Advice for Banff/Lake Louise area

[Gramma5]

We are planning on vacationing in the Banff and Lake Louise next summer(Aug or Sept) for several days with friends. We are flying in from Minneapolis and will also rent a car. Anyone have any suggestions about reasonable hotels or B&B's. No timeshares as we will only be there from a Wed. to sun. mot likely. We are expecting to pay $200-$250 a night per couple. Also is it really cheaper to book airfare , hotel and car rental thru places like travelocity and expedia. Any other suggestions about travel sites to check out? Also any suggestions about sites to see while there would be greatly appreciated. Would it be cheaper to stay in Calgary and do day trips to several locations????

 

[caribbeansun]

Use Expedia to narrow down you choices and then check the rates on the hotel's own website. Your price point is doable so long as you aren't picky about where you stay in the park. More easily done in September than August. You can stay in Canmore a bit cheaper and driving out from Calgary every day won't save you much at all and you'll send a lot of time driving so I wouldn't consider that.

For sites, I'd suggest you search this board as there have been many threads with suggestions of places to visit.

We are planning on vacationing in the Banff and Lake Louise next summer(Aug or Sept) for several days with friends. We are flying in from Minneapolis and will also rent a car. Anyone have any suggestions about reasonable hotels or B&B's. No timeshares as we will only be there from a Wed. to sun. mot likely. We are expecting to pay $200-$250 a night per couple. Also is it really cheaper to book airfare , hotel and car rental thru places like travelocity and expedia. Any other suggestions about travel sites to check out? Also any suggestions about sites to see while there would be greatly appreciated. Would it be cheaper to stay in Calgary and do day trips to several locations????

 

[Dori]

You must see Moraine Lake while you are there. It is the most beautiful sight I have ever seen!

Dori

 

[eal]

Canmore is over-built with condos and you should be able to find a 2-bedroom condo for a reasonable daily rate, under $200 for the 4 of you.

Here are some suggestions:
Falconcrest Lodge
StoneRidge Lodge
Copperstone Resort (a little pricier)
Blackstone Mountain Lodge
Solara Resort
Grande Rockies Resort
Silver Creek Lodge
Windtower Lodge

(you can see what I mean about being over-built...)

 

[Gramma5]

Thanks for the suggestions. I was also wondering if anyone knew of any nice B&B's in the Banff/Lake Louise/Calgary that might fit into our price range. The resorts in Canmore are appealling pricewise and we would share a two bedroom/2bath but wonder how much travelling we would have to do daily if we stayed there???

 

[lawduck]

Another option, especially if you have a back-up plan, is to find a Worldmark owner willing to help you out. At 90 days out Worldmark owners can book less than 7 days. For this year, as of right now (30-60 days out) there are multiple studios available for most of August and Sept at the Worldmark in Canmore. At owner's cost it should be well below your price point per studio. We've found Canmore to be a nice town to stay in (not as crowded as Banff), and it is a fairly short drive into the park from there.