We are in our mid 30's and expereinced snowboard holiday'ers and we were looking for budget accommodation - but somewhere clean with hot water - and close to the action in town. There was plenty of hot water to warm up after a day on the slopes here!

Homestead Inn is a great , great location - right in town and a step away to eateries, shops and bars. Bar food in Melissas Bar next door UPSTAIRS is excellent value - and so is the lager & shots. (Try here first!! - as other eateries / bars have tourist prices!)
The ski bus to all 3 ski areas stops right outside - and you are first on, first off. No messing. You can walk to the nearby recreation centre - and try ice skating or curling - or over to the nearby museums. We also chose to walk half an hour to the Hot Springs Museum and to the picturesque water falls near the Banff Springs Hotel, further out of town.

The rooms are similar to a 3 year old travel lodge - not brand new but clean and certainly not rubbish. We had two double beds, and ensuite bathroom with shower & bath - well lit room - with Canadian sattelite TV. The room was quiet , save for the Train noises from freight on the Canadian Pacific Railway - which you hear throughout Banff - as its a historic railway town!

The room had a full size fridge - so we could eat breakfast in the room - the supermarket is 2mins walk up the street - and the bigger Safeway is 5 mins walk away.

Everyone on the front desk was helpful and polite. We had a problem with our kettle which was resolved immediately (all rooms have a kettle).
The room was cleaned perfectly every day - and even when we slept in till 2pm - after we came back from the shop - it had been cleaned.

I recommend this hotel to the budget traveller who wants clean sheets and a value for money. We'd come back again in the Summer if we had the £.

Had a blast. Things were clean, quiet, and affordable. Price really drops in the off season, but even the high-season is affordable. Will stay again.

Only issue: No wifi provided by hotel. Had to stand on balcony area to use nearby free wireless. Pain in the butt. Hope this gets addressed soon.

Just returned from 11 days in Banff, was on a budget so opted to stay at the Homestead Inn on Lynx Street. This is more of a motel than hotel. For UK visitors think Travel Inn. Our room had bathroom, 2 queen size beds, TV with 40 channels, coffee machine and a fridge (normal uk size fridge not a mini bar size.) Handy for keeping milk if you want to have cereal for brekkie or cold meats and cheese if you want to make up your own rolls for lunch on the ski hills.

Rooms are quite spacious but nothing massive. For the money can't fault it. Sue on Reception is very helpful and if you need anything she'll know.

If you're skiing, the ski bus stops right opposite at the Banff Park Lodge, they pick up from 08:00 to the 3 ski areas. You're the last pickup and first drop off on the return journey so no mucking about.

Eating in Banff is the same prices as the UK really but you get huge portions. Expect to pay between CN$50 to CN$80 for 2 people. Earls, Guidos, Melissa's and Georgio's are recommended. We found Earls especially had good food, good service and reasonable prices for food.

Beer isn't cheap, CN$4.50 for domestic beer is reasonable and UK prices but CN$7 for Stella is steep but hey you're on holiday so it doesn't matter.

Ski Rental equipment is easy to find. Ultimate or GS both on Banff Ave are recommended. We used GS and got superior skis and poles with insurance included for CN$150+tax for 10 days. This was less than their price list. Everywhere seemed to have a sale or be cheaper than list price!

The skiing is fanstastic. Norqauy is 15 mins but limited skiing really and runs are short & steep on the far 2 lifts from the lodge.

Lake Louise is 45 Mins by bus. Runs are the longest of the 3 areas but you seem to filter in to the same 2 or 3 on the front side. Back bowls really for intermediate/advanced. Larch is okay. Lake Louise is very pretty and good photos can be taken from top of Grizzly Gondola or Larch.

Sunshine Village was my favourite. Loads of powder, plenty of vaired skiing for all levels. Spent 6 days here in total out of 9 skiing days. Be careful for snow boarders as some areas are flat in places so a bit of skateboard pushing required but when you know which bits to get up speed on you're ok.

Just returned from Banff and stayed in the Homestead Inn. What can I say? The place was excellent for location and found that the bus stops opposite at Banff Park Lodge to pick you up in the morning. Last pick up and first drop off, so no messing around waiting for other hotels to load up or unload. As you can probably tell, I went for the snow and the way it works out there is that you have three locations and will be issued with a tri-ski area pass, that's if you buy one. This entitles you to travel to Lake Louise, 45 mins, Sunshine Village 30 mins or Norquay 15 mins on the coaches every mornning. Timetables are provided. Anyway, back to Homestead. Like I said, it's ideally located and runs parrellel to Banff Avenue where all the shops are located. The Inn itself is very clean and for the money a superb place to stay. Sue on reception is very helpful and I mean very helpful. If you ask her anything, she will either no the answer or find out immediately... well done Sue!! Reception is open from 7.30am to 11pm. The rooms are quite spacious and have all necessary facilities. You also have parking to the rear of the building. Unfortunately, they don't do breakfast, but you can pop next door to Mellisa's, which is excellent for b-fast or evening meal. Only about £3.50 for a massive dish. Alternatively, you can pop across to Banff Park Lodge and have a buffet style for about £10.00. They have no safety deposit scheme at Homestead, but don't let this put you off as the crime rate is minimum if at all. Well I hope this report helps.