Banff Park Lodge

When I checked into the Banff Park Lodge, I was provided with a magnificent room, including a gorgeous bathroom with a large multi-​jet rain shower, luxurious king-​size bed, fancy linens, flat screen television, etc.
Unfortunately, my room was located near a congested elevator on the main floor of the lodge.
NOTE: At this time, it is important to mention that I RESERVED a room at the Banff Park Lodge five months ahead of my overnight stay and I provided them with my credit card number as security. So, I was NOT a last-​minute guest at all.
When I returned to my beautiful king-​size room after a very busy day of activities, I was bombarded with noise from people using the elevator, as well as from a dining room kitchen above me, and an evening disco.
I thought I would simply grow accustomed to the noise, and gradually fall asleep from my busy day. However, the noise grew increasingly louder throughout the evening.
At nearly midnight, the noise was unbearable. I was constantly awakened by the elevator traffic and noisy revelers who were waiting for the elevator, as well as by the overhead noise. So, I telephoned the front desk to request a different room.
Although I felt exhausted, I remained calm and polite on the telephone. In response to my request, the front desk promptly informed me that they would be willing to move me to another room, but the other room would be older, and contain double beds. It was located in a separate wing of the lodge. Despite my polite request for a king-​size room, the front desk claimed they could not provide me with a comparable room.
At about 12:30 AM, I packed up my belongings and reported to the front desk to obtain a new room key. When I arrived at the new room, I was very disappointed. The room was drab, dingy, and outdated. It didn’t smell fresh and the double bed was old and uncomfortable. It was a terrible room (compared to my pre-​reserved king-​size room).
For those reasons, I was not impressed with the Banff Park Lodge and will not stay at this lodge in the future.

First time staying at BPL but won’t be the last. This was always my go to for brunch in Banff in the past but I didn’t partake this time. As a matter of fact we didn’t have any food or drink at the hotel this time so I cannot comment on that in my review.
Booking was done online. Website is easy and manoeuvrable which is really all you expect. Photos were accurate if a little understated to reality especially with respect to the size of the room.
Check in was quick and easy and the front desk was very friendly. Underground parking was 10 and the only complaint was it was full when we came back from the hotsprings. We managed to get in to the very last spot. Two things contributed to the very full parking garage. (1) some people are just total dicks when it comes to parking. I appreciate that you have fancy Audi, BMW, Acura whatever but when you back in could you at least try not to park on an angle and take up a space and a half? (2) a significant amount of space was taken with construction material as they appear to be upgrading rooms. Unfortunate it takes parking space but not nearly as annoying as the jackass that can’t park. Seriously even the SUVs and Pickups that fit in the garage managed to only take one space but you in your pseudo sport car can’t? Okay enough of the rant on rude parking habits. On to the room.
Our room was on the Rundle side on the 2^nd floor. We faced some nice trees and the side street. The entrance to the parking garage is on the same side but didn’t notice any noise. I’m not sure how busy the hotel was but it was very quiet in our room. Big balcony with a security bar and blackout curtains that didn’t have a gap! Very important for that weekend lay in. The room was HUGE by what I see in most king or two queen rooms, we had two queens. The bathroom is off to the side when you come in but there is a sink with a mirror and good amount of counter space outside the bathroom. Nice for getting ready while someone is in the washroom. The washroom itself has been recently updated and was quite nice. Big vanity, shower with rain head and hand held with good water pressure and loads of hot water. One thing missing, we only got one bar of soap. Typically you get two. One for the sink and one for the shower. Probably more noticeable as we had two sinks but we also didn’t call to get another bar. Wasn’t a big deal just something we noticed.
There is also a mini fridge, decent size closet and safe. There was a gap under the door to the hall as mentioned in the previous posts but honestly this is pretty common and easily solved. Fill the gap with a towel or use the bedcover. Fixed!
The beds were awesome! Not too hard not too soft, just right! There is a pillow menu but I didn’t partake. The pillows provided were just fine. Sheets were nice, not rough and in good condition as were the towels in the bathroom. There is a big dresser with a 36−40″ flatscreen on the wall with a decent selection of channels. Two comfy upholstered chairs and a table in the corner by the window/​balcony door. The rooms can be pretty warm and as it in the national park they don’t have a/​c which really is better for the environment.
Wifi is also a fee of $ 10 per day and I know some have knocked off a star for that and asked who charges for this anymore? As someone who travels for business a lot I can tell you that a lot of hotels charge and usually more than $ 10. In my experience your Holiday Inn Express and comparable does not charge for wifi but your Marriotts, Hiltons, Sheratons do. So if this bugs you check it out in advance and dont stay at hotels that dont include it if it bugs you so much. The room rate we scored was $ 144 so I wasn’t bothered for the wifi and parking charge.
We didn’t go to the pool or hot tub as it was before 9 and there were a lot of little kids. Fair enough kids are allowed up until 9.
The lounge looked quite cozy. Dark, lots of small tables and seating and a fireplace. Can’t comment on the bar service or drinks because we didn’t stop in but it looked good and we likely will try it in future.
Lastly the location, in a word, awesome! Two blocks off Banff Ave, across the street from Melissa’s, walking distance to pretty much every shop, restaurant and bar and right beside the river. Can’t beat it.
Based on this stay I have no reason to take away a star. The parking is what it is but I got a spot so can’t complain. Definitely a 5 star experience. I will make sure to update my review on my next stay (and there will be a next stay) as I will take in the food, drink and pool.

