While we were in Canada we were fortunate enough to be able to experience three different Fairmont Hotels. The Fairmont at Banff Springs, Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, and the Fairmont Palliser Calgary. The Fairmont has quickly become one of my favorite hotel groups, and here's why!

The Fairmont at Banff Springs

If you've ever seen pictures of The Fairmont at Banff Springs then you know it looks like a fairytale dream, and I can tell you that it lives up to the hype!

Not only are the views from the hotel spectacular, but over Christmas there were fun, festive activities every day at the castle. From ice-skating, making s'mores around an open fire, to gingerbread house workshops. They also pay a lot of attention to small details, which I think really makes the whole experience magical. In our room was a small decorated Christmas tree, we often found little treats and champagne in our room upon returning after spending the day exploring, and on Christmas morning there were stockings full of gingerbread men, chocolates and other treats waiting for us at the door!

If you feel like being pampered, I'd recommend a dip in the outdoor pool, where you can swim, enveloped by warmth, as snow falls all around you. There is also the renowned Willow Stream Spa on site with a fantastic gym, another pool indoors, a sauna, massage, facials, and just about any pampering service you can dream up.

If food is more your thing, you need never leave the hotel. The Fairmont at Banff Springs has more restaurants, lounges, cheese and wine bars, and sushi than you could poke a stick at. My favorites were the Bow Valley Grill, Waldhouse Pub, Grapes Wine Bar, and the Rundle Lounge (they have great live music in the evenings).

One of my favorite meal experiences though was just having breakfast in our room each morning. We got to sit and look out at the amazing view, while enjoying fresh croissants, fruit, eggs, and of course, Canadian bacon. Plus, I have to mention that their chai is the best I've tasted....anywhere, world wide.

The view from our room!

The Waldhouse Pub is just down some stairs at the back of the Fairmont, and has a more formal upstairs dining room, or sports-bar style area downstairs.

On Christmas day we booked ourselves into both the brunch buffet and one of the Christmas dinners, complete with Sinatra-style live music. I've never eaten so much, the food was just fantastic, and incredibly diverse. If you can swing it, I recommend breakfasting in the Conservatory. Check out those views!

The brunch buffet had everything you could imagine, including a s'mores chef who would whip you up a gooey, chocolatey treat. Did I have one with my breakfast? Of course!

If you do start to get cabin fever, there is no shortage of fun activities within a short drive of the hotel. Check out some of my favorites:

 - Dog Sledding through Banff National Park
 - The Banff Hot Springs
 - Gondola to the top of Sulphur Mountain
 - Helicopter Flight over Banff National Park
 - Strolling along the streets of Banff Town itself

Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise

Nestled on the shore of Lake Louse, the Fairmont Chateau feels much more European than North American, and you'll expect to hear a wider variety of accents among the guests than at the Fairmont Banff Springs (which appears to be frequented by Australians more than any other group).

Like it's Banff Springs neighbor, the Fairmont Chateau at Lake Louise has more than enough activities to keep you busy. They have a rental shop inside the hotel, where you can get ice-skates, snow shoes, skiis, and sleds and take yourself on your own adventure, or go on one of their guided mountain adventure programs.

Lake Louise has been voted one of the world's most picturesque places to ice-skate, and I have to admit that it's hard to pay attention to your feet, when there are spectacular mountains rising up all around you. Not to mention that the hotel builds an ice-castle on the rink, and also has an ice-bar where you can rest in between skating sessions!

Fairmont Palliser Calgary

We only stayed in the Fairmont Palliser in Calgary for one night, and while it is more of a typical city hotels than the castle-style hotels at Banff Springs or Lake Louise, the quality and service was on par.

The Palliser is also located directly next door to the Calgary Tower, which is great for first time visitors to Calgary to get their bearings and check out the city from above.

We certainly had some fun with the glass floor!

Calgary certainly isn't my favorite Canadian city, but we had to stop there on your way to Banff National Park. While I'll admit we were only there for a short time, it felt dirty and industrial, with half-finished construction everywhere, closed off footpaths, potholed streets etc. The downtown area didn't seem like it had that much going on either. We saw plenty of drug deals and pan-handling, but not much in the way of culture, museums, good food etc.

I'm happy to be corrected though, if you know of some great Calgary gems, in case we ever find ourselves back there. Learn more »

Well, it's officially the 'new year', and I (like a billion other people) am squarely in reflective mode. 2014 was such an incredible year. I married my best friend, was fortunate enough to travel to some breathtaking, incredible places, and moved to Colorado (which I'm completely in love with).

Here's a six-second Vine snapshot of our year! You can see more pics and adventures at www.instagram.com/SweetDivergence

So it's going to be pretty tough to top last year, and make 2015 even better, but I'm sure going to try!

Have you ever made a bucket list...just for travel? My husband and I are making one now. Actually I think it is more likely to turn into two bucket lists, one that can be achieved in 2015, and one that might take us a little longer to complete.

So far we've added:

- River cruise through Europe
- Patagonia, Chile
- Vancouver, Canada
- Iceland
- Road Trip from Seattle to Big Sur (south of San Francisco)
- Overnight train anywhere
- Japan
- Explore more of France (specifically Saint-Emilion, Riquewihr, and Colmar)
- Czec Republic
- Poland
- Croatia
- Austria
- Grand Canyon
- See more of Switzerland (specifically Gruyeres, Montreux, Jungfrau Region, and Interlaken)
- Galapagos Islands
- Bruges, Belgium
- See more of Spain (specifically Ronda, and Seville).
- More of Germany (specifically Berlin, Cochem, and Konstanz)
- I'd like to take my husband to Italy because he's never been (Lake Como, Venice, Rome, Cinque Terra)

- Then there are the national parks here in the United States!

     - Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska
     - Redwood National Park, California
     - Yosemite National Park, California
     - Glacier National Park, Montana
     - Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina
     - Virgin Islands National Park, US Virgin Islands
     - Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
     - Yellowstone National Park, Wymoming

Now we just have to work out what we can fit into this year, and what will have to wait until next year.

Do you have anywhere else you think we should add to our list? I always love hearing other people's travel stories and about places they loved, hated, and were surprised by! Leave me a comment below!

And if you're interested in winning prizes for topping your 2014, check out the contest that LifeProof is running at the moment. Super easy to enter, and there are some cool prizes up for grabs! Details here.

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As a Christmas gift to ourselves we took a helicopter flight over the Canadian Rockies, in Banff National Park, Alberta Canada.

I can't begin to describe how breathtakingly beautiful it was, the photos and videos really don't do it justice....but take a look anyway. ;)

Watch the video in particular. There were times when we were heading straight for a mountain or glacier, only to squeeze between two peaks at the last minute. It was incredible!

If you're in the Banff / Canmore area I would definitely recommend Alpine Helicopter Tours. Our pilot even told us they have a private tour which includes a stop at a remote ski-lodge for hot-chocolate before flying back to base.

Prices start at $119 per person for the shorter flights and run through to $800+ for bigger tours. The tour we were taken on was the Assiniboine Glacier Tour, which didn't disappoint, and is usually priced at $279 per person for a 30-minute flight. They can also put together private packages on request, and will even fly you into some beautiful and remote areas for your wedding (wish I'd known about that a few months ago)!

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One of the items on my LifeProof Winter Bucket List was to go ice-skating on a frozen lake. I've only ever ice-skated on indoor rinks, and being from Australia where winter sports barely exist, I've only skated a handful of times in my life!

So on Christmas Day we went on a mini road trip from Banff to Lake Louise, in Alberta Canada. We were staying in the Fairmont at Banff Springs (also known as 'The Castle') so we were keen to check out their sister hotel the Fairmont Chateau at Lake Louise.

Not only did the lake have an incredible backdrop of mountains, snow, and fog for us to admire while we skated, but the hotel had built a little ice castle on the rink!

And what would a castle be without a throne? Made of ice, of course!

The Fairmont had also set up a cocktail bar, with walls made from snow and ice, and a 'Maple Bar' near the rink and were serving all sorts of maple and Christmas-inspired treats!

Check out the video, and try not to laugh at me as I attempt to stay upright!

We rounded out our Christmas Day with a special dinner at the Fairmont back in Banff Springs, and it couldn't have been more perfect. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and got to spend time with friends and family!

Thank you to LifeProof, not only for keeping my phone protected against snow, water, and drops, but for encouraging me to brave the winter weather and get out there and try some new things!

Tips

 - Get there early if you need to rent skates. The most popular sizes run out quickly.
 - The rental store, inside the Fairmont, also has skis, sleds, and snow shoes available so make a day of it!
 - Wear thermals and don't forget your hat/gloves/scarf! It can get windy out on Lake Louise!
   When we went it was -9 degrees (Celsius) in the middle of the day, not including wind chill!

Stay tuned for my review of the Fairmont at Banff Springs! Learn more »

On a whim we decided to take the gondola up to the top of Sulphur Mountain in Banff. It is only a five minute drive from our hotel so we thought we would squeeze in a quick visit between other activities.

As we arrived at the base of the mountain, we looked up....and up...and up. The tops of the mountains disappeared into the clouds, but the sun shone through, making the snow twinkle all around us. It's hard not to feel humbled in the midst of such beautiful and awe-inspiring scenery!

The base of the Banff Gondola has a cute souvenir shop, and the highest altitude Starbucks in Canada. Each gondola car seats four, and only takes eight minutes to reach the top.

Not having done any research ahead of time we really didn't know what to expect, so our surprise was magnified when we reached the top of the mountain, and walked outside to discover views like this!

You can walk from the gondola station along a wooden walkway to the Sulphur Mountain Cosmic Ray Station on the next peak. It has a fascinating history, which you can read more about on the Parks Canada website.

Visiting on Christmas Day was pretty magical, with the snow-covered trees and glittering mountain tops. I can't remember ever seeing a more beautiful view!

From one side of the mountain we could even see our hotel, the Fairmont at Banff Springs (which I'll be writing a blog post about soon)!

There is something really special about standing above the clouds looking down. Really takes your breath away (and not just because of the high altitude)!

And just because I still can't get over the beauty of the Canadian Rockies, here are a few more pics...in hopes they will inspire you to visit one day!

We veered off the wooden walkway near the Cosmic Ray Station to do a little exploring down the side of the mountain. The views were worth the few slippery and scary moments we had along the edge further down.

Our 'quick visit' turned into several hours, as we explored the view from every possible angle. Check out the video below to get a better idea of just how incredible the view was!

Tips
It's very, very cold up there this time of year, and extremely windy. So wear a decent scarf, jacket, hat, gloves, and glasses. We saw so many miserable people who were completely under-dressed!

Go in the morning. As we were leaving, mid afternoon all the tour buses started arriving. There were no lines when we arrived before lunch and at times we had the mountain top to ourselves, but it got increasingly busier as the day progressed.

Let me know if you have any questions about my Banff adventures, and I'll do my best to answer them! And of course, you can see more photos over on Instagram: @SweetDivergnece 

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