What an experience to spend 7 days exploring the winter wonderland that is the Canadian Rockies. Enjoy my inspiring report on our wonderful guides, meals and experiences from snowshoeing to skiing and even a gondola ride, we saw the best Banff, Lake Louise and Calgary has to offer guests during the winter.
Day 1
I joined my 5 lovely ladies from across the UK and we met in Heathrow Airport by the Costa to get acquainted. Wayne from Air Canada joined us for a breezy pass through security followed by an informative tour of the terminal, unfortunately there were some works scheduled for 2 weeks in the business lounge meaning we couldn’t gain access however he treated us to a delicious breakfast and coffee. After 2 hours of chatting about Wayne’s love of Air Canada and his travel experiences time flew by and we were boarding our flight on the Dreamliner which was impressive with its bright blue hue.
We had 2 rows of 3 together towards the front of the aircraft and were treated to lunch, a dessert, a snack and a breakfast service. Inflight entertainment was nice with 8 hours of flight time we watched a few films and enjoyed a rest, the Dreamliner’s have a dimming feature which made the sun look a shimmering ruby colour through the window which made the cabin a lot darker and easier to sleep. Upon arrival into Calgary we passed through the Egates at YYC very smooth process followed by check in at the Brewster transport desk which was in the domestic terminal. Our driver greeted us and loaded our bags into the coach, it was a 90-minute drive into Banff as there was no traffic (normally it can take about 2 hours).
Upon arrival to the Elk + Avenue Hotel we were met by the front office supervisor who had our keys waiting for us and a welcome package with a few goodies provided by Banff Lake Louise Tourism and Ski Big 3 including some socks, body butter, a beanie (toque in Canadian) and a few brochures with our ski lift passes.
Our BLLT rep Carl met us in the lobby after a short refresh to walk us to dinner at the Balkan which is a well-known Greek restaurant on Banff Ave famous for their belly dancers and plate smashing display which occurs at 7pm daily. We ordered share platters which provided a spread of diverse meals to sample we had nothing but great things to say about their delicious food.
Day 2
An Early start today we were up and ready to meet our Discover Banff Tours driver Matt who took us up to the Juniper Bistro and Hotel to enjoy a breakfast as we eagerly awaited the gorgeous sunrise over the Canadian Rockies.
After taking a few photos full of pink skies we enjoyed a site inspection of the Juniper a definite highlight being the outdoor family cabins which has a beautiful mountain view and cozy fireplace.
Matt picked us up as we set off on a Banff sightseeing tour including 2 Jack Lake, Lake Minnewanka, the Hoodoos, Fairmont Banff Springs, the natural hot springs, the horse stables and the Christmas market grounds. Matt explained the history of the town and the reason behind some of the names of the lakes and streets. (Fun Fact every street in Banff is named after only animals found in Banff.)
Matt dropped us off to meet Steve from Ski Big 3 who assisted us with our winter gear fitting followed by lunch at the Elk & Oarsman where they specialize in Elk inspired cuisine (I tried the Elk poutine).
Matt drove us to Johnston Canyon where we experienced strapping on ice cleats to our shoes for the first time and enjoyed a leisurely paced walk through the canyon to the lower falls (about 30 mins) then half the group continued to the upper falls (30 mins further).
After our ice walk experience we enjoyed a hot chocolate before making our way to Lake Louise to check in just before 5pm.
To our delight the Fairmont team upgraded all of us to their gold floor featuring spacious luxury interiors, additional amenities and my personal favourite, a large window sill overlooking the magnificent Lake Louise. We enjoyed dinner at the Alpine Social highlight being their specialty Baileys hot chocolates as the perfect nightcap.
