This is my third review of this hotel after (I believe) 5 years of staying there. Unfortunately for us, we were lead to believe something that wasn't so. A year earlier there was no problem with the booking requests, but be aware that this resort does not "hold" rooms even after you've confirmed months in advance.

Last year we stayed in the loft suite on an end unit and loved it. We are a very quiet, semi retired couple who use the room in the evening to have a fire, watch a movie and relax, so a quiet surrounding is important to us. By having no neighbors on one side, no kids playing on the walkway, no traffic noise, etc the end unit we stayed in last year was what we determined made our holiday so great in Banff, in 2011.

When my wife was booking this room, the person on the phone said WITHOUT QUESTION that there was no problem giving us that room and that the notes had been made in the computer to address that fact. The room would be available to us on check WITHOUT QUESTION.
All we talked about on the plane ride and subsequent drive to Banff is relaxing in our suite with a movie as soon as we got to the hotel.

It should be noted that the year previous, we asked for this specific room and were given it upon arrival.

SURPRISE! Upon arriving at the hotel we were given a room over top of the playground in the middle of the resort. The room, as we remembered from years past, is noisy due to the kids playing in that area, as well as parents chatting in the late night hours and early morning car packing.

We were devastated. The thought never crossed out mind that we could not have the room that we had just traveled 3000 kms for, but now the reality of the situation set in. There would be no other rooms available in Banff and probably none in the resort.

Upon speaking with Dave at the front desk, he was apologetic but insisted that they do not reserve specific rooms in advance. We asked him to check to see if there was a note to the effect that we requested a specific room, which he did not answer.

Dave and the young lady working with him, offered us a cabin suite on the west side of the resort closest to the main road. We looked it over and decided it would have to do, although it wasn't what we wanted. There was only one washroom downstairs, instead of one in the loft and one downstairs which we asked for. The kitchen, dining area and living room are all in one room instead of three areas, which we asked for. We were as far away from the downstairs pool as we could possibly be. There was no covered deck which is what we expected in the suite we asked for and the ants on the back deck made it almost impossible to sit and relax without brushing them off your legs and feet.

We thank Dave and the young lady working there for their efforts in trying to accommodate us with what they had available, but it wasn't what we thought we were going to get and made for a major disappointment in our stay.

On the bright side, the resort is nice overall and the Banff area is a mountain paradise. Unfortunately the booking and reservation policies of the resort will make us second guess our pick of hotels in Banff next year. Had we have been told on the phone during reservation dealings that the room "may not" be available we would have been more prepared or made other arrangements with the resort.

Tunnel Mountain Resort was a few minutes from the hustle and bustle of main street Banff, but it was worth it to have peace and tranquility of the mountains there. Used the BBQ both nights we were there. Kids loved having their own loft space. The rooms were starting to show there age a bit but were clean and everything worked.

My family and I were looking forward to spending a long weekend in Banff in July 2012. We booked the Tunnel Mountain Resort because it seemed to fit the bill -- large condo-style suites, good location, and a reasonable price. After all, we would be spending all day exploring Banff, so we would only be needing a decent place to sleep, right?

Well, unfortunately we were wrong. I'll begin by listing the "negatives", then follow with a list of "positives". Read on and make your own conclusions.

NEGATIVES:

1. The unit we stayed in was not very clean. There were visible stain marks on the inside of the bathroom door. Layers of dust were evident along the ridges of the doors, as well as the wall trim. Out of curiosity, I took a clean white face cloth, ran it under the tap, then gently wiped the bathroom floor. The cloth came back light brown.

2. The beds were lumpy and uneven. Same for the pillows.

3. The kitchen utensils were not clean. The bread knife that I used had grime on the blade and on the handle.

4. My kids were woken up at 4:00am on our final night by a loud scratching sound in the wall, right above my daughter's bed. As we listened, we heard the unmistakeable sound of a mouse nest. There were numerous mice, scratching, gnawing and squeaking. We were all suitably grossed-out!

5. The unit had a small but usable deck. Unfortunately, there is no view due to the large forest immediately in front of the unit. If you love staring at trees, you'll love the "view".

6. The walls in the unit were very thin (mice notwithstanding) -- a family moved into the unit next door to ours on our last night. They were extremely loud. There was much yelling, moving of furniture, etc. all evening. At 12 midnight, their toddler was screaming. All of their noise was easily transmitted through the walls.


POSITIVES:

1. The staff were unfailingly polite and friendly. At least their customer service was good.

2. The hotel is well-situated, although it's a long walk into town.

SUMMARY:

Upon check-out, I told the front desk about my concerns. His response was "did you tell any staff members about this during your stay?" Well, doesn't it count that I was telling him at that moment? I took the manager's number and told that employee that I would NEVER stay at that "resort" again, and that the conditions were totally unacceptable.

The Tunnel Mountain "Resort" is dated and in need of major renovations. It seems to me like it's a facility that desperately needs infusions of $$$ to get to the standard of other hotels in Banff.