We had an amazing four days in Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park in the beginning of September…read more TRANSPORTATION & STAY // + You have several options for getting in/out from the main lodge area, as well as where to stay, which make this area more accessible regardless of your physical fitness level. The lodge website has a lot of helpful info about the different trailheads, hiking vs. helicopter transportation methods, and staying in the Lodge vs. the Naiset Huts vs. Lake Magog campground. + We backpacked in from the Mt Shark trailhead, stayed at the Lake Magog campground, and took the helicopter back out, but you can choose your own adventure. + Lodge guests have extra benefits (that you pay for) including professionally-cooked meals and running showers with hot & cold water. If you're staying at the campground, you'll be bringing your own food, and prepare to embrace your natural smells... but the campgrounds are well-maintained and not a bad choice either. + If you're not staying at the Lodge, you are typically not allowed to go inside the building or linger on the porch area. AFTERNOON TEA AT THE LODGE // + The Lodge hosts an afternoon tea on all non-helicopter flight days (5x/week) on the front porch, open to everyone regardless of if you're staying at the lodge or not. + They had herbal tea, lemonade, loaf cake slices, beer and apple cider, red and white wine, and soda. + The dry apple cider was cold and very drinkable, but maybe not the smartest choice to stay hydrated. Herbal tea was light and I downed it quickly. + The loaf cakes (sold in packs of 3 slices: one chocolate zucchini, one cranberry, one pumpkin spice) were the only non-drink food item they had and sold out the fastest, so get there at 4pm and grab some on your first go. VIEWS & EXPERIENCE // Worth it? Yes. (I highly recommend hiking up to the Niblet and halfway up the Nublet for incredible views of Mt. Assiniboine, Sunburst Peak, and the lakes.)

Amazing lodge. Amazing staff. Amazing location. Amazing experience…read more We stayed for only 3 days recently and had an out-of-this-world good time. From the greeting at the lodge, to the meals, to the fantastic guiding, the team at Assiniboine Lodge provides an experience that I will treasure. The rooms in the lodge are cozy. Our bed was comfortable, the pillow was soft, and the duvet was warm. In the morning, coffee is ready for you before the sun comes up. Giving you time to get your first cup as you wait for the sun to warm the peak of Assiniboine -- providing several thousand photo ops. :^) The early breakfast is served in two courses -- one is self-serve with yogurt, muesli, and fruits. Then they serve a hot breakfast -- like pancakes, bacon and soft-boiled eggs. Best of all, they come around with seconds! Then you pack your lunch, and your guide will take you on the day's hike. We did two hikes -- one with Alex and one with Claude. Both were excellent. They kept the pace aligned to the group, and gave us lots of times to enjoy the scenery. Claude also has plenty of stories and information to keep you entertained. I'm not a "bear person", but I was completely comfortable that we'd be fine if we came across one. Heck, I WANTED to come across one by the time we were done our hike. Ironically, there were several other bear sightings that day, and it seemed they were all within moments of us being nearby. The hike is followed by tea time. Tea, coffee, and fresh baking. You can kick back, share photos with the other hikers and enjoy the food and experience. A bit later, and it is supper time. The chef and her team are amazing. We had an outstanding chicken dish one night, and steak the next The supper is fresh and delicious. Again ... seconds are offered up. Of course, this is followed by dessert. Again, outstanding. Ready for bed? Not yet. The sun sets, the stars come out, and once again you'll find yourself blowing off several hundred pictures. What will I do differently next time I go? I'll get a real camera with a better lens and more storage.

