My boyfriend and I just spent 3 nights at the Banff Springs and I cannot say enough great things about this hotel. The staff were amazing. Everyone from valet services, restaurants, hotel administration, to the front desk staff was helpful, friendly, and attentive.

The hotel is pricey, no way around it. But it was a wonderful new year's splurge. We had a room on the 9th floor with amazing mountain and river views. The room was small for sure, almost a bit too small. Especially for all the luggage we had with us. The one downside was that there wasn't much storage space for our bags - there was one small closet that barely fit our coats and not much floor room to place our bags. But it was a small downside as the rest of the stay was incredible.

I would recommend this hotel to anyone and everyone. It was an amazing place to spend new year's eve. It is a grand castle in the midst of the most beautiful mountains. Fabulous hotel!

It was a long held wish to splurge and stay at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. I spent a year in Banff 10 years ago and have always wanted to go back and stay at this amazing hotel. We arrived in the middle of October and it was nice and quiet without huge numbers of tourists. Colder than I thought it was going to be though – about 5 degrees and getting colder. We drove from Calgary under clear sunny skies and within three days we had a bit of a winter wonderland with the first snowfall of the season.

I joined the Fairmont Presidents Club prior to arrival and used the priority check in counter on arrival. We chose to upgrade to the Fairmont Gold Floor after being advised the rate which was a surprisingly reasonable amount. I’m so glad we did, it was such a treat and this stay was a highlight of our USA/Canada trip. The rooms were beautifully appointed and our room overlooked the front of the hotel and down towards town. A nice view - I’m sure the views were better on the other side of the building -but I was just happy to be there. The bathroom was nice but tiny with no bath but an amazing shower. We had a comfortable king size bed but it seemed it might have been positioned incorrectly? My husband’s feet were hanging over the edge which hasn’t happened before in other kings. The first night I struggled to sleep with strange noises coming from the heating vent and tried to stop myself from thinking about ghosts as the hotel is supposedly haunted.

We absolutely loved the lounge on the Gold Floor – huge fireplaces with comfy chairs, all day access to non-alcoholic beverages, honesty bar, evening canapés etc. The continental breakfast was nice and plentiful and they had a great coffee machine. The only criticism would be that the hot breakfast items were a bit hit and miss and they need to make bacon a regular feature not a sometimes one! One day I spent almost the entire day in there - relaxing, quietly reading, and enjoying the hot chocolate.

The Gold Floor Concierge staff were great and we had a few laughs with them during our stay. One day I chatted to Alex about travelling to Radium Hot Springs - how far it was from the hotel etc - and I mentioned that I had been to the Banff Upper Hot Springs before. My husband and I then decided to drive out to Radium but turned around after we got to the turn off as it was going to be another 100kms. Decided to just go to the Banff Upper Hot Springs and not waste our day driving so far. Unfortunately it was closed for renovation. When we went back to the hotel, I mentioned to Alex’s colleague Claire (McCann?) that it would have been helpful if we had been advised the Banff Upper Hot Springs were closed. She said the hot springs were actually due to re-open that day but the Gold Floor Concierge had received an email after we had left saying the re-opening would be delayed another week. Claire then told me about the hotel’s spa and mineral pool experience and said I should definitely try it. It was about 7pm (closing at 10pm) and I thought it was too late, perhaps I’d try it another day. Claire then told me to pop down there and she would arrange complimentary entry for me - very thoughtful and great service, she really went the extra mile. The mineral baths were great and I really enjoyed the experience.

The next night we went to try out the outdoor heated pool which was amazing. Unfortunately we were there for maybe 20 minutes and there was a power black out so we had to get out of the pool. Almost all the lights were out in the hotel except in the lobby and strangely, on the Gold Floor. Got a workout climbing the stairs to the 5th floor and then saw Alex at the desk and had a laugh about how every time we saw him something didn’t work out but wasn’t actually his fault. A good guy with a good sense of humour...we may have teasingly said “this is the worst vacation ever!”. As if! To compensate for the black out, the staff opened the (now closed) lounge and started serving guests complimentary drinks and we got to chat with some really interesting people by the fireplace sipping champagne – tough gig :)

Found all the hotel staff to be friendly and professional. I took the historic tour which was very interesting and a good way to explore this massive hotel. Good stories but no ghost stories which is what I really wanted! We didn’t eat at any of the hotel restaurants as we chose to go into town for dinners. My husband became acquainted with "The Boot" at the hotel’s Waldhaus Pub and apparently enjoyed the experience (apart from the obligatory hangover he received the next morning).

