Stayed at the lodge for a weekend and ended up extending my stay until the following Thursday. After reading some mixed reviews I wasn't too sure what to expect, but I must say I was pleasantly surprised. Decent shower, comfortable beds, free wifi and five bucks for a delicious hot breakfast was an added bonus. Staff was pleasant, helpful and accommodating. The fairmont is located up the street, so anyone taking cheap shots at the banff Y should pay the $400 and stay there instead. But overall, if you go in with realistic expectations you definitely get good value for your money here. I would not hesitate to return to the banff Y lodge, and recommend it to others looking for a comfortable place at a reasonable price.

We stayed Oct. 27. Our hostel was close to down town and had a group room with a bathroom, and there were female only rooms. All bedding was supplied, but the room and kitchen could be a little cleaner.

Banff Y mountain Lodge is hostel-style with a kitchen and a laundry room.
We had a family room without private bathroom.
The room was kind of small, but OK for us.
The public bathroom on the 2nd floor was very clean and comfortable though.

The kitchen has about 4 stoves, but kind of small for a lodge with a size like this.
Always crowded with people at meal time.

The staff were friendly and helpful.

If Banff Y Mountain Lodge was located in other places, I would definitely say that the rooms are overpriced!
But in Banff, everything is more expensive than in other places.
So I think the price is OK for me.

The best thing about this place is the location.
Downtown Banff is just across the bridge, and the trail to Bow fall is just beside the hostel!

I've stayed here on a few other occasions and until now had no problems.
Even though the hotel is having an October promotion where rooms are only $59.00 per night with free breakfast the next morning it wasn't until after coming back from a night on the town I just happened to notice on the closed restaurant door that a breakfast voucher is required for free breakfast. Something the desk clerk conveniently forgot to give me when I checked in.
After I went to sleep that night I was awoken with what felt like itchy bites on my legs and having previous encounters with bed bugs that was the first thing that went through my mind. Confirmation of that intuition transpired when I turned on the light and lo and behold, there was the little blood gorged critter trying to scurry away on the blanket but I grabbed a plastic cup and trapped it then sealed it with some saran wrap which luckily there was some in the trash basket. This was at 3:30 am. Needless to say I got out of there but not before giving my new little pet to the night desk clerk and demanded the charge be reversed on my credit card.
To the hotels credit, the clerk was apologetic and didn't hesitate to honour my request and also said he'd alert the manager to the problem. Luckily for me my ex wife let me crash on her couch. Unfortunately her boyfriend wasn't too thrilled to see me the next morning.