Leanne was our guide/vehicle operator and was quite pleasant and knowledgeable. We really enjoyed…read moreher banter and the tour in general

Extremely Disappointing Experience - Safety Should Never Take a Back Seat…read more My family visited the Columbia Icefield this year, and I returned for my second visit after a great experience last year. Unfortunately, this visit was very different and raised serious safety concerns. Our group had 13 people. When it was time to return from the glacier, 9 family members plus five other guests were left behind on the ice by our driver, Chad, without warning. I had already told the driver that there were people who had yet to board, and as the vehicle pulled away he could see our group waving, including children aged 5 and 11, yet he continued driving. We were stranded on the glacier for 90 minutes, exposed to cold conditions with no clear communication or emergency response. During this time, we repeatedly asked other Ice Explorer drivers for help. Despite several buses having available seats, multiple drivers refused to take us, even with young children visibly cold. It appeared that strict scheduling prevented them from assisting stranded guests, even in a clear safety situation. After 90 minutes, one compassionate driver finally stopped and brought our family back. We are very grateful to that individual for preventing an even worse outcome. This raises serious concerns about procedures and training. No guests should be left on a glacier due to scheduling constraints. A simple head count, final check, or empowering drivers to assist stranded guests could prevent this from happening again. We came back because of a great prior experience, but this visit has left us questioning whether guest safety is truly the top priority--or whether operational efficiency and profit are being placed ahead of basic safety processes.

I can only speak for the coffee and the water mug we got with five stars service. It was a pick up…read morespot for our tour bus and so happy I got the matcha latte! I needed healthy caffeine and it hit the spot. Recommended stop and location was perfect if u plan to stay in this area! They have jacuzzi/hot tub, buffet breakfast and some cute merchandise.

Wow! I love this place! Great location. It's about a 15 minute walk into the heart of downtown…read moreBanff and all the shops and restaurants, and I appreciate that it's a little removed from all that busyness. There is a nearby bus stop too. I love all the amenities here. The hot tubs (they have two) are delightful and they also have a cold plunge pool. I did their cold plunge challenge, where they have a timer set for 3 minutes. I felt amazing afterwards! I love going back and forth between the hot tubs and cold plunge pool. They also have a sauna outside too. They offer free S'mores every day for happy hour, and supplies so you can roast your marshmallows by the fire pit outside. Lots of seating outside and I really enjoyed sitting outside and reading. They also offer board games to play and have a lot of indoor and outdoor seating, so many options of where you can be. They have a full bar with a nice selection. Delicious happy hour wine deals! I love their red wines. The food is really good here too. They have a really nice breakfast buffet and it's included with your room. Pancakes, eggs, sausage, yogurt, juices, pastries, and more. The bar serves snacks and other food throughout the day and evening. I really enjoyed their charcuterie board. So fresh and delicious. Our room/suite was very spacious. Two queen beds and a living room area with a sofa and fire place. The beds were pretty comfortable but not amazing. We had a microwave and refrigerator, and I loved the espresso machine. We also had a dining table. The bathroom had lovely shampoo, conditioner, and body wash from a local company. My only suggestion is that I wish we had more storage options to unpack our clothes. There were some hangers to hang a few items and there was 1 drawer in the nightstand. I wish we had a dresser. Excellent and friendly staff. I really enjoyed the vibe of this place. I would definitely stay here again.

We chose Hop on Hop Off because of the flexibility. They have many stops and you can choose how to…read morespend your day. Many others only give you an hour per stop but we had so much time to do what we wanted. Bonus, the tour guides Lewis and Dominique are amazing! They help you customize your day. They are also a wealth of knowledge. I enjoyed the stories they told while on the bus. I highly recommend taking this tour!