Day 3
We enjoyed breakfast today at the Poppy Brasserie which gave us a full-service buffet, the smoothie bar was a highlight along with their offering of maple flavoured pancakes, baked beans and bacon a truly Canadian breakfast. Upon arrival to Lake Louise Ski Resort our host Laura met us to sign some waivers and meet our snowshoeing guide, we rode the gondola to the top of the resort where we enjoyed a 90-minute snow shoe walk. It was quite windy so we ended up hiding amongst the tree’s for shelter and learnt about avalanche control, (Fun fact they throw sticks of dynamite onto the high risk avalanche areas early in the morning as a prevention measure each day).
The Alpine trek proved a little too exhausting for some so we retreated to a warm cabin to enjoy a hot chocolate and some treats before descending in the gondola to re-join Laura for lunch. Laura was joined by her colleague Kent who joined us for some sushi at Kuma Yama and we discussed all things snow and ski before spending some time in the gift shop.
Boarding the shuttle back to the Chateau our group was divided as there weren’t enough seats so the 3 of us who took the later shuttle were in for a real treat! The bus came to a stop as we witnessed a black bear only 10 meters in front of the shuttle. He slowly walked across the road and in the blink of an eye he dipped into the forest on the other side, we were so happy and surprised we couldn’t even get our camera’s out in time for a picture.
After a quick refresh at the hotel we met Mike (Jim Carey as we nicknamed him) who took half our group on a leisurely hike to Fairview Lookout. The walk was great as Mike pointed out animal tracks in the snow, explained the ways animals use the snow for shelter and eventually we reached the lookout for a spectacular view of the Lake and hotel in the distance.
Jen from the Fairmont joined us for a site inspection and we explored the varying rooms on offer, dinner was at Walliser Stuber in the Chateau. Dinner was one of our highlights featuring a crowd favourite - a cheese fondue followed by steak then a heavenly Toblerone fondue for dessert. Jen also brought her dog Roger Federer down to play with us by the lobby Christmas tree for a perfect end to a busy day.
Day 4
Today we followed Jen’s advice and had breakfast in the gold lounge where we enjoyed the omelette station and variety of pastries.
Upon checking out our Discover Banff Tours driver Nick drove us across the boarder into British Columbia to Kootenay National Park for a snowshoe tour of Marble Canyon. We got lucky with blue skies and perfect weather with fresh snow, after a short walk into the canyon we witnessed frozen streams of water and icicles lining the path. Once Nick found the perfect spot, he made us fresh maple taffy on the snow and we enjoyed hot chocolates as we made snow angels like big kids.
We returned to Banff for lunch at the Banff Ave Brewing Co where they served massive pub style food, we learnt that this restaurant is heavily involved with the community sponsoring schools, events and supporting local businesses. After lunch Nick drove us to the Banff Upper Hot Springs, we were given an option to wear a traditional style swimsuit which I tried on of course. The water is fed through underground streams under Sulphur Mountain and the temperature sits around 40 degrees Celsius, on some occasions they even need to cool the water as it can reach over 50 degrees in summer. After a warm soak we checked into the Moose Hotel & Suites and enjoyed a cocktail at their Pacini bar, we met Carl once again who joined us for dinner at the Park Distillery. The Park Distillery produce their own Vodka and Gin as well as run their own rotisserie, locals love their chicken and gin – a winning combo apparently.
We returned to Banff for lunch at the Banff Ave Brewing Co where they served massive pub style food, we learnt that this restaurant is heavily involved with the community sponsoring schools, events and supporting local businesses. After lunch Nick drove us to the Banff Upper Hot Springs, we were given an option to wear a traditional style swimsuit which I tried on of course. The water is fed through underground streams under Sulphur Mountain and the temperature sits around 40 degrees Celsius, on some occasions they even need to cool the water as it can reach over 50 degrees in summer. After a warm soak we checked into the Moose Hotel & Suites and enjoyed a cocktail at their Pacini bar, we met Carl once again who joined us for dinner at the Park Distillery. The Park Distillery produce their own Vodka and Gin as well as run their own rotisserie, locals love their chicken and gin – a winning combo apparently.
