Fairmont Fairytale

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.