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The Fairmont Banff Springs: Traveler Reviews

4.0 of 5
405 Spray Avenue | P.O. Box 960, Banff, Banff National Park, Alberta T1L 1J4, Canada
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The Fairmont Banff Springs
Ranked #5 of 33 hotels in Banff
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1,783 reviews from our community

Traveler rating
    989
    396
    204
    118
    76
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Families
340
 
Couples
795
 
Solo
50
 
Business
240
 
Rating summary
  • Location
    4.5 of 5 stars
  • Sleep Quality
    4.5 of 5 stars
  • Rooms
    4 of 5 stars
  • Service
    4.5 of 5 stars
  • Value
    3.5 of 5 stars
  • Cleanliness
    4.5 of 5 stars
Date Rating
Sydney, Australia
Senior Reviewer
6 reviews 6 reviews
6 hotel reviews
Reviews in 6 cities Reviews in 6 cities
7 helpful votes 7 helpful votes
“Have to stay, but really !”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed December 25, 2012

May I say from the outset , this is difinitely on the "bucket list" and is simply stunning . The hotel building is quite exceptional . The problem comes from the attitude of staff . Our room entrance key card kept on malfunctioning and we went back to the reception three times , even the bell boy had to get a new card/key when we checked in . The staff kept on saying it was a result of our mobile phones , but we had no phones on us after traveling from Australia . Each time the reception staff just shrugged off the issue . On the second day we requested a early wake up call , but never happened . Later at Lake Louise Fairmont , I found out the telephone system in the rooms where quite tricky and at that hotel we where told how to dis-engage the phone and hang up correctly so as the next day the call would work . No such help at Banff . May be Banff Fairmont has a degree of "smugness" so "why bother ' . But if I managed that hotel , my aim would be to make it the best in the world from all aspects , becuase they already have the most outstanding facility .

Room Tip: park down the road , save the cost
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  • Stayed October 2012, traveled with family
    • 2 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 3 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 3 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 3 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 1 of 5 stars Service
Was this review helpful? Yes 2
Ask tonyhar1210167 about The Fairmont Banff Springs
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Fairmont_Banff_Mgmt, Manager at The Fairmont Banff Springs, responded to this review
December 27, 2012
Thank you for your review on Trip Advisor. We do appreciate your compliments about the resort as a whole. We pride ourselves in engaging service and are sorry to read there were shortfalls in this area as this is not what we strive for. We will ensure your review is shared with the applicable areas so that we may learn from your feedback and make adjustments as necessary.

The Fairmont Banff Springs
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Calgary
Senior Reviewer
10 reviews 10 reviews
5 hotel reviews
Reviews in 5 cities Reviews in 5 cities
14 helpful votes 14 helpful votes
“One night stay”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed December 24, 2012

I have to start with the pool area...it's fantastic! Banff Springs has a full-length pool that has a real deep end (about 10 feet). The pool is not full width, but it does have two lanes for swimmers that want to do lengths that take-up about half of the width, and then the other half is open for play. The best part is the entrance to the hot pool outside that leaves you exposed to the air for only a few seconds and the hot pool is not as hot as the hot pool located indoors - the outdoor hot pool is tolerable for a lengthy soak/swim. We'll come back just for the pool - it's not as crowded as the Sulfer Mountain public hot pool.
We stayed in a room that overlooked the oval skating rink and had an unobstructed view of the beautiful Bow Valley. The heating system worked great (it was about minus 20 degrees celcius outside!).
While we did not eat, this time, at the hotel - it's quite expensive, we have eaten there before and have never been disappointed with the food. Because we were only staying one night, we brought food from the Subway in Banff and the Lotus Lotus (I think it was called) in the food court of one of the malls. The Lotus food was one of the best Asian cuisine fast foods that we ever had - it was all delicious! If you want to spend money at the restaraunts here, you shouldn't be disappointed, eating wasn't meant to be the highlight of our trip, so we saved quite a bit of money in the dining department. Our room had a fridge, but no microwave.

Room Tip: We had room #425 - North wing I think and facing east. There is a large/tall section of the hotel t...
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  • Stayed December 2012, traveled as a couple
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
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Ask Brent J about The Fairmont Banff Springs
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Fairmont_Banff_Mgmt, Manager at The Fairmont Banff Springs, responded to this review
December 28, 2012
Thank you for your positive review. We are pleased you enjoyed your stay so much, especially our pool facilities which truly are world class. Hopefully you will enjoy them again and again.

The Fairmont Banff Springs
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Toronto, Canada
Senior Contributor
46 reviews 46 reviews
18 hotel reviews
Reviews in 20 cities Reviews in 20 cities
33 helpful votes 33 helpful votes
“Paper thin walls were embarrassing”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed December 20, 2012

I went to this hotel and was in love with its castle like quality. Every aspect of this hotel was beautiful, though I was very embarrassed to have security knock on our door during a quiet tryst to be told that the neighbours were complaining about the noise level (we were keeping it down to a reasonable level).

