HunyBadger

We are doing a 7 day trip to LL and Jasper in Sept. I'm having trouble judging distances between cities. Which city is it better to fly into (with the intent of spending most time in the LL/Jasper areas): Vancouver or Calgary? Then, where would you recommend staying? This is our honeymoon and we can afford more than moderate priced hotels.
thanks

Borealis

No doubt - Calgary is best.
Calgary is an hour away (driving) from the mountains (Banff), another 45 minutes or so to Lake Louise. Jasper is approx 2.5 hours north of Lake Louise (if you can restrain yourself and not stop at the many breathtaking viewpoints along the Icefields Parkway - which of course will make the trip much longer).
By comparison, from Vancouver to Jasper is at least a 10 hour drive (probably about the same amount of time - different route - from Vancouver to Lake Louise).
At Lake Louise I would recommend either Chateau Lake Louise or Baker Creek Chalets. The Chateau is an elegant hotel on the shores of Lake Louise, Baker Creek Chalets are comfortable cabins with full kitchens, in a quiet forested area by a creek, about a 10 minute drive from Lake Louise.
In Jasper stay at the Jasper Park Lodge if money is not a consideration. Otherwise take a look at cabins at Becker's Roaring River Chalets, or Alpine Village, or at the Pyramid Lake Resort.
Most of these places (and many others) have very good websites, so take a look before deciding.
Enjoy!!!

lhauser

I highly recommend the Cathedral Mountain Lodge cabins in Yoho National Park. We used this as our home base for a week long trip earlier this month. Although the lodge is about 20 minutes west from Lake Louise, the hikes in Yoho (Lake O'Hara, Emerald Lake, Takkakaw Falls) were fantastic and we enjoyed getting away from the more touristy crowds in Lake Louise and Banff.

The log cabins are great--decorated right out of a LL Bean catalog with down feather pillows and duvet, granite bathroom with large soaking tub and a stone fireplace with a couch and chair seating area. There was no roughing it involved in our accommodations! The restaurant there was also very good.

mikety

Calagary definitely better, but dont forget BANFF, you would like it.Stay at Mount Royal hotel along banff ave. Center of everything, if you have the money stay Banff Springs Fairmont.

HunyBadger

Thank you for your responses. We were not intent on visiting Banff only b/c we really want to "be away" as much as possible. Banff seemed to be a lot about shopping and upscale stores which we get at home, more than we ever need, in fact.

DandD

Calgary for sure. My wife and I just got back from Banff/LL/Jasper. We planned on staying at Chataeu Jasper as it was shown as being the second most expensive hotel in Jasper, behind the Jasper Park Lodge. So, we thought it should be somewhat respectable. Well, we were quite dissapointed. So much so that we immediately called JPL. If you bargain enough you can get a good rate. We got a room for $165 US (ask if you can get the Alberta resident rate). Granted, it was the lowest category room but was still a very nice room. One suggestion, try and stay in the main part of the hotel.
In LL, try the Post Hotel. The grounds are perfectly manicured and Hotel is very nice, but pricey.

Don't rush the trip from LL to Jasper. Give yourself a FULL day. You won't want to miss the sites. However, you could plan to stop at a few going and a the rest coming back to LL. Do the Snowcoach tour of the Columbia Icefield. It was worth the experience. Bring an empty water bottle or cup as you want to drink the ultra pure water melting directly from the glacier above. We heard that they give you cups but they didn't on our trip. Would love to share more if you have any more questions.

Ike

M wife and I flew to Calgary last year, rented a car and drove to Lake Louise in about 2 hours if I remember correct. We stayed at Chateau Lake Louise for l night, then drove to Jasper Park Lodge. We had a room outside the main hotel down near the lake that was very nice. The food was good as was the service. We enjoyed the scenery as well. JPL is on a lake with a golf course with large surrounding mountains. We left JPL and stayed two nights at The Post Hotel in LL. It was fantastic. We had an outside room outside the main lodge near a creek that was very nice, small but nice. The food was excellent. I would like to make this trip again but do fly to Calgary and rent your car. I was not too impressed with Chateau Lake Louise but I'm glad I stayed one night so I know what it was like. When I return I will stay at The Post Hotel. Good luck.

Borealis

HunyBadger - you seem to have two posting threads going!!

Just to add to the last posting - the Calgary airport is on the northeast side of the city, so you have to drive through the city before you hit the highway to Banff and Lake Louise. Depending on your arrival time, the traffic can slow you down (rush hour - as in most big cities - is madness!!)
Once you have left the city limits behind, it takes about 45 minutes to drive to Canmore, another 15 minutes or so to Banff (townsite), and 45 minutes past Banff to Lake Louise.
You will drive into the Rocky Mountains 35 or 40 minutes west of Calgary.
The Banff National Park gates are just on the other side of Canmore, so once you have driven past the Three Sisters peaks, you will be cruising past Canmore into Banff Nat'l Park itself.
In September the mountain peaks (tops) may be covered with snow (although not always), so the drive into the mountains can be spectacular (especially in the morning when the sun is behind you)!!
Wishing you magical mountain moments. . . .
(an Albertan)