I stayed at the Banff Park Lodge for one week at the end of September 2007 for a work conference. The conference facilities are okay, but may be a bit dated. The rooms are average - and it appears they could use a few renovations. The beds are not very comfortable.

However the maid service is good. We had meals included with conference and some days the meals were quite good, however other days the food was off. For example, one evening the chicken tasted like it had been cooked with dish soap.

I have stayed at the Rimrock and the Banff Caribou Lodge and they are much better value for the money.

Myself and 2 friends have just returned from a weeks skiing in the Banff/Lake Louise area. We stayed at the Banff Park Lodge and would definately recommend! Now Ok this isn't 5* or 6 * but it does blow any, and i mean any European ski hotel out of the water - as does skiing in Canada in general! We stayed in a Lodge suite which for 7 nights cost us £350 each - thats Travel Lodge money!!! The suite had 3 queen size beds, living/dining room and 2 full granite bathrooms. The hotel staff were very helpful and friendly, the hotel was clean, the buffet breakfast was fantastic. There really was nothing to fault at all.
Banff itself is incredible. The nightlife superb and the locals are just so friendly. I will NEVER ski Europe again. As for the food - well you cannot have a bad meal. The Alberta AAA steaks are the best kept secret in the world. I have eaten and raved about Kansas beef, Kobi beef and Aberdeen Angus but never had beef as good. BEST place to eat - Saltlik Restaurant- I have eaten in what are supposed to be the best in the world but the level of service and food here is incredible. We had the "nearly famous ribs" to start , AAA Alberta Grande fillet with layered potatos, garlic asparagas and a good bottle of red - about £30 each - superb. Other great places - Grizzly's - you can eat, beef, rattle snake, buffalo, elk, chicken etc etc - and you cook it yourself on hot rocks at the table - great experience!! Nightlife- too much to mention- but you have to go to the Karioke at Wild Bills - just for the local talent! There is just too much good about Banff and i do not have long enough to say all - Just go!!!! Oh and the skiing is the best - no queues, vast open expansive slopes, polite staff and fellow skiiers. You have to go - especially with the strength of the £ against Canadian $. It is as cheap if not cheaper than Europe and so much more quality for money. We flew with Zoom direct from Manchester to Calgary - £600 return - business class, hotel £350 - 7 nights.

Upon arrival we were told that since the pool/hot tub were under renovation we would need to take a taxi to another pool- not very appealing considering it was so cold outside. As we walked to our room, the halls were lined with loads of garbage from rooms that had been cleaned.There appeared to be black mould all over the shower tiles- also the bathroom and foyer had an old tile ceiling. There was no water pressure and the water ran cold in the shower. When we complained, a young female supervisor blamed us for not requesting the shower to be fixed sooner and she was completely unapologetic. Not impressed- only good thing was the location. Will not be staying there again.

We chose to spend our last night in Banff at the Park Lodge. We had spent two and a half weeks in Banff mostly camping but spending a couple of nights at the Rundlestone and one at Bumpers. We chose the Park Lodge as we wanted something very close to the downtown so we could get our shopping done and enjoy a few cocktails at one of the restaurants without having to worry about driving anywhere. We were checked in quickly and were given a room on the top floor facing the street which is what we had asked for. So, we were off to a good start. However, once in our room we discovered our queen beds had shrunk to doubles. Unless of course that is their idea of queen size? Dunno. What was nice was a decent sized patio to sit out and enjoy some people watching. Now, this is the strange part. They have no chairs on any of the patios. Nothing! No plastic ones or anything. Why have patios if you can't sit outside on them? So, we went out to our vehicle and got our two fold out chairs and brought those in. They were somewhat worn so we even left them there upon departure for the next occupants to use (unless of course the staff chose to remove them). As far as the room went it was a decent size and looked quite clean. They place is showing it's age though as the top bed spread looked like it was leftover from the 1960's. The place really does need some upgrading. We did use the pool a couple of times and let me tell you that if you have ever swam at Johnson Lake (a few K's from Banff), the water at the Park Lodge is just as cold. Wow, it was chilly!!! But, the hot tub was nice and worked well. We did not get a chance to dine at their restaurants though the menus looked okay. The one thing I thought looked very inviting was their lounge. Would we stay here again? Probably, given the location. However, given the fact it cost about the same as the Rundlestone, I would chose the Rundlestone over the Park Lodge anytime. So, if any Park Lodge management types are ready this....get some plastic chairs put on those patios please!!!