If you're looking to explore just about all of Banff's greatest sights in one day...then this is…read morethe PERFECT tour for you. Not to mention you get to do it all without having to worry about driving or parking! If you're not already sold, which you should be, then keep reading along for all the tour highlights. Our two tour guides were Dominique and James and our bus drivers were Bobbie and Jeff. All of them were absolutely delightful. Dominique and James were extremely knowledgeable about Banff, it's history, it's wildlife, and the surrounding areas. They kept the bus rides entertaining and lively. Jeff and Bobbie were great animal spotters and helped us to see a fox on the morning drive and two elk on our return trip. I also spotted a black bear on the morning drive. We opted to do the full day excursion, leaving on the first bus and returning on the last. This was perfect for us to get able to see everything we wanted to. Started the day at Johnston canyon where we hiked to the top of the falls. This was a quick turnaround time so not everyone was able to make it to the top, but still a beautiful spot even if you don't go all the way up. Once done here we continued on the Bow Valley Parkway and took a stop to take in the views of Castle Mountain...an absolutely majestic sight! Next we were onto the Lake Louise ski gondola, where we rode the gondola to the top and had lunch. There was probably enough time to hike, but not enough time to have a leisurely lunch and hike. We opted for the leisurely lunch as we didn't want to have any bear encounters. Here we did see a black bear as we rode the gondola back down. Next up was Moraine Lake, due to one of the buses getting stuck behind a train we stopped in Lake Louise to pick up some others that we're heading to Moraine Lake, but it was a quick trip. At Moraine Lake we had about an hour, enough time to walk up the rock pile, enjoy the view for some time, and walk the shoreline a little bit. Next stop was Lake Louise, we were here for just under an hour. We walked around the shoreline and enjoyed some time in the fairmont hotel. This route didn't give us enough time to hike here, but they did have another schedule you could follow if you wanted to spend more time doing the hikes here or possibly even canoe. After a stop back at the Lake Louise ski gondola to pick up the last of the group, we headed back to town. It was truly an amazing experience and I'm so happy we booked it. We visited Banff without a car and there's no way we would've been able to see some of these places had we not done this tour. So happy this exists and would definitely book it again if I ever visit Banff again.

Looking like a building or castle pulled straight out of Edinburgh Scotland the Fairmont here is a…read moremagnificent hotel and grounds. Nice accommodations and working areas for groups, with one running joke, 'where are the wash rooms". Helpful through and through. Close to downtown with public shuttle just out front riding an on time jitney. Elk wandering in nearby and summer crowds growing I very much enjoyed the overall vibe.

The RUNDLE Bar & Lounge-…read more My client had just completed delivering a 3-day Signature Program in Calgary, and our event location manager said "let's celebrate by going somewhere really nice." So he drove us into Banff NP. We stopped at Lake Louise, Johnston Canyon, Vermillion Lakes, the cascade falls, and then we began driving to the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. What an absolutely beautiful hotel in one of Nature's most breathtaking masterpieces. The beautiful earth-toned cream colored hotel climbs from the lower mountain side and stands beautifully amongst the tall pines surrounding it. We made our way to the Vermillion Bar, where are post worked back in his college days, and were greeted by a super sweet server, Ayala, who lit up whenever she laughed and smiled with you. We enjoyed cocktails, beef, tartare, veggie Credit, charred, avocado, and a unique presentation of hot wings I've never had before - the actual wing that has two bones in it was pre-cut down the middle so you were served the 2 halves as their own individual wing. Great flavors and it was very unique and enjoyable. All of it was delicious and undeniably yummy, and fairly priced for such an elegant location. We were expecting a much higher price point and were delightfully surprised to see that even though it is a luxury location, it was not price gouging or ridiculously inflated that one often finds in so many other locations that are "elegant or nice". If you have the opportunity to treat yourself to a very beautiful sunset under the majestic Mount Rundle, and want to enjoy a modern setting in a historic landmark, this is absolutely a visit you must make while in Banff National Park. Thank you Ayala for treating us so well, and sharing your sweet Australian journey with us. Chris, David, Trisha, and Keith

We were looking to do something fun at night while on vacation. Snow tubing popped up, so we…read morefigured we would give it a try since we hadn't gone since we were kids. It ended up being such a good time, and probably laughed the hardest we had our entire vacation put together! The walk up the hill in the winter was more than I was expecting, but definitely doable. Pricing wasn't too bad, and they give you a tag to pin to your jacket that they scan each time you go up the conveyer belt to the top. The workers at the top made the experience even more fun by spinning the tubes if you chose to. They really get you going, and you feel like you're moving 100mph lol We we're tired by about the 7th go around, but it's an experience we will remember forever.

