This place has a few things going for it. The lake and mountain view is awesome; our room had a newer TV on which I watched the Stampeders defeat the Ti-Cats; it has access to free wifi; and it's affordable. Also, all of the staff we interacted with were friendly. Unfortunately, the place is gross. The first thing I had to do upon entering the room was kill mosquitos. Since we'd been camping, we didn't need more bug bites. There were many of the diminutive enemy resting on the filthy popcorn ceiling, so I stood on a chair and stealthily squished them with my finger. Since we'd been camping, showers were in order. We took them, and they were fine. However, my time in the washroom allowed me to observe that there were hairs in there that weren't ours, that the tub and mirror needed refinishes a long time ago, and that the fan didn't do anything to clear the steamy air. This last issue was important because the outside air quality was a level 7 from the wildfires, so we had the screen door and window shut (Our eyes and lungs were stinging like mad). But alas! No air conditioning. Thus, even though it was 70 degrees fahrenheit outside, it was hot and muggy in our room. The beds were ok, but every time someone walked by our room, the plywood of the landing resonated enough to wake me. Also, my wife was bothered by the train across the lake, which made an other-worldly sound that was something between a hum and a squeal, which I rather enjoyed. If you are a heavy sleeper, none of this would be enough to bother you. The road noise, of which there was a great deal during the day, died out at night. The most interesting part of our stay was "breakfast." It was self-serve, and our choices consisted of coffee, tea, toast, and cereal. I thought I would have cereal, but all four of the bowls in the "clean" stack were visibly dirty. So I had toast and jam. The bread choice was which bag would I take my slice of inexpensive brown bread from. The coffee was fine, but I'd advise you to use a to-go cup. The furniture in the dining room was shabby, even though recently purchased from Target. Nevertheless, we sat down at a crumb-covered table and took in the view. read more

Fair prices, cozy rooms, very poor service! A couple friends and I booked a stay and ski package here over reading week, first impression was a cozy little lodge, and decently priced rooms. This would have been a great place for us students to stay on a budget, if it wasn't for the service we received. The staff and management were cold and not very accommodating. A part of the package we booked was a shuttle service to and from the ski hill, and even after we double and triple checked the pick up time for that afternoon, our shuttle still managed to leave us at the hill as the driver decided to leave 25 minutes early. Hotel management refused to pay for the cab we had to take back, or to even apologize for the inconvenience and instead decided to argue with us before blowing us off completely. So bottom line, if you're willing to put up with extremely poor service and treatment in order to save a buck, you could give this place a try. Otherwise, I'd say keep looking. read more

After reading numerous poor reviews, I felt it was time to chime in my own after this weekend. I drove a long ways to climb mount Victoria and stay at abbot pass, the problem was that during high season, all hotels are booked, hostels are full, and car camping was frowned upon. Nearly two minutes from the Lake O'hara staging area, the great divide lodge had a room for me for only a hundred dollars (which is very very low during high season near Lake Louise). I snapped it up. I had a great shower, comfortable bed, wifi, and everything else I could need. I got a great night's rest, a continental breakfast, and scaled Victoria the next day from abbot pass. I NEEDED a hotel, and Great divide lodge provided. People knocking this place are overly fussy and have unrealistic expectations. The hotel runs off of a distant diesel generation system, as there is no power linkages from field or lake louise. With their power costs being nearly a dollar a minute, they obviously have to make limitations (my room has no appliances except a TV, to prevent power waste.) Wifi is intermittent, and that's understandable. If you notice where the hotel is, you'll soon understand it's holding its own and is in proximity to no other sources. I have stayed at numerous fairmonts, and even the Savoy in London. Why was I not disappointed with the GDL? I needed a bed, warm water, shelter, and something to eat in the morning. I did not arrive expecting super highspeed wifi, or cavier and dom perignon. There are times where a place to stay is what's needed, especially in a prime location; this hotel delivers. If you are a fussy baby that wants black tie accomodations, shell out three hundred and stay at the fairmont. I cannot comment on the noise or other guests - some people have noted parties or loud kids. I will say this; I have stayed at hotels nearly 5 times the cost, and have had screaming kids fighting in the hallway, while the parents continue to slam the headboard in the adjacent room; price will not always be a guarantee of comfort. My stay was clean, quiet and safe. My room (21) was clean and recently renovated. When I return to climb Lefroy and hungabee, I will stay at this hotel again. When I go to lake louise to go snowshoeing, and fine dining, I will stay at the chateau. Each place has a suitability to it. read more

Do not stay here. We were forced to stay here because a crash on the highway shut the road down. We have to pay $229 or sleep in our car with our 2 kids. The room was old and run down just like the rest of the place. The bathroom was poorly ventilated and moldy. The room itself was basic at best. The beds were terrible. The was were paper thin and I could completely hear conversations in adjacent rooms. The service and food in the restaurant was awful. Everything was overpriced and simply unacceptable. I felt robbed having paid to stay here. I have nothing good to say about my experience here. Do not stay here. read more

We stopped by because we were coming back to Lake Louise from Takakkaw Falls. The hotel itself reminded me very much of a hostel- friendly staff, but shabby. The dining room was empty except for us with house music playing (which seems to suppress the appetite). Food was decent enough, something you could at least make at home, but not the worst I've ever had. read more

Great price, clean comfy room, friendly staff and good food! After reading some negative reviews online I was a bit hesitant but then thought "what the heck it's just 1 night!". Stayed here for the Lake Louise Ski & Stay special and was pleasantly surprised. Check in was a breeze, after getting our gear into the small but clean room we went down for dinner. More selection than I thought there'd be and even though it was a little slower than I'm used to, the food and service was great! Breakfast was basic but good, I appreciated the self serve coffee since I can't get the first couple of cups in fast enough first thing. The room was somewhat hot, but there is a fan in the room which we had on all night and it provided the temp relief needed. Pros: clean rooms friendly staff good food great price Cons: a little loud (if you want to sleep in, but really you should be on the hill!) WIFI is lousy Overall a good stay and a great deal, I would happily stay again! read more

This Lodge is just a steal of your money. I would have expected to pay about $70 a night for what we got, not $145 - the room was dirty (hair everywhere), the beds where noisy, the towels stained... what more do you need to know? Save your money and go somewhere else. It's very noisy and if you intend to stay there with your kids they won't sleep because of the noise from the highway and the beds... Very disappointed!!!! read more