quiet Canmore accommodations?
 

In planning a next-July (or September) 8 day trip to the Rockies, we'd thought to maybe stay in Canmore for 2 days, and do some hiking and sight-seeing from there, then move on to Lake Louise and up to Jasper. I thought Canmore rather than Banff because I was under the impression that it would be more quiet, relaxing, etc. But in looking into various accommodations at Canmore, I kept reading abt train and traffic noise-- just what we're trying to avoid.
Does anyone have first-hand experience with the Bear and Bison Lodge? That looks like a handsome inn, but I'm not sure whether noise would be a problem there also. In short, any recommendations for an upscale inn that would be nice and quiet (from inside noise as well as outside) would be much appreciated. (I know that one can't know that other guests will be quiet, but some places have noisy heating/a.c. systems, for instance-- or thin walls and creaky floors, kitchen noise, whatever...)
Similarly: I wonder if the various Fairmont properties might be good and quiet. Usually, we prefer smaller inns rather than large hotels, but sometimes the rooms in large hotels can be more quiet and relaxing (though the lobbies are, obviously, always more bustling).
Thank you!

I don't have knowledge of the Bear and Bison Lodge and didn't see it on my very recent trip out there. We were on a budget and stayed at the Drake which we found just fine for our purposes. (I wouldn't recommend it for you given what you're looking for though it was quiet even though a (very smokey) restaurant/pub with music was attached.) We were far enough away that we never heard a thing.

We loved Canmore and found it quite picturesque and friendly. Lots of nice shops along Main Street. We were near Railroad St (Ave?) and never heard the train. In comparison, when driving up near Field, I wondered how people could live there with looong trains rumbling by quite frequently right in front of their doors.

Canmore was also ideal in terms of driving up to Banff. An ez drive and we saved money by not staying in the park. We opted for Canmore over Calgary.

Artzfan

Check out www.paintboxlodge.com in Canmore. We stayed at their private two bedroom house last month and it was absolutely perfect. We also checked out the rooms in the Paintbox Lodge and they were beautiful. It is within walking distance of downtown shops and resturants. We found it quiet and our favorite place to say on our 16 day trip.

We stayed at the Georgetown Inn, at Judy's recommendation. We were not disapointed. It is over the road from the main part of the town but I don't remember it being noisy at all. We stayed in an "Albert" room, which had a huge king size bed and a sitting area but there are various options from rooms to suites and rates included a decent buffet breakfast:

http://www.georgetowninn.net

Thanks for replies. Paintbox Lodge looks absolutely wonderful, but, alas, I think it does not have king beds. Georgetown has somewhat less appeal, but I will look into whether it's truly quiet, i.e. whether there's road or railroad noise. Still hoping to hear about Bear and Bison (and hoping we won't see any actual bears when we're up in Alberta!)

http://www.creekhouse.com/

We (two adult couples) stayed there and loved it. Very quiet and charming.

In july 2002 we stayed at the Best Western Pocatello Inn in Canmore, and loved it. It's not your typical BW, as it's more upscale with spacious, beautiful, upscale-ish rooms, fireplaces, micro-fridge, private balcony with view of mountains (we saw a search and rescue one morning!) free continental bfst, computer in lobby, lovely staff. Not sure how it is now but it may be worth checking into. Hope this helps.