Hotels & accommodation

Fairmont Banff Springs

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts · Château-style grand railway hotel in Banff National Park, opened in 1888 and known as Canada's 'Castle in the Rockies'

Fairmont Banff Springs stands on Spray Avenue above the Bow Falls in Banff National Park, a few minutes' walk from the Banff townsite. Opened in 1888 as a Canadian Pacific Railway hotel — championed by railway general manager William Cornelius Van Horne — it was rebuilt in its present château style in the early 20th century, with the main tower completed in 1928. The hotel is a National Historic Site of Canada and is still the landmark most visitors mean when they picture a Canadian mountain hotel.

The hotel has more than 700 rooms and suites spread across the main château and wings such as the Alpine Wing. Many rooms face Mount Rundle, others look over the Bow Valley and the hotel's golf course; the Fairmont Gold floor operates as a hotel-within-the-hotel with its own lounge, and the top suites include the Crown Suite and the Van Horne Suite named for the hotel's founder.

Dining runs to more than a dozen venues: the Vermilion Room for breakfast, the 1888 Chop House for Alberta beef, the German-alpine Waldhaus restaurant and pub down by the golf course, the Rundle Bar in the hotel's grand hall, and Stock Food & Drink for casual meals. The Willow Stream Spa, modelled on a European bath house, adds mineral pools, treatment rooms and an outdoor hot pool used year-round.

For a scouting trip the hotel works as a mountain base rather than a city one: the Banff townsite — its shops, the Banff Centre and the local services a newcomer would actually use — is walkable from the door, Canmore's more residential neighbourhoods are 20 minutes down the Bow Valley, and Calgary is about 90 minutes east on the Trans-Canada Highway.

• Operated by Fairmont Hotels & Resorts (Accor); designated a National Historic Site of Canada
• 405 Spray Avenue, Banff, Alberta — above Bow Falls, a short walk from the Banff townsite
• Opened in 1888 as a Canadian Pacific Railway hotel; the château-style main building dates largely to 1911–1928
• More than 700 rooms and suites, many facing Mount Rundle or the Bow Valley
• Willow Stream Spa, the Stanley Thompson-designed Banff Springs Golf Course, and 12+ restaurants and bars including the Rundle Bar and 1888 Chop House

Visit the property — Fairmont Banff Springs fairmont.com

This featured showcase is an editorial selection by our editors. We have not stayed at this property and it is not a paid placement; no rating is implied. Paid placements never influence the Canada liveability score, safety rating or warnings.