We stayed here during our 2 days in Banff - it was a quick 15 minute drive to the main village…read more(shuttles are also offered by the resort). The coolest thing ever is taking the gondola up to the lodge. Never have I ever taken such a long gondola ride (it's 25 minutes)! And yes the gondola pass is included as part of your hotel stay. Absolutely gorgeous scenery along the way and once at the very top, the lodge is there along with a nice sit down restaurant as well as a decent sports bar/saloon (both open late) . The gondola runs from 8am to 6pm so plan accordingly - if you show up after 6pm you just check in with the front and they have shuttles driving you back up the mountain - it's twisty , turny, dirt road and quite a white knuckle ride lol. Props to the young guy who drove us back one night in pitch black - grateful we didn't go over a cliff! My ONLY complaint is the walkway from the gondola to the lodge is literally GRAVEL. Like big chunks of gravel. Trying to roll our luggage across this was horrible. I'm pretty sure it didn't do my luggage any service either. The crap thing was that several employees saw us trying to pull our luggage and never stopped to help. When I checked in, the front desk was like "oh, there's supposed to be luggage carts to help with that". Nope. There. Weren't. Checking out the lovely guys (one of which was our driver that pitch black night) helped us take our luggage to the gondola. We didn't hike any of the trails up there - but the resort does lead guided hikes. There's also a decent cafe to get some breakfast and a cute little gift shop to get sundries late at night. All in all I would totally stay here again for the experience - just now I know to just run ahead and get help with my luggage!

We were here in the summer and used the lifts to get to hiking areas. Parking is vast so no…read morefighting for space. We took the gondola up and around the mountain to the village area. There are shops and places to refill your water bottles. You can hike from here but we took the ski lift to the lookout area and started our hike from there. The path takes you through meadows, to look out areas and along alpine lakes. We ended up walking back down to the village area to get in a hike just under 5 miles. For fun we took the lift back up and down and saw some mule deer along the way. The village has some educational displays as well as shopping and snacks. The gondola ride is long and provides some great views. We enjoyed this very much.

We were looking to do something fun at night while on vacation. Snow tubing popped up, so we…read morefigured we would give it a try since we hadn't gone since we were kids. It ended up being such a good time, and probably laughed the hardest we had our entire vacation put together! The walk up the hill in the winter was more than I was expecting, but definitely doable. Pricing wasn't too bad, and they give you a tag to pin to your jacket that they scan each time you go up the conveyer belt to the top. The workers at the top made the experience even more fun by spinning the tubes if you chose to. They really get you going, and you feel like you're moving 100mph lol We we're tired by about the 7th go around, but it's an experience we will remember forever.

I am a snowboarder so I appreciate a locally owned skiing snowboard resort however I was visiting…read morein the summer. I wasn't sure which mountain/ski resort to see while visiting Banff, I thought I'd go with the recommended local resort. I might have given them a five star if I did the via ferrata (spell?)but we did not.. if there was maybe some little trails up there that also would've helped...you take the chair lift up, there's the valley city view & some chair. then you go down the chairlift and that's kind of it. the views are exactly what you would expect. I wasn't blown away because I've been doing so much hiking on this trip that I feel like I've seen it all already, however, if you're not someone who hikes this is a great way to see the views with little to no effort.

We've visited COP various times over the past few years. We tried luge, sports hall of fame and…read moretoday we took to the snow tube park. I called ahead to inquire and we were directed to overflow parking. Within 7 minutes, a free shuttle picked us up to take us to the main lodge where there was a large line up for tickets. It moved quickly and we had our cards in hand within 15 min. We walked to the tube park to pick up our tubes and used our cards to get through a gate that leads to a walking conveyor sort of like those moving walkways at the airport. The conveyor took us up the hill where 5-6 tube lanes were open each with an attendant. The hardest part is navigating past all the people who bunch up at the first 3 lanes rather than walk a few extra feet to lanes 8 or 9. We asked if they were allowing doubles or triples where we could go down as a family of 3 holding on to each other's tubes, but due to extremely icy conditions and the speed travelled, we were only allowed Single rides. There are black mats to slow you down and bumpers to catch you from crashing at the bottom. We even tried a spin where the attendant will push you with a twist so you'll go the entire way down in a spiral. It was hard to stand up after that, so I only did the spin once! We were there about 2.5-3 hours and were exhausted after 7 runs. Definitely going again!

As the eensiest Skihill in western Canada, Canada Olympic Park (COP) even manages to be located…read morewithin city limits. Like many people who grew up in Calgary, I took lessons here when I was little, and then in 6th grade when everyone went on a ski trip. It felt a lot bigger then. The Park itself is actually pretty comprehensive - the regular runs, the bunny hill, and the board park are just a tiny part of it. They have bobsleds on which you can do bobsled runs, and ski jump towers, and a decent route of cross-country ski trails. The lodge is pretty nice. They have some of the best fries and hot cocoa that I've tried from any ski hill around. The rental shop is decent and fast, and very comprehensive. And the gear shop isn't bad either. They do make their own snow. It isn't unusual to glance over as you drive by and see the snow-makers on at full blast. Made snow packs more easily and gets icy faster, but let's face it: a tumble here isn't going to take you very far. It's obvious just by looking at it that COP is not for seasoned skiiers. There are mountains an hours drive away with countless runs on varied terrain. But that's not what it's supposed to be. It's more of a training hill. This is the place I would take a new skiier or snowboarder or a kid, a place where they would actually enjoy themselves. It's also a good place to go and get some practise runs in if you don't have the time to make it out of the city. So I say: Long Live COP and skiing in Calgary!

