Fairmont Banff Springs

We just enjoyed a fabulous stay at this beautiful hotel. The ‘Castle in the Rockies’ exceeded all of our expectations. The location is perfect, in the heart of the Rockies and close to the town of Banff. The staff was friendly and knowledgeable, the dining exceptional. Highly recommend! Our dinners at the Vermilion Room and 1888 Chop House were excellent. Read less

Highly recommend this hotel! We were in Fairmont Gold. The staff there and throughout the hotel is friendly, professional, efficient, and sufficient in volume (I mention because so many hotels seem understaffed these days). We particularly appreciated Kathleen, Isadora, and Adam’s efforts in Gold, and we had a fantastic Vietnamese server in the breakfast restaurant who was even kind enough to make us Vietnamese coffee in the style that we had been longing for since a recent trip. The rooms are pleasantly fitted and ours had a fantastic view down the river to the mountains. The bathrooms are too small - whatever you pictured in your head when you read that, think smaller. Smaller than Tokyo or NYC. But that’s really the only downside. The executions/activities are better value than we initially expected, and were great experiences. The highlight was Scott Berry and his forest bathing course. Wow, just wow. If you do it, go in with an open mind and you won’t be disappointed. The spa is nice, but the pool looks a lot cooler in the promo videos. The services are well executed though! I’d also like to compliment management. We had a forgivable but unfortunate mishap occur, as well as a few minor snags, and they responded with empathy, understanding, accountability, and generosity. As they say: it’s not about the fall, it’s how you recover. We were impressed. We look forward to returning! Read less

Great hotel - huge and often used for events. Rooms are small but adequate. Well equipped, good bed, bathroom fine but tiny. Pool and gym good. Food in the restaurants is average - we tried two and neither were great. Staff were excellent and location is good - short walk to town. Shuttle takes you to the gondola. Super large indoor pool and a great Spa. Read less

Go for a day for just the view in the back! Best view in Banff! My mother and I spent a whole week in Banff and one of the days we spent a whole day at Fairmont Banff Springs. We did not stay there because they were booked the days that we wanted and we didn’t wanna be going back-and-forth and back-and-forth between hotels just to stay there. So we decided to do a day there, which is perfect because that is all you need! (I heard the rooms are really small and for the price you pay I don’t think so. We need a lot of space !) We stayed at hotel Canoe and Suites, which was huge! And brand new so that’s probably why their rooms are nice and big! We did the afternoon tea, make sure to make a reservation way in advance because it’s whoever makes the reservation first that gets the window seat. they still let us sit over there for pictures though, but that was disappointing that we couldn’t sit by the window, but the tea was great! The food not so much but tea was good. That’s another review. Then we went to the spa. Very very nice spa. (Not as great as the fountainbleau in Las Vegas but it’s been here for years !) There’s a relaxation room that no one ever goes in apparently because I could go take a nap in there, there’s private pools for the spa and an indoor pool and outdoor pool three different hot tubs with different temperatures, coed living room with snacks and tea, overall good spa experience as well. We had the 45 minute massage and that was good enough for me. Then we did the dinner at the steakhouse and that was really great as well. But in between those activities, we checked out the convention center, the old ballroom which made me want to dance and host a ball because it was just so pretty, the lobby is gorgeous, shops are cute, but the view in the back is spectacular! Definitely go just for the view in the back. One of the best of views in Banff! They also have apparently a hidden bookcase entrance downstairs at the Rundle bar, which I forgot to check out. They used to have a historic museum on the second floor, but we were sad that it was no longer there and had been moved. They also do a tour which I wanted to do, but they only offer the Tour to guests. Mean. So maybe stay there for a night just for the tour? Also be sure to check out the statue in the front who’s pointing towards the view, that was an interesting story from one of our other tours. Apparently, the rooms used to face the wrong way, and not the view or the entrance, but then after some renovations, they flipped it. The statue (original owner or buyer) was mad originally because the hotel was facing the wrong way. So I guess they made sure to make a statue of him pointing the right direction.! The staff there was all very friendly though, of course it varied per person, but we were up so early and there so early in the morning that I think we snuck into the VIP area, but no one seemed to mind and it was great because we could get pictures without a bunch of people around . Parking is easy they have a parking lot. Which both of the restaurants on the spa will validate. So then it’s free. There’s also some free parking along the street but if you’re going to the restaurant or the spa, you might as well just park in the parking lot. Overall, I would just go for the day because I did love this hotel, or stay for at least one night just so you can do the tour, but also make sure you get the view from across the street. I must say we stayed at the Fairmont in Jasper , the Fairmont, Jasper Lodge, and they were amazing as well, so they have a new loyalty member in me! I can’t wait for another Fairmont visit. Read less

We had a wonderful vacation as a family. This is our second time at the resort and it was just as good as the last! We love the updates made to the hotel. Shout out to our boy Andrew at the Adventure Center who took us on two excursions! He is awesome. Our room attendant Mylene was attentive and we appreciate her! Sadly, we were frustrated to find out that our Fairmont reward points expired after a year and we were not notified before being able to use them for this trip. They expired exactly a year from today when our trip is ending and we found out they expired when we went to pay the bill. My mother had contacted the Fairmont prior to our trip asking to use the points and was told she can use them at checkout and that she could not use them at the time of booking as the points couldn’t be used for the deposit. This was a disappointing way to end the trip. Read less