Delta Hotels by Marriott Dartmouth

Delta Hotels by Marriott Dartmouth suits divers who prefer a well-equipped base to a postcard resort. The setting is urban and functional, with modern rooms, reliable places to eat, a proper fitness and wellness centre, and enough space to recover without having to make a project of the evening.

You can cool down in the room, put on the bathrobe, open Netflix and leave the day's exertions where they belong: somewhere outside the door. Free WiFi, air conditioning and complimentary bottled water cover the small practical matters that become rather more important when you are tired, hungry and carrying the sort of post-dive appetite that laughs at a light snack.

The atmosphere leans towards business hotel rather than seaside hideaway. That is the honest reading of the address, and it will suit you if convenience, indoor facilities and easy access matter more than stepping straight from your room onto a beach.

The hotel sits at 240 Brownlow Avenue in Dartmouth, at the entrance to Burnside Business Park, within the Halifax area of Nova Scotia. You are on the Dartmouth side of the harbour rather than in the historic centre of Halifax, with roads and car access doing most of the useful work.

Mic Mac Mall and Dartmouth Crossing are each about 5 minutes away by car, which gives you shopping and everyday services close at hand. Halifax railway station is about 6 miles away by road, while the waterfront, the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic and Halifax Citadel are roughly 5 miles away by car. The city is within reach, but this is not a hotel for wandering out of the front door into an old harbour quarter.

Birch Cove Beach is about 3.6 miles away by car, and Maynard Lake Beach about 4.9 miles. Frenchman Lake is around 1,800 feet away. For a quieter green break, Shubie Park is about 5 miles away by road; Halifax Public Gardens and the Halifax Waterfront Boardwalk are both around 5 to 6 miles away.

The rooms are designed to make the return from a long day uncomplicated. Air conditioning helps you cool down, while heating covers the other side of Nova Scotia's weather. A mini-fridge gives you somewhere to keep bottled water cold, and the in-room coffee and Tazo tea are useful before the first conversation of the morning has properly started.

For two people, the King Guest Room keeps things straightforward, with a super-king bed and a seating area. If you are travelling with family or sharing with fellow divers, the Double Queen Room offers two large beds and room for up to four guests. Interconnecting rooms are available, which is a practical option when you want company nearby without turning one room into a storage puzzle.

The King Suite gives you more breathing room, with a separate seating area and a private bathroom. Whichever category you choose, the details are aimed at easy evenings: an upscale shower, towels, toiletries, a hairdryer, a bathrobe, a desk and a flat-screen television with cable channels and Netflix. The room is non-smoking, and a wardrobe keeps the day's clothing out of the way while you concentrate on dinner.

Food is available without leaving the building. The main restaurant serves chef-prepared dinner, and the Pitch and Pivot Social Room gives you a place to settle with a craft beer once the serious business of the day is over. It is the sort of arrangement that works well when you have no wish to get back in the car merely to find something hot to eat.

The sommelier can choose a wine pairing for dinner, while special-diet menus are available on request. Room service is also available, so you can eat in private when the thought of conversation feels more demanding than the dive itself. One bar is enough here: the useful choice is between a drink in the social room, dinner at the restaurant or an early night upstairs.

Breakfast comes in three practical forms: continental, buffet and breakfast to go. Starbucks coffee and Grab & Go food are available in the lobby for mornings when your departure time has beaten your appetite into submission. A snack bar adds another quick option during the day.

The fitness and wellness centre is the main reason to stay in rather than head back into the city. There is an indoor pool, a hot tub, a sauna and a fitness centre, giving you several ways to loosen up after travel or a demanding day. Sun loungers and beach chairs provide somewhere to stop pretending that recovery requires effort.

The 108-foot water slide and splashpad give the leisure facilities a distinctly family-friendly side. If you are travelling with children, that changes the rhythm of the hotel considerably; if you are travelling as a couple, you can simply choose the hot tub and leave the water-slide theatrics to somebody else.

For a quieter outing, Frenchman Lake is around 1,800 feet away, while Shubie Park is about 5 miles by road. The hotel also puts you within easy reach of Halifax's museums, historic sites and waterfront, including the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, Halifax Citadel and Halifax Public Gardens. A short drive gives you more to do than the immediate business-park surroundings suggest.

Halifax Stanfield International Airport is about 13.5 miles away by road, with the hotel description putting the drive at roughly 15 minutes. The hotel has free on-site parking, so arriving by hire car or your own vehicle is simple. The front desk operates around the clock, and an ATM, luggage storage, room service and dry cleaning add useful support for an arrival or departure day.

Check-in starts at 3pm and check-out runs until noon. You need photo identification and a credit card at check-in, and the minimum check-in age is 19. A refundable damage deposit is collected by credit card on arrival and returned after the property has been inspected; keep that in mind when planning the final stage of your trip.

Children of any age are welcome. A cot can be requested for children aged 0 to 2, while extra beds are not available. Pets are allowed, with a maximum permitted weight of 20 pounds and one pet per room; a pet-friendly room must be arranged with the hotel. Guests under 18 can check in only with a parent or official guardian.

The hotel website is available in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Russian, Chinese and Japanese. That tells you the property is set up for an international audience online, but no hotel staff language is supplied here, so the website languages should not be read as a promise about conversations at reception.

No environmental certification or specific sustainability programme is attached to this hotel information. The practical points are elsewhere: free parking, air conditioning, heating and the usual full-service hotel setup. For an ecological policy, you will need to ask the hotel directly before booking.