  • Stayed October 2012, traveled as a couple
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
Was this review helpful? Yes 5
Ask Christina_Moorshead about The Fairmont Banff Springs
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Fairmont_Banff_Mgmt, Manager at The Fairmont Banff Springs, responded to this review
December 28, 2012
Thank you for your review. We do apologize for any inconvenience to you, and have shared your feedback accordingly.
The Fairmont Banff Springs
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Calgary, Canada
Senior Reviewer
9 reviews 9 reviews
5 hotel reviews
Reviews in 6 cities Reviews in 6 cities
14 helpful votes 14 helpful votes
“Hotel was beautiful, but service did not meet expectations”
2 of 5 stars Reviewed December 18, 2012

As with any of the old fairmonts the Banff Springs was gorgeous and we took the chance to wander around at night and it was really amazing to see the ballrooms and elegance. However, there were quite a few more issues than we expected to encounter at a place of this repute that soured us on the overall experience.

1) Heating system made odd sounds throughout the night that made sleeping difficult for my partner. Upon bringing this up the next day they said they apprecaited the feedback and would see it was fixed going forward. It still didn't make up for the sleepless night unfortunately.

2) Late night service at the lounge was slow and hard to get. We waited 5 minutes at the bar to see if it was even open after having sat down because we didn't see any staff around. We weren't the only ones waiting at the bar for that reason either...

3) We got the spa package and had some issues with it that were unpleasant as well. We happened to stay right until closing at 10 on the first night and hurried to leave as we'd lost track of time. While I had no issues on my side leaving, by gf was pressured in an unpleasant way by staff to get out ASAP and was made to feel incredibly uncomfortable in leaving. Not what we'd expected by such a highly recommended and relaxing spa.

Furthermore, we were told the billing was going to be executed in one way and then it was done in another. I stayed to discuss this with the staff for 45 minutes at the end of our trip to know resolution and it will result in an additional charge to us of approximately $80 each.

While these things may not have been tremenously disappointing at some other venues, we were surprised and disappointed to have encountered them at the Banff Springs.

  • Stayed December 2012, traveled as a couple
    • 2 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 2 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 4 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 2 of 5 stars Service
Was this review helpful? Yes 3
Ask SD3131 about The Fairmont Banff Springs
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Fairmont_Banff_Mgmt, Manager at The Fairmont Banff Springs, responded to this review
December 27, 2012
Thank you for taking the time to review your stay. A Hotel representative has made contact with you privately to discuss your experience.

The Fairmont Banff Springs
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Calgary, Canada
Contributor
20 reviews 20 reviews
15 hotel reviews
Reviews in 14 cities Reviews in 14 cities
29 helpful votes 29 helpful votes
“One of the Best”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed December 17, 2012

My wife and I have just returned from a single night stay, at this fantastic property.

Our initial room, the one I booked online, was a Jr Suite. Unfortunately, it did not look at all like the picture on Fairmont's website and it did not have a bathtub for my wife.

Upgraded to a Spa Suite, full one bedroom (1054). Excellent, perfect, series of rooms.

The service was what we have always been looking for in a top class hotel, the facilities excellent.

We simply can't wait to return.

Room Tip: Upgrade...get the type of room you want.
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  • Stayed December 2012, traveled as a couple
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
Was this review helpful? Yes 2
Ask Itsbeenawhile about The Fairmont Banff Springs
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Fairmont_Banff_Mgmt, Manager at The Fairmont Banff Springs, responded to this review
December 18, 2012
Thank you for your recent post on Trip Advisor. We are very pleased that you enjoyed the Spa suite and the service. We hope you will return!

The Fairmont Banff Springs
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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Additional Information about The Fairmont Banff Springs

Also Known As:
The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel Banff
The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel
Banff Springs Hotel
Fairmont Banff Springs
Fairmont Banff
Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel
The Fairmont Banff Springs Banff
Fairmont Banff Hotel
Fairmont Hotel Banff
Banff Fairmont
Address: 405 Spray Avenue | P.O. Box 960, Banff, Banff National Park, Alberta T1L 1J4, Canada
Phone Number:
Region: Canada > Alberta > Canadian Rockies > Banff National Park > Banff
Amenities:
Bar/Lounge Business Center Fitness Center Kids Activities Pets Allowed Restaurant Room Service Suites Swimming Pool Wheelchair access
Hotel Style:
#1 Romantic Hotels in Banff
#1 Business Hotels in Banff
#2 Luxury Hotels in Banff
#6 Family Hotels in Banff
Price Range: $$$$
Hotel Class:4 star (4*)
Official Description (provided by the hotel):
Located in the heart of Banff National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the world famous Fairmont Banff Springs resort stands as a landmark in the picturesque alpine town of Banff. This year round luxury resort is styled after a Scottish baronial castle and offers guests spectacular mountain and valley views, a championship golf course during the summer, unparalleled skiing in the winter, and an award-winning European-style spa, the Willow Steam Spa. ... more   less 
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