Nice ski resort with a lot of greens and blues although the greens here are a bit on the…read morechallenging side but all very long runs with some open areas. Snow condition ok when we were there with temps in the mid 20s, a bit icy in the more shaded areas, better on the sunnier slopes. There are several unattended boot/bag storage areas and shelves. No view of Lake Louise from the mountain however although still scenic with great views of snow covered peaks. The lodges tend to get really crowded during peak lunch times. Only thing is getting there is 40 minutes drive from Banff and buses are usually packed and sometimes late so if trying to get there for the 10 am mountain tour (2 hours organized by skill level) could be tricky unless you leave much earlier. One day we got there at exactly 3 minutes past 10 and all the tours had left with no host in sight (generally there are no resort staff anywhere to be seen to help out unlike at US resorts). If staying closer to town center you'll get picked up later and more likely have to wait as the buses will be full by the time they get to your location. Ski/board storage in luggage compartment under the bus, some have limited shelves some just in a jammed pile. Might want to consider putting skis in a bag or get some protection for the bindings as people are not at all careful when loading and unloading. They still give out trail maps in the lodges. The outdoor ice bar is a fun place for a drink.

We skiied here for 1 day out of our 3 day pass and it was a good time. We pulled into the lot to…read moreunload even though people were parking on the street leading up to it. There are lots of lots and they open them up as needed. After unloading in the clearly marked zone, which was well organized, I was able find a spot in the main lot. There are plenty of beginner to intermediate runs and I love that the runs are long, especially compared to other places in the area. The back side is a lot of fun and there are so many lifts, you can mix it up and never really get bored. The food selection here is pretty good as they have a ramen place, which really hit the spot on a ski day.

My husband & I wanted a romantic getaway for the weekend. I was more than satisfied with my stay…read morehere. I found a great rate in Expedia and I thought it was just a room but it was a two floor town home with a fantastic view from my balcony! Perfect for a getaway if you wanted to bring the kids or grandparents! Staff was friendly, approachable and very helpful! When we arrived, the hot water in my room wasn't working properly so we had to move units but we where discounted and very happy with the way it was handled. I jumped right into the pool, hot tub and sauna room it had to offer. They have a great gym too! I definitely would recommend this Inn

NOT HAPPY! - old school…read more - uncomfortable mattresses and furniture - tv wasn't working - couldn't use bath tab - TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE Do not recommend!!

I'm giving this a very generous 3 stars, but tbh if you're booking a powder highway journey I'd…read moregive this one a miss. We stayed at "the approach". The upside is that you're just a few steps from the lift. The downside is that you'll be schlepping gear and bags up several flights of stairs as there are no ramps or elevators. If lot 1 is full? Then you have to schlep your gear on an open air mini gondola. Luckily we got parking in lot 1. Pros : New building. Access to the hot spring pools but there is also an outdoor tub in the approach. Laundry, gym, etc all on site. Cons (and why we will never return): -For the amount of housing food options are extremely limited. On Monday evenings the bar is the only food option. There was an hour +, wait for a table. On Tuesday the other restaurant was totally booked. Which left the bar again. -We are here at the end of Feb and coverage is extremely light. Off piste had brush and stumps exposed and on piste had gravel and chunks of tree debris open. We called it a day after half a day since we didn't bring our rock skis. Can't recommend this one.

An overpriced place. Went during the summer, it felt like it was a cash grab for all the rides…read more The swimming pools are worth it.

We just returned from 6 days of hiking in the most beautiful mountains imaginable. The Heli-hiking…read moreis fabulous. We were able to go to out of the way places unreachable without a helicopter. We felt we were on top of the world. The guides were exceptional. They were so sensitive to our ability and needs. Plus they all knew so much about the environment. They all seemed like well educated naturalists, informing us about rock structures, flowers and the animals we were lucky enough to see. The food at both lodes was fantastic. We felt so lucky to be able to have such a great experience.

It doesn't get any better than this!!! I never knew that HeliHiking existed until my husband…read moresurprised me with this trip. The staff are knowledgeable, fun, and will show you a great time. They separate you into hiking groups according to your abilities so everyone is happy. If you do go helihiking you definitely have to do the Via Ferrata. We stayed at the Bobbie Burns Lodge and loved it! How can you not have a great time flying in a helicopter daily around beautiful mountains and landing on incredible peaks and glaciers where you hike and explore for the day. If you have the opportunity to do this it is definitely worth the money!

Love it here summer and winter. Shoulder seasons have place to yourself. But make sure to bring…read moreyour own groceries as minimal services weekdays between seasons. So much to do. Great for families. Kids love all the activities. Get a calendar of events when you check in.

From the owner: Ski in, ski out accommodationread more