Day 5
This morning we enjoyed breakfast at Pacini in the Moose Hotel followed by collecting our ski’s which were delivered by Banff Ski Hub then a short walk to the shuttle stop where Steve from Ski Big 3 re-joined us for the afternoon. It took 15 minutes to get to Sunshine where we met David from Banff Sunshine Village, we began with a safety briefing and were split into two groups to head onto the learning slopes. After a practice run we were sent up to try a green run and a blue run, very proud of myself. We enjoyed Lunch at the Chimney Corner followed by a site inspection of the Sunshine Mountain Lodge the only ski in ski out property in the resort.
After returning to Banff we took a taxi to the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel where we did an inspection with Kathy, the hotel was so big it felt like a castle and with each winding hallway and corner it became almost like a maze. (fun fact the Fairmont has 15 room categories) Kathy joined us for dinner at the Castello Ristorante for some delicious Italian Cuisine – I tried the lobster ravioli and arancini and it was a definite 10/10 for me. (Bonus fun fact their Pastry Chefs created a huge Fairmont ginger bread house which took 90 hours to construct, very impressive!).
Day 6
Breakfast at the Keg restaurant was very filling as we were treated to fresh fruit platters, eggs, sausages, bacon and toast. We were met by Jeff and Mike from the Caribou Lodge for a site inspection before heading to the Banff Gondola with our driver from Banff Airporter. This was a trip down memory lane for me as I used to work here. We had a time secured for ascending Sulphur Mountain in a 4-seater gondola, the ride took 7 minutes and to our delight we had the upper terminal to ourselves. It was a bit cold outside on the boardwalk which stretched across the top of the mountain, so we took a few pictures and enjoyed the view before returning inside to explore the interactive learning centre. We then set off with our driver for Calgary bringing our Banff adventure to a close.
Upon arriving into Calgary we checked into the Fairmont Palliser which was smooth and easy before meeting our host Bailey from Tourism Calgary. Bailey took us for a walking tour around the city centre to sights such as Studio Bell a large interactive music museum (fun fact the building interior was designed to resemble the inside of a guitar). We were taken up the Calgary Tower where we enjoyed 360 views of the city and on a clear day you can see as far as the Rocky Mountains.
Bailey passed us over to Judy from Lifetime Adventure Travel who was the proudest Calgarian I’ve ever met. Judy was absolutely delighted to show us through the +15 which is a network of above ground pathways to connect people downtown during the winter months to avoid the harsh cold (fun fact it can occasionally get to -50 and no one is permitted to go outside without covering their entire body or you’ll literally freeze).
After a refresh we met Sofia from Fairmont who gave us a site inspection of the Palliser followed by our last hosted dinner of the trip at the wonderful Oak Room, we sampled a few share plates and signature cocktails, everything was delicious as expected to the Fairmont standard.
Day 7
Sofia was kind enough to arrange a late check out of the Palliser so we could leave our bags in our rooms for the day. Bailey joined us for breakfast at the OEB Breakfast Co which has gained popularity recently for its long menu and were named best brunch in Calgary 2017. After a very filling and delicious breakfast we set off to Heritage Park where we met Sandy. We were informed that due to the weather it was too cold for a horse drawn carriage ride they had planned so instead we got a tour of the vintage car yard and their collection of neon road signs. We enjoyed a little arts and crafts with gingerbread cookie decorating (I named mine Berta from Alberta) and listened to some haunting ghost stories about their heritage buildings.
We then set off to Chinook Centre for a little retail therapy before the end of the trip, we picked up a few gifts then took taxi’s back to the Palliser to check out. Our driver was ready and waiting for us as we got back, and it was a short 20-minute transfer to the airport.
Upon arrival to YYC we did a self-check in with Air Canada and proceeded to our gate where we were called over the PA to see the customer service desk, we received 5 business class upgrades. The ladies were thrilled, I took the premium upgrade and enjoyed a little extra wine on the comfy flight home. Upon arrival into Heathrow our bags were out in no time and security was a breeze, we said our sad goodbyes and with that the end to a fantastic Canadian winter experience.
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