My husband and I are going to banff in mid July and would love some recommendations of where to stay. I have looked at the banff springs & Rimrock, but they are a little pricey. I would like a pool/hot tub available. Right now I am 50/50 on the Inns of banff and the Banff park lodge. Please help! Any suggestions would be welcomed!!

Both the banff springs & rimrock are very nice hotels but they are not as convienent if you want to walk around the main shops, etc.

Same goes for the Inns of Banff. It is on the outskirts as you drive into banff. I would suggest The Banff Park Lodge for location alone. Also there are many other hotels that are very nice quite central. The Banff Caribou Lodge is very nice. It is not right where all the shops are but a short walk to where everything is. You may also want to check out www.banffinfo.com for some other suggestions. Enjoy your stay.

www.discoverbanff.com provides descriptions and links to most, if not all accommodations in Banff. Many of the properties have virtual tours so you can get a good idea of what the rooms, views, etc. are like.

If you have a car, don't worry about being on the outskirts of town--the town isn't very big. Also, I wonder if kara02 is thinking of the Banff Rocky Mountain Resort rather than the Inns of Banff. The former is the farthest from downtown, but I like it because it is surrounded by rolling hills and woods. I've seen elk grazing right outside my front door. The Inns of Banff, which is a little closer in to town, though not as central as the BP Lodge, looks nice from the street.

With the accomodations you want it will be hard to find a hotel to suit you. But if you want class A go with Banff springs hotel(fairmont) if class B go with Mount Royal, its center for everything.

Thanks for the help. I am not too worried about being right in the town site. We are driving up from Spokane, WA, so we will have our car. I have looked extensively on-line and am having a hard time making a decision. My husband is now opposed to the Park Lodge because he doesn't like the location. I have reserved a room at the Caribou for now, but the inns of banff is about $50 USD a night cheaper for the same room type...what do you think?

t

Hi Windy:

We stayed at the Inns of Banff a few winter ago. Rooms were nice size. They have a large pool/hottub area. I think they cater to tour groups, but I had no complaints. The Caribou Lodge had a more "Banff" feel to it! We always walked past it on the way into town and would like to stay there when we go again next winter.
I would nver stay at the Banff Springs Hotel. Too big! Rooms are small. Nice place to go for a drink!
Now the Chateau Lake Louise is one wonderful Hotel/Location.....would be the place for a great Honeymoon spot!
JOHN

We stayed at the Pocaterra Inn (Best Western) in Canmore, just a few minutes away from Banff. It was exceptionally nice, not at all like the typical best western.

Beautiful amenities, fireplace in room, balcony with great view, good free cont'l bfst., fun indoor pool with Waterslide!

We would stay there again.
Have a great trip, and be sure you drive up to the Icefields Parkway!

We stayed at both the Rimrock and the Banff Park Lodge 3 years ago. The Rimrock was lovely, our room on an upper flr. was wonderful and we were ok taking the shuttle down into the town and back (for a couple days) the Park Lodge, was much more basic, kinda a nicer Best Western type hotel, but the restaurant was fine, Sunday Brunch was great and we thought the location was perfect, not right on the main street but just a couple blocks back, so quieter and next to the river, very accessable to everything and we had a beautiful walk by the river each morning. A year later my parents went and stayed at the Caribou Lodge and they thought that was nice too.