I am a snowboarder so I appreciate a locally owned skiing snowboard resort however I was visiting…read morein the summer. I wasn't sure which mountain/ski resort to see while visiting Banff, I thought I'd go with the recommended local resort. I might have given them a five star if I did the via ferrata (spell?)but we did not.. if there was maybe some little trails up there that also would've helped...you take the chair lift up, there's the valley city view & some chair. then you go down the chairlift and that's kind of it. the views are exactly what you would expect. I wasn't blown away because I've been doing so much hiking on this trip that I feel like I've seen it all already, however, if you're not someone who hikes this is a great way to see the views with little to no effort.

The hotel located 7 min drive from downtown. Very basic. View to mountain and parking lot. Good…read moreservice simple BF.

Give Alexandra a raise and a big hug! We stayed here twice in the span of 5 days, and she…read morerecognized us at checkin! That's a Herculean task for sure -- there are many dozens of guests all day checking in and out. Her ability to connect so quickly with guests and remember them is superhuman. Super friendly, professional, and prompt. If we ever come back to Canmore -- heck, if we come back to anywhere near Banff -- we will stay at Super 8 because of her. - The rooms are clean and well kept. The beds are mighty comfy. The soap, shampoo, conditioner, and lotion are all Dove branded. Fancy! - I love the water filling station. I know tap water is relatively safe, but I love the extra filter. This is a big plus, as we were drinking so much water. The area is dry, and we were sweating rivers every hike. - The complimentary breakfast has all of the essentials -- scrambled eggs, sausages, potato wedges, beans, yogurt, boiled eggs, bagels, toast, muffins etc. We were so happy to come back to Super8 after jumping around hotels. I would recommend! Someone tried to steal our gas in the parking lot. So try to park near the front door if you can! Hotel staff noticed and presumably called police, because a police officer greeted us and explained what was going on, as we were checking out. (Please pass our praise onto Alexandra! We both loved interacting with her.)

Canoe Hotel and Suites - Banff, Alberta…read more Following the itinerary created for me by Rail Expert Kevin Guadagnoli through Amtrak Vacations, I left Jasper and headed to Banff, aboard a tour bus operated by Brewster Transportation. While I was not able to participate in the 9-hour excursion to the Columbia Ice Fields that Kevin had booked for me (I was late when that tour departed from my hotel to Jasper via the Ice Fields to Banff), Brewster offered a bus direct from Jasper to Banff, sans icefield exploration, for CA$168, and I arrived in Banff in late afternoon. As had been the case throughout this custom-built trip, Kevin did a great job of choosing my hotel in Banff: he booked my room at The Canoe Hotel and Suites, in the heart of Banff. The Canoe Hotel appears to get its name from the structure itself, which consists of four levels cleverly arranged to look like canoes. The room included a gas fireplace, and a spacious balcony on the fourth floor. My room was within a few minutes' walk to three heated outdoor pools, a sauna, and an outdoor fire area. I found the hotel to be an impressive presence in Banff. Located in Banff's Uptown District (on Banff Avenue), the Canoe is within a ten-minute walk of pretty much all of what Banff offers. The hotel houses Sudden Sally, a full-service bar and restaurant with outdoor and indoor seating, and beautiful vistas wherever you look. It's adjacent to The Otter Hotel and its restaurant, Good Folks, which likewise offers a full-service bar and restaurant. For the budge-minded and for those who crave honest-to-goodness root beer, there's an A&W directly across the street from the Canoe. Front desk staff were uniformly friendly and helpful. Upon my arrival the staff double-checked my reservations for trips scheduled for the next two days - one to visit Banff's glorious waterfalls and one that would take me from Banff to Calgary on the last day of my vacation. Included with the room were two passes allowing me to use local transportation to visit more of the village. On my second day there I joined an 8-hour excursion to nearby waterfalls, and on my third day I completed my vacation joining a 2-hour bus trip to Calgary Airport.

What a gorgeous hotel. We liked how you can park right outside your suite. The views were…read morespectacular and everything was calm and peaceful. The tea options in the lobby were so nice, we really enjoyed relaxing with a cup of tea and soaking in the views. It was fairly spacious and the amenities were great. Can definitely see us coming back.