Zoom

photo: istockphoto

Insider’s Luxury Guide to Banff: Castles, Etc.

Although set within a national park, Banff and Lake Louise boast world-class lodgings that blend Old World grandeur with Canadian graciousness.

The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise (866/540-4413)
Cradled in an idyllic setting at the foot of the steep, sculpted, snow-crowned massif of the Canadian Rockies, just across the valley from the ski resort, the Chateau Lake Louise is entwined with the history of Canada’s western expansion. Built in 1890 as “a hotel for outdoor adventurer and alpinist [sic],” it is now a massive 550-room hotel, a grande dame where tea and scones are served to visitors cosseted in easy chairs, taking in the dramatic view of the icy blue Victoria Glacier at the far end of the lake.

Post Hotel & Spa (800/661-1586)
For atmosphere, service, quality, and comfort, this low-key, high-polish chalet may well be the best hotel near any North American ski resort. As with grand European hotels, the proprietors — Swiss brothers André and George Schwarz — are never far from the lobby, dining room, or guests, many of whom, like the employees, tend to hail from Switzerland and Germany. A Relais & Châteaux hotel, the multi-award-winning Post is noteworthy for its extraordinary restaurant and spa, afternoon tea service, 30,500-bottle wine collection, well-stocked cigar bar, homey library, and handsomely appointed rooms and suites.

Sunshine Mountain Lodge (877/542-2633)
Set in the heart of Sunshine Village, this boutique property offers the only ski-in, ski-out accommodations in the park. After the day-skiers head back down on the gondola, the place can feel as isolated as a backcountry camp, but there's delicious food and lively entertainment — not least at Mad Trapper’s Saloon, which caters to a fun-loving clientele, many of whom work at the resort.

The Fairmont Banff Springs (866/540-4406)
This sister property to The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise is popular with royalty and celebrities. Once the flagship of the famed Canadian Pacific Hotels, it remains an enduring and oft-photographed symbol of the park. It was built in 1888, then rebuilt between 1911 and 1928 in the Scottish baronial style; today many of its 768 rooms are in fairy-tale towers and turrets with plummeting views of the Bow River below. Fittingly, its golf course, built in 1924 by Stanley Thompson, was at the time the most expensive course in the world.

The Rimrock Resort (888/746-7625)
Hotel Visitors willing to forgo the monumental charm of The Fairmont Banff Springs will discover a sophisticated alternative at the 16-year-old Rimrock, 700 feet upslope. Watching the evening light ebb on the enchanting snow-covered peaks around Banff after a day of skiing is so enjoyable that it’s best to abandon plans to venture forth until night falls (which, this far north, isn’t very late most of the winter). Being a mile from the lively comings and goings of Banff is a challenge, but the hotel offers shuttles to town as well as to the three mountain resorts for skiing.

Simpson’s Num-Ti-Jah Lodge (403/522-2167)
For those who revel in nostalgia, it’s hard to do better than this turn-of-the-20th-century lodge, situated on Bow Lake a half-hour north of Lake Louise. Location is the luxury here — you’ll have to venture off campus for amenities beyond a dining room — but its setting is one of the most dramatic in the park.