateries nearby. Plenty of coffee shops and then there are Tim Horton's donuts! Good shopping in the central area; main department store is The Bay. There a lot of out of town malls and, if venturing out of the central area get an all day transportation ticket; cheap and valid on all forms of transport though trams in the central area are free.

Thanks for that

Should have added that the Chinook Center is probably the best mall for shopping. Nice movie thatres there too including an Imax. Take the tram to Chinook and follow the crowd over the main road. The Saddledack stadium where they hol.d the stampede is also worth a look as is the zoo....if you are in to that kind of thing. The Keg is also a good place for steaks; several locations in Calgary. Enjoy!