# Where to Stay in Banff National Park Area



## pointhound (Feb 1, 2006)

We plan to spend a few days at a timeshare in Fairmont Hot Springs, BC in the Summer and would like to spend another few days renting at a lodge or hotel in Banff National Park.   We are a family of five.  We do not want to spend crazy money on the accommodations, but would be willing to spend a little more for a nice location and a better room/unit.   Can anyone suggest a location?  Thanks, Pointhound


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## barto (Feb 1, 2006)

Hmmm...summer, eh?  Not 'crazy money'...?  Could be a little tough, depending on your definition of crazy money...  

Nicer places to consider:  Emerald Lake Lodge, access right at Field, B.C., with a short-ish drive to the lake and the lodge.  Very nice, canoe rentals & lovely walks, beautiful-looking accomodations, nice-looking restaurants.  

Lake Louise has some nice places, too, but of course summer is peak season for accomodations.  Post Hotel is an historic building, and there's always Chateau Lake Louise (but they're probably in the "crazy money" category).

Banff...?  Lots of possibilities here.  We drove up to Hidden Ridge Chalets and were very impressed by the views from a number of the units.  This is on Tunnel Mountain Road - lots of other places there like Douglas Fir resort (waterslide!) and many more.

Canmore also will give you lots of choice and probably a little bit cheaper, but that's just on the other side of the Banff National Park (coming from Fairmont) so you might not like to go that far.

Any more specifics on your price range & such?

Bart


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## Dave M (Feb 1, 2006)

Well....

If price is no object, reserve the Queen's Suite in the Chateau Lake Louise Hotel. It has two floors, three balconies, a view to die for and is as big as a 2BR timeshare.

If you do stay at that hotel in any room with a lake view, ask for a "Sunrise Call". If the sun will be out at sunrise (versus a cloudy morning), you'll get a wake-up call about 10 minutes before sunrise. Have your camera ready for a spectacular sight as you look at the glacier at the far end of the lake at sunrise.


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## shagnut (Feb 2, 2006)

On trip advisor a lot of people liked Beckers Chalet Cabins. Very cute and rustic looking. shaggy


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## pointhound (Feb 3, 2006)

*Follow up and Thanks!*

Great suggestions.    Chateau Lake Louise for a family of 5 = crazy money   
We like Hidden Ridge Chalet in Banff alot.   Becker's looks great, but too far NW in Jasper.   We were looking at Mystic Springs Chalets in Canmore.  If you only had two days in the area, would you go for Hidden Ridge Chalet in Banff or Mystic Springs Chalets in Canmore?   

Also, we are trying to get information on the Village Inn and the Many Glacier Hotel in Glacier National Park.   Could not find any reviews of the Village Inn, and am not thrilled with the reviews I saw of Many Glacier.   The location of Many Glacier looks great.  Is the hotel itself acceptable?  Anyone have additional information?

Thanks for all your great suggestions.  Pointhound


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## eal (Feb 3, 2006)

*Grand Canadian Resort*

This is where I would stay with a family of 5 if I wanted to visit the Banff area.  Here is their website:
http://www.grandcanadian.com/phototour.html

Phone number:   1 403 678-0018


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## pointhound (Feb 3, 2006)

*Grand Canadian*



			
				eal said:
			
		

> This is where I would stay with a family of 5 if I wanted to visit the Banff area.  Here is their website:
> http://www.grandcanadian.com/phototour.html
> 
> Phone number:   1 403 678-0018




Eal, Thanks for the suggestion.   It looks very nice, but I only need two days.  It looks to me like they just sell, not rent.   Do you have any more information?   Thanks, Pointhound


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## eal (Feb 3, 2006)

*renting*

Yes Grand Canadian does rent, at least they did as recently as last December; give them a call.

Another resort that rents by the night is Windtower, their reservation number is    1-866-609-6600 and the website is http://www.windtower.ca 

They also offer a free breakfast


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## Aussie girl (Feb 3, 2006)

Hidden ridge is good. We like Dougals Fir (because of the waterslides).
The Grand Canadian has rooms to rent, we have stayed at the adjoining Residence Inn by Marriott, very nice.

Mystic Springs looks really great in Canmore. We stayed near here last summer. Lots of construction noise, would be the only negative.


Donna


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## barto (Feb 3, 2006)

As for Canmore (Mystic Springs) vs. Banff (Hidden Ridge), I guess it depends - most people are wanting to see "Banff" (the town and the park), so if that's your angle then may as well stay in Banff.  

We've grown to like Canmore a LOT over the years, but we come out to the area a fair bit (as much as we can) so we've kinda 'done it all' and are enjoying discovering Kananaskis country a little further east.

In any event, you probably can't go wrong with either Banff or Canmore, but Canmore's further east if you're worried about getting back west somewhere on your last day...it would add about 15-20 minutes to your trip.

Grand Canadian is an II resort - very nice, all 2-bedroom units (someone want to do a private exchange?? please??).  And the Residence Inn by Marriott right next door looks nice, too.

they're probably the places furthest away from the 'action' in Canmore, if that matters.

Becker's Chalets are quite a ways away close to Jasper, but definitely very nice if you're going to be in that area some time.

Can't help with the Glacier places, sorry.

Bart


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## shagnut (Feb 4, 2006)

I did so much research on my trip last summer that I got confused about Beckers being close to Jasper. I was looking for a cheap stay and everyone kept talking about it.  Hop on trip advisor. I got a lot of good information from them. . shaggy


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