My wife and I stayed here with two friends from 24th – 27th December 2007 as part of a self-organised trip around the Rockies, and it was the PERFECT hotel for the Christmas period.

The room we had was very large, with 2 big beds, arm chairs, foot stools and a discreetly placed writing desk. The TV was a new flat screen with plenty of channels and the air conditioning was virtually silent. The floor to ceiling / wall to wall window gave us an immense panoramic view across the Bow Valley to the high snow-covered mountains in the distance. The bathroom was equally well kitted out, with luxury toiletries provided. Slippers and robes were the icing on the cake. Shortly after checking in a porter arrived and presented us with a Christmas stocking full of goodies compliments of the hotel management.

The restaurants and bars cater for all the varying needs of the guests. Breakfast could either be a tasty hot and cold buffet in the Primrose Dining Room or something from the convenience shop selling snacks, coffees and pastries at competitive prices. Lunch, dinner and bar food were available either informally in the cosy Larkspur lounge or timber panelled Divas bar, or as something more fancy in the Primrose Dining Room or Eden, one of Canada’s finest AAA Five Diamond restaurants. On Christmas Day we had turkey and all the trimmings in Primrose and it was fantastic.

There were plenty of activities organised to help celebrate the season, and we thoroughly enjoyed the complimentary manager’s eggnog and wine reception and hot finger buffet on Christmas Eve as carol singers entertained us around the huge fire in the lobby. On Christmas morning at 9:00am Santa arrived with presents for all the children as coffee, tea and hot apple cider were served along with pastries and scones! Of course, the hotel was beautifully decorated and the staff were the most pleasant we encountered in all of the five hotels we stayed in on our Rocky Mountain trip. Their friendliness and good humour was particularly noticeable on Christmas Day, despite them all being far from their own families and working hard to make sure that we were enjoying ourselves.

The hotel has its own outdoor skating rink in the winter months and skates are available to hire. The hotel’s leisure centre has a good pool, Jacuzzi and sauna, as well as a decent gym.

Another plus is that the Rimrock is conveniently located right beside two of Banff’s biggest attractions – the gondola to the top of Sulphur Mountain and the natural hot springs. A complimentary bus into Banff town centre runs from early morning to late at night from the hotel entrance. It only takes five minutes and runs every twenty minutes, so the restaurants, bars and shops on Banff Avenue are very easily accessible. Alternatively, a taxi is only about 7 or 8 dollars. In town I recommend the Maple Leaf Grille for great Canadian food and drinks, but book ahead. Wild Bill’s Legendary Saloon is also worth a visit for more casual dining.

Regarding the Fairmont Banff Springs – the Rimrock’s only competition – we visited for an afternoon and whilst we were definitely impressed we left feeling very relieved that we had chosen the Rimrock. Indeed, we went on to stay in Fairmont properties in Lake Louise, Jasper and Vancouver, so we had nothing against the hotel per se. The Springs was huge, and was packed full of tourists in for a drink and a stroll around the admittedly beautiful grounds. On a number of occasions we also spoke to various locals from Banff who said that given the choice they would definitely rather stay in the Rimrock or eat in one of the Rimrock’s restaurants.

In conclusion, I recommend this hotel extremely highly and would not hesitate to stay here again.