Melissa

My husband and I are thinking about a trip in June/July flying to Great Falls, MT, then to Glacier National Park/Waterton/Banff/Lake Louise/Jasper/Edmonton/Calgary. Does anyone have suggestions? We are thinking about a train ride for maybe one or two nights and drive a rental car for the rest of the way. Suggestions? Accomodation/restaurant/shopping/attractions suggestions? Specifically, I am curious to know about Banff Springs Hotel and Chateau Lake Louise; I get a lot of comments about Banff Springs Hotel not being very good? Why (please be specific)? Additionally, I would like to know about the gondola rides I've been reading about. Worth it? Don't worry about a lengthy response, we're trying to make a decision as to whether to chose this destination or not. Thanks.

Lynne

My husband and I took nearly your same route last June & July. We went Missoula/Glacier/Waterton/ Calary/Banff/Jasper/Glacier. In Glacier if you like a B&B, stay at the Bad Rock B&B near West Glacier. Excellent accomodations, wonderful hosts, a gourmet breakfast and very very clean. They even have an outdoor hot tub and you reserve your own private time (it too was extremely clean). They have a web site. Do a search on Bad Rock. Better book now! We stayed at Many Glacier on the east side of the park. The hotels in Glacier are comfortable, but have no extras. I would not recommend them. In Banff there is a very good Swiss-Italian resturant, Ticino on Banff Ave. Can't help you on the hotels you mentioned. We stayed at the Best Western in Banff. I was very nice with a hot tub in the room. The entire drive from Banff to Jasper is beautiful. To see more wildlife take Route 1A to Lake Louise instead of Route 1. We saw quite a few bear on that part of the road. Don't miss the Columbia Ice Fields and watch that area for Mt. Goats & Sheep on the road. Have a great trip!

Boris

The only trains that run in that part of Canada travel through Edmonton, Jasper to Vancouver & back. The town of Banff is crowded & touristy but sits in an enormous national park so you find wild nature very easily. The Banff Springs is an old, classic hotel as is the Chateau Lake Louise. Terrific settings & views but the rooms are somewhat small. Search Canadian Pacific hotels on the Net; they will have info & pics. Calgary hosts the world-famous Stampede starting the first Friday in July & ending the Sunday a week later. Everyone puts away their business wear & puts on jeans. Edmonton has the West Edmonton Mall - huge, with submarine rides & an indoor amusement park. You can even stay in hotel with rooms done out in different themes - a pickup truck, etc. If you are driving, do Glacier, Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper, Edmonton & then Calgary. Then its straight south to Montana (you probably wouldn't be able to leave your US rental in Canada). With the strong US dollar, travel in Canada is cheap.

Lynn

We stayed at both the Chateau Lake Louise and Banff Springs Hotel in the summer of '96. We were pleased with the Chateau but much disappointed with the Springs because of the size and furnishings of our room. The pics you see of the Banff Springs are so awesome, but the room we stayed in was comparable to a standard room in a 2 or 3*** Holiday Inn. I understand they have either refurbished or added some rooms, so there is a possibility that you may get a better room. It's just that for the price, I have heard that there are other suitable hotels in town that are just as nice. If you stay at the Chateau, try your hardest to get a view of the Lake - it is certainly worth it.... Both resorts are crowded and touristy, so it depends on what you're looking for. If you are headed to Jasper, we stayed at the Chateau Jasper and liked it very well. We happened to get bumped to the Royal Suite and it was fabulous--sunken tub, separate bedroom and living area with big screen TV. It was by far the nicest room we had on our trip. In Jasper, we took the Jasper Tramway - the view was worth it, visited Maligne Canyon, Pyramid and Patricia Lakes, went horseback riding (at Pyramid Stables) on a trail that viewed the Athabasca Valley with great views of the town of Jasper and several lakes. En route to Jasper, we visited the Athabasca Glacier and several miles down the road are the Athabasca Falls. We saw all these areas by first flying to Calgary, catching Brewster motorcoach trips for overnights in Lake Louise, Jasper and Banff. After a night in Banff, we boarded the Rocky Mountaineer train and headed west stopping for one night in Kamloops (the Canadian desert) and the next day to Vancouver where we spent several days. Have an enjoyable trip.

Bruce Tainsh

I live in Calgary and you'll have a great vacation up here. In Calgary you can take in the Zoo, and don't miss Heritage Park - a turn of the century recreated village. There is a train from Calgary to Vancouver called the Rocky Mountaineer. I hear it's excellent but pricey!!
Banff is crowded in the summer but still worth the visit. The Banff Springs Hotel is huge and does have some nice rooms, but since there are about 800 of them it's not that easy to find just the right view.
There is a new addition to the hotel but the rooms, while more modern, are tiny. We finally got a nice room in the renovated old part after rejecting two other rooms and that was in the off season. You never know though, it's like winning the lottery, someone has to get those nice rooms with a view.
The Buffalo Mountain Lodge is nice if you decide not to try the Springs...but you will pay! Do a day or two in Banff and then explore the rest of the park, that's the best part!
The Calgary Stampede is a blast and starts the first
Friday in July. Enjoy!