Well points is a different issue. Fairfield is 7.5k pts on average; dates at 5k are those of low occupancy rather than the norm. It comes down to how you are using your points. Personally I tend to use them in category 8 hotels in blocks of 5 nights, not cat 1 hotels for one night only so I would not consider Fairfield even if it's 5k, but I can see where it could be good value to some folks, no doubt about it.

I was comparing cash rates in my review above, not points. Scanning various dates, Fairfield seems to be in the range 100-150 CAD. At Ren rates can spike on random dates and I might not stay there when it's 250 CAD or more, but there are plenty of dates below 200 CAD, and if booked a few months in advance, almost every day is below 150 CAD. Personally I booked one month in advance and paid 140 CAD. Even if Fairfield was at the bottom of the range that day, there is no doubt that I would pay 40 CAD more for Ren. The better location, better room, I would assume better breakfast, plus you get a lounge with happy hour, most likely better service, etc. this is all worth something.

In other cities the hotel connected to the terminal is well over 100 CAD more expensive than alternatives on a regular basis. In YEG there are some dates Ren is less than 10 CAD more than FI. The choice would be a no brainer.

To answer your other question, I do not think parking is free although I did not use it. My purpose of staying there was specifically to save one day of car rental.