The room is decent. (to my standard). Parkade only for small cars and I think extra fee is associated with it. Wifi cost money. Lobby looks pretty nice. Pool/​hot tub and gym opens till midnight (9 – 12 is adult only). 2 hot tubs. The pool is small but the steam room is nice, has eucalyptus!!! And the steam is thick too. They don’t I force that adult only hours until u tell them. Yes I did let the front desk know there were kids there at 9:30. Because they were Screaming and splashing water in the pool, and their parents got very butt hurt over that. Sorry parents, the world doesn’t evolve ur kids. I’m sure there’s a history behind why this hotel created this rule. But overall, include paid parking and paid wifi when ur comparing price

Wife and I came here during the summer and it was nice enough. We had to park our car in an ‘oversized’ area and it cost extra. When I asked about regular parking the answers weren’t very clear and might as well cost the same in all parking spots.
It was a little confusing. It seemed like a nice little extra fee for them. The WiFi cost extra as well, which was frustrating. Overall, wouldn’t recommend.

RUDE BARTENDER! Ladies BEWARE
Some girlfriends and i were on a pub crawl on Thursday and decided to hit up the lounge at the Banff Park Lodge for a kind of a joke. Its not great looking on the outside, but much to our surprise it looked great on the inside, we were pretty impressed.
As soon as we walked in we needed to hit the washroom, went into the lounge and asked the bartender (fake redheaded chick) she politely pointed us in the right direction, while i was turning the corner she, very snidely, said to a guy at the bar «oh great, hope they come back» we all heard but chalked it up to her being annoyed that lots of folks probably use the facilities and don’t buy anything. No big deal, the place is DEAD and we need a break from the noise, walking and standing so we were going to hang out
Finish the bathroom, hit the lounge. Picked a table directly in front of the bar, waited… listened to bartender flirt with guy at the bar… waited… watched bartender serve guy at the bar 2 drinks… waited… got up to walk to the bar… bartender leaves the bar and walks past me, leaves lounge… go back to my table… 10 mins later, bartender returns… approaches our table, «Can I help you ladies?» I say «Yes please can we have a drink menu» She obliges. goes back the bar continues to flirt. we wait another 10 mins. (30+ mins before our 1^st drink). We should have left then but we were having a great chat and laugh so we brushed it off.
Get our drinks… finish our drinks, wait all over again. When she comes back after the ice has pretty much melted in our empty drinks and asks if she can get us anything else or do we want our tab? (pushy) We order another drink, my girlfriend orders a double something or other, she informs us that her providing us a «double» of anything would be illegal, I laughed, genuinely thinking she was joking, and ask why was that… because we were already over served. At this point we’re 3 hours and about 5 drinks each in, we’ve eaten, and drank a water with every drink.(including our drinks there)
Hey, we were tipsy for sure, by no means at all were we DRUNK or «over served».
Over all I felt like I interrupted her date and we were a huge inconvenience and we CLEARLY were not welcome. We paid the tab, even tipped her 15%. As we were leaving we heard her complaining about us to her boyfriend.
Here is the sad thing, this is a semi annual tradition for my girlfriends and I and we come with fully loaded credit cards, take a night to totally unwind and party it up in the mountains, we hit as many different pubs/​bars/​lounges whatever we can and spend a decent amount of money… this is by far our worst experience in Banff and one place we’ll happily avoid in the future