We also stayed one night at the Chateau Lake Louise but in hindsight, we should have stayed at the Banff Springs another night. We enjoyed this hotel much more and felt the service and facilities better.

Will definitely be back to this hotel!

My love and I decided to spend two nights over New years at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel...our favorite Castle in the world and a place we visit at least twice a year. Although our room had a view overlooking some sort of equipment, the room was very clean and quite comfortable. The hotel was fully booked (all 750 rooms) and very, very busy, but the service and quality was outstanding in all areas of the resort. Although everything was rather perfect, I must say the highlight of the stay was the New Years Day brunch. The selection and quality of the food was beyond fabulous.

We are a family of four that stayed at the hotel for seven nights..the skiiing is terrific, the town is wonderful and easy going, the hotel is top-notch and everyone is very friendly, helpful and inviting. We took two rooms next to each other in the original part of the Fairmont hotel (which I recommend highly, very much like Ashford Castle in Ireland) for the four of us which worked out well. For rooms choose either mountain view , front or back of the hotel is equally stunning. My advice: fly into Calgary (for us we flew from NYC to dallas and then YYC) , stay overnite in the Delta Hotel right at the airport (walk across from YYC arrivials), next morning have breakfast at hotel and take the Banff-Airporter Shuttle to Banff. No need to drive on snowy , icey roads when the vistas are the real attraction. Sit back and relax and let them do the driving. There is NO need to hassle with a car at the hotel as there is plenty to do without having to drive anywhere . (If you come in the summer then I might rent a vehicle to sight-see but not for the winter!) Buy a big3ski pass (4 of 5 day skipass is cheapest) that includes the shuttle transport to the ski mountains from the hotel. That way you can take it easy and enjoy the view. Take notice: this is NOT a ski-in ski-out type resort. You are here for the natural beauty, the open expanses, the welcoming people and the variety of things to do...oh, and the fabulous skiing. Yes of course you will ski.(our conditions were cold but FAR better snow conditions than anything in Vermont/NH and a whole lot less crowded!! ) From the hotel you can also snow-shoe, cross-country, take curling lessons (harder than it looks!!), enjoy the incredible spa, enjoy the indoor and outdoor pools , work-out in the gym or shop at the boutiques in the hotel or those that are a short walk/taxi into town. Breakfast at the hotel is great !! If you want something quicker and lighter there is a 24 hr pantry (great for teenagers!) with terrific quick food. Restaurants in the hotel are expensive but very nice and varied. We loved the Japanese restaurant Samurai and recommend the sukiyaki dish!! But all the hotel restaurants are very good. You must indulge by ordering a (Molson) Canadian draft before you leave town...there is nothing better than this in lower 48!! The ambiance of the hotel is wonderful, very efficient service and well-coordinated. If coming for the XMAS holiday: I recommend coming early and skiiing as much as possible before the new year weekend as it gets VERY crowded on the slopes then. For example we left dec 22nd and arrived the 23rd at Banff; skied 24,25,26,27..and had terrific weather and low crowds. By the 28th and 29th it was getting very busy with the Calgary crowd coming out for the weekend. That is when we chose to curl, ski on the lake which is on the hotel property, snow-shoe and cross country ski thereby staying off the slopes. (We like the mountain to ourselves). The hotel also offers holiday activities which are a hoot no matter what your age (unless you are dull) such as ; gingerbread house decoration, cookie decorating, Santa send-off , bingo and five-pin bowling.. Loosen up and have some fun after the incredible spa enjoy jazz musicians in the Rundle Lounge or take in a moonlit walk along the ski path with a guide. This is about as close to the Alps as you can get without having to cross the pond. I have skied nearly every resort in the French Alps and this "paysage" is the closet thing to the Alps in North America. Enjoy it ! Immensely...
[P.S . my children are now teenagers but if I had little ones I would take them here for a very magical Christmas experience..grandma and grandpa would love it too !!]