We stayed at the Chateau World Canmore (CWC), which is five minutes from the Banff Gate (BG) but operated by the same company. Overall, it is a perfectly acceptable place to stay if the purpose of your visit is mainly to enjoy the amenities, of which there is none on site.

My wife, our five-year-old son and I stayed there during the Thanksgiving (U.S.) week. We went there mainly to tour the Banff and Jasper National Parks and to ski and did not much care about what amenities were on site because we were so exhausted at the end of each day after sightseeing or skiing. We got this deal for a two-bedroom unit through a discount program that we were pressured into by some timeshare salesmen when we were in Cancun a couple of years ago (basically you get to use timeshare units that are in low demand). As we discovered, CWC has a hotel side and a timeshare side; the timeshare side has no access to any amenity of the hotel side, except that we got to use the wireless Internet provided by the hotel side because our unit is closest to the hotel side and and weak, but uninterrupted, reception of the wireless signal. You can look through a fence at the steam from the hotel's ourdoor Jacuzzi :(

The unit itself is fairly reasonable, with oak-patterned laminate floor and is very clean. Two bedrooms are separated by the utility room and the only bathroom or the unit. The bathroom is very small, with a washer and dryer in it. The living/dining area is fairly large, and there is sofabed in the livingroom portion. There being only one small bathroom, however, the unit is really not suited to have more than a family of three or four. The kitchen is basic but adequate (we ended up eating in every single meal because were to too tired to go out to the restaurants. By the way, Canmore has at least two large, excellent supermarkets, both nearby).

As mentioned earlier, there is no amenity on site for the time-share side, but you can go to the BG to use what's there. In fact, you check in and out your timeshare unit at BG. There is a small pool (more suited for just soaking and fooling around than actually swimming), gym, sauna, Jacuzzi, billiard/game room and wireless Internet access. You can also check out and DVD or video tape at the main desk without charge (our unit had both a VCR and DVD). Everything seems clean and well maintained, and the staff there was very friendly.

In short, if you just want a basic place to stay near Banff, CWC would be a reasonable choice.

We reserved a two bedroom unit at this resort for a week-end at the end of September. The fall colors were beautiful, and when we awoke on the Saturday, we discovered that it had snowed in the night. This made the scenery even more spectacular.Two couples shared this unit. We found it to be very comfortable, especially the beds. There were two large bedrooms and a complete bathroom upstairs. The downstairs had a cozy sitting and dining area, a partial bathroom (with a stall for a shower but no tiles or fixtures yet), and a well equipped, full kitchen. There was a T.V. in each bedroom and one with a DVD player downstairs. A lovely fireplace with gas insert heater was most enjoyable. Our unit faced north. so we had a great view of the mountains out the front window, and a peaceful forested area out the back.The unit was very clean. Apart from a shower that tended to run hot and cold, and the sight of construction on some new units( unavoidable and temporary of course), we loved the place. It also has a spa area which we did not use. A vehicle is required to go into Canmore and to Banff. We will definitely go back.

We booked our stay at this resort through our RCI timeshare ownership. In the RCI guide, this resort is rated Gold Crown, the highest there is. However, compared to our home resort in Las Vegas, and even to other mountain lodges we've stayed in, this falls well short.

The resort's website talks about units large enough to accommodate six, and in particular mentions 'two spacious bathrooms'. Well, there were just two of us and at times the unit felt cramped. If there'd been four, there wouldn't have been enough comfortable seats in the lounge area. The dining table had six seats, but the six placemats would not fit on the table without overlapping. Worst of all, the bathrooms were tiny - the door had to be completely closed to use any part of the bathroom - and the shower in the downstairs bathroom wasn't fully installed. There was no plumbing, no curtain and the floor was unfinished. So if six people were sharing this unit and all wanted a shower, it would be a long wait for the bathroom.

Worst of all, though, was the quality of housekeeping. We found dead insects on windowsills and shredded tissues on one bedroom floor when we first walked in. The next morning, I went to make coffee and had to scrub the coffeemaker inside and out before using it. The two coffee-mugs supplied were stained brown inside and one had dried-in food around the rim. The kitchen windows were full of smears, there was dried-in food on the sofa cushions and the upstairs bathroom floor was sticky.

We reported these problems to the resort manager, who promised a full clean by housekeeping. We returned to the unit after this had been done, and found that all of the issues we hadn't already resolved ourselves had not been touched: the dead insects remained, the sofa hadn't been cleaned and the windows were still smeary. And the tiny amount of washing-up liquid supplied had been watered down to the point of ineffectiveness.

The resort's location is excellent; it's less than a minute from the entrance to Banff National Park and about three minutes from the town of Canmore, where you will find restaurants, supermarkets and attractive shops. The resort itself, though, is very disappointing. Stay here and you'll have to be prepared to compromise on space, cleanliness and facilities. Oh, and don't expect internet access; there is ONE computer available for use, in reception, and it costs $5.00 plus tax for 30 minutes. If you have laptops and wireless, go to the Wild Flour cafe in Banff town centre; wireless internet is free and the food is excellent.

We booked the resort using our timeshare exchange and stayed for 7 days. Except for the fact that it is beside the highway, the location is b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l! The gate to Banff National park is only 2km away and downtown Canmore (where you can go for groceries, gas, take-out) is even closer. We arrived before the 4pm check-in. Because we had planned to do some sightseeing in Banff while waiting for check-in, the staff said they'd call our cellphone if they get our unit ready earlier. Before heading out, they efficiently registered us so we won't have to do it when we get back. They also accomodated our request to leave our luggage in their office in the meantime.

The unit had ample space for our group of 4 adults, kitchen was well-equipped, had updated furniture - in general very comfortable. Throughout the week we enjoyed the gym and outdoor hot tub which were well maintained.

Now for the rants. Although their website said there were 2 full baths, the shower in one of the bathrooms wasn't installed. Housekeeping is provided once a week, however, their "housekeeping" consisted only of a towel change and nothing more. Ample towels were provided but there were visible stains in some of them. But this is nothing compared to what I found in our room while packing on our last night. I was checking under the bed to make sure I don't leave anything behind when I happened to pull out part of the bedsheet that was tucked and folded under the mattress. To my horror I found a few bloodstains on the sheet (really, it's the only part of our trip that I want to forget) ! Disgusting! But because it was our last night and very late and I was exhausted from the day's activities, I decided not to call the office to ask for fresh sheets. Instead I just put an extra layer of blanket over the bed, which if you think about it is pointless anyway because we've been sleeping on that bed for the past 6 nights! G-ross.

Except for these cleanliness issues in our unit , overall, our experience at the resort was good.