Chinook Restaurant at Banff Park Lodge.
We held our rehearsal dinner for 14 people in the private dining area. And the staff was awesome through the whole process — from booking, to choosing a menu, to wait-​staff.
Butter Chicken was awesome. I’ve actually stopped eating the stuff because I could never find any that was good. I’m glad I ordered it. The chicken was tender (and not the cheap squishy stuff lots of restaurants use). And the naan bread was delicious.
The Caesar salad was crunchy, garlicky goodness. The people who ordered it raved about the croutons even.
The only complaint anyone in the group had was that all of the steaks were under-​done from what was ordered. But none of the people who ordered streak complained about the taste or quality of the slab.
I think everybody at the table was surprised that there was nobody in the main dining area. We were all flabbergasted because we all enjoyed the meal so much we couldn’t understand why the restaurant was empty!

Went there for the all-​you-​can-​eat buffet brunch on Sunday. Food was ok, definitely not worth $ 28 considering most people can’t even eat that much. I had 2 friends who literally had one cup of orange juice each and that cost them $ 4 each.
But the worst part was that they automatically included a 18% gratuity on the bill… at a buffet!?! The waiter only came by once! Then on the bill it literally said «In Canada it is customary to leave a 15−20% gratuity», that is definitely not fair to foreign tourists.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I tip based on the service I receive. I, personally, don’t think I’ll be going back.

This review is for their restaurant.
Delicious Sunday brunch. Great seafood selection! Service was outstanding. I took away a star due to the ambience, its a little 70’s and is in need of a cosmetic facelift (new carpets, ditch the orangey toned oak etc)
The food was phenomenal though and covers all manner of sins. We almost booked our wedding here, but decided against it due to the décor. But again, the staff from the Host, our server, the manager and Chefs at the live stations were all so professional and friendly.
The pool/​sauna area is stunning, very modern and new.
I’ll definitely be back soon!

Great room and a reasonable price!
Got the jacuzzi suite over the Canada long weekend, for just over $ 300/​night taxes in. In a regular day that price is significantly less.
The staff is friendly, knowledgeable of the area and eager to help.
The rooms are clean and comfortable, with modern linens and a pillow menu. The jacuzzi is big, easily fitting two people. It is also clean (for now!)
The BPL is conveniently located a short 5 minute walk from downtown Banff, which is full of restaurants, shopping and tourist attractions.
If you’re looking for a great hotel, without spending $ 500 a night at the Château or Rimrock the BPL is worth a look.

I first stayed here 7 years ago with my partner as part of a work retreat, & was a bit underwhelmed at the time. Thankfully, we have chosen to come back in more recent times, & are now fairly fond of the place.
Problems — several years ago when the workplace paid for my breakfast buffet, I arrived with almost 25 minutes remaining & they were putting everything away, & were quite blunt about the fact I should grab whatever I wanted fast because nothing else would be added & they were packing up. We’ve never eaten breakfast here again for this reason (Tim Hortons is only a few blocks away, as are many other restaurants)
Hot tub room — we got one about a year ago & it was installed backwards with a very wide ledge all the way around, meaning you could only fill it by getting in first — the taps are not reachable by someone 6 feet tall standing outside the tub.
Parking & Internet — not free, & for $ 10 a day for wi fi, you only get 2 devices per code. (Sometimes you can grab free wi fi from nearly places, but I didn’t find anywhere in the hotel that I could pick up Shaw’s free service)
So, why do I like this place? Nice spacious rooms in good condition, within walking distance of main shopping & restaurant area in Banff. Yes, some of the rooms are a bit dated, but they are clean. I love the bench near the door, where I can take off my boots after a long day of pub crawling :) Every room we’ve been in had a fridge but not a microwave. The underground parking lot does have a free car wash. & while I found the installation of the hot tub to be really annoying, that room itself was totally updated with a high tech bathroom (you have to see the shower stall to understand it — multiple jets) & most rooms have a decent view — see the photo I took from the window (uploaded on the main Unilocal page for the hotel, & it should be visible under my review)
There are a few businesses on the main floor — the touristy gift shop is not bad for its genre; we bought a book there last year. We’ve been to the lounge & restaurant twice, & I will review that separately in the coming weeks.
For us, this is the best affordable hotel to stay at in downtown Banff

