Inns Of Banff Reviews

Our first trip to Canada - and what an experience!

We stayed at the Inns of Banff and the hotel was lovely. The staff couldn't be more helpful or friendly and the bedrooms were well kept and cleaned every day.

There is an excellent buffet breakfast available from 06.30am in one of the hotel conference rooms, as well as a menu breakfast in the Reflections dining room - both are equally good value for money and of an excellent standard.
There is an all day menu for lighter meals available as well as set menus at night. The hotel also boasts an excellent informal ";Bear's Den pub";, where good home cooked meals are on the menu at extremely reasonable prices.
We cannot fault this hotel at all and will definately be returning next year.

The town of Banff itself is small with an excellent selection of top of the range shops as well as the usual tourist shops. There are also a few small shopping malls, well woth a look. There are also many pubs restaurants to choose from - go to Wild Bill's on Baff Avenue for an excellent lunch or at night to soak up the atmosphere. If it's steak you are after, definately go to Bumpers Restaraunt at the edge of town for the best steak in Canada!
We were on a ski-ing holiday, taking in all three resorts in the area - Banff (Norquay), Lake Louise and Sunshine Village.

For total beginners we would recommend the Club Ski package, as the local instructors are very good, and will work to your own pace - groups do not have more than seven or eight people, so you get plenty of one to one attention.
Norquay does not get as much natural snow as the other two resorts and therefore relies heavily on snow cannons - this does not make pleasant ski-ing (especially if you are learning) as the slopes become very hard and packed with ice.
Lake Louise is set in beautiful surroundings and is a very good resort for skiers of all abilities. Excellent facilities in the lodges for warm-up breaks!

Sunshine Village is perhaps the best of the three resorts. You have a 20 minute Gondola trip to the ski base, but the views are terrific. There are plenty of runs for beginners through to double diamond experts! Again, excellent lodge facilities with a varied menu to keep your energy levels up during the day.
Banff was having a bit if a cold snap when we were there, and temperatures did get as low as -42 degrees, but don't let that put you off. As long as you dress for the conditions, you will have a great holiday - we were actually too warm one day when it got as high as -17 !! Blue skies and sunshine all the way.
We didn't have much contact with our tour rep while we were there, but tended to book other activities through ";Discover Banff Tours"; in the town. Would definately recommend the full day snowmobiling at Golden, British Columbia for that extra bit of excitement.

As Banff is set within a natural park, no dog sledding, snowmobiling etc is allowed and you have to travel a couple of hours into British Columbia. All wildlife is protected and it is not unusual to see elk and caribou wandering around.

All in all, an excellent holiday and we have requested the brochure for next year already!