Very clean hotel with great views of the Rockies. Easy access to all the Banff has to offer. A quick 5minute walk to the center of town where you have access to shops and restaurants.
Booked our room through expedia and got a great deal with free parking.

Stayed here 3 nights. Hotel is cheap for banff and kinda run down. Former chef retired so that was a let down as have known him for over 20 years
One star is how they handled my last stay. Billed it to my second cousin not me, then started phoning other people in our group however never thought to call me?
This after booking over 150 room nights in the last 5 – 7 years? Despite having my contact info on file and cc #
Embarrassing, for me yes
No more

This place was fantastic! We had a huge shower taking up ½ the bathroom wall with several settings! I love that the pool sauna and hot tub stay open until midnight!
And the location is perfect!
The bed was super comfortable and the in room coffee was even local, I thought that was such a nice detail.
You can also order pillows if you have a preference!
The only thing I would say is it can get noisy from the hallways our door had a big gap under it, otherwise it was superb!

Overall, the hotel was good and location perfect. The room, while dated, was clean and the amenities such as the pool area was great (although busy). The downside is that they charge for things many hotels offer for free (parking, wifi, etc) and the restaurant/​lounge are nothing spectacular. I would go here again, for the right price, but would definitely keep in mind how much it costs in total (parking, etc) when shopping around.
The location is perfect: one block off of Banff Avenue so that the surrounding area is quiet and easy to drive to (no traffic hassles or pedestrian hassles like staying on Banff Avenue). Within a block is Tim Horton’s, Melissa Missteak (breakfast) and Nesters (grocery store).
There are additional charges for things like WiFi and parking (underground), so keep that in mind when shopping around for rates. The lounge and restaurants within the hotel are on the expensive side and the service was just average. We had the Sunday brunch, and while good, it does not compare to the Banff Springs brunch.
The pool area is great — a jacuzzi, a plunge pool (slightly cooler than jacuzzi, no jets), swimming pool and steam room. There are lockers available to store your belongings and children are not allowed after 9:00pm. For some reason, the jets in the jacuzzi can be turned off in the middle of their 10 minute cycle and a time period must pass before they are reactivated (we went at 9:00pm and they were off, the front desk said it takes 20 minutes to come back on). I’m not sure if this is from someone hitting the emergency stop button or not. Keep in mind the pool area does fill up quickly, even after 9:00pm, as it does seem like a popular spot.
The basic rooms are dated (the suites looked more modern from the glimpses we saw) but clean. There are large flat screen TVs in the rooms, but those are the only modern updates. The rooms are rather large, even the ones with two queen beds. The beds were very comfortable and they offer a selection of pillow types to choose from. Be careful if you get a room on the main passageway, noise travels easily and you’ll hear the people in the hallway.

Stayed here on a travelzoo voucher for two nights. Probably one of the best hotels I have stayed at in banff, even the famed Fairmont Banff Springs was disappointing, but I found this to be very clean, with updated fixtures, comfortable beds, and brand new flat LCD tv. The voucher gave us 2 for 1 for the breakfast buffet and I was not dissapointed. Maybe the best breakfast buffet from a hotel I’ve ever had! Healthy options, fresh fruit and of course standard buffet fare. Colin at the front desk probably one of the most polite and helpful of the staff here. But everyone was very professional.

Nice clean rooms at a good price. Close to downtown.