Do yourself a favour: ski at Fernie and rent a chalet at Riverside.

Fernie was perfect for my family. We had great conditions and comfortable skiing weather.

Just as good were the accomodations at Riverside. The chalets are very large and comfortable. We got a 2 bedroom unit that was THREE stories with a 25 foot vaulted roof - lots of room for all of us to spread out. Exactly what we needed for our boys. Better still, because we were 5 minutes off hill, the price was a 1/3 of what we would have paid for a similar unit on the hill. The one time I did stay on the hill, I found it convenient, but we would have to drive into town anyway, because that is where the decent restaurants etc. are located. The place had an awesome pool area, with sauna, water slide and a couple of outdoor hot tubs overlooking the ski hill. We were very pleasantly surprised with the value of this place, and we have gone back here for the past 4 years.

Have fun.

Fernie, British Columbia, was such a scenic little village that was well worth the trip between stops at Libby, MT & Glacier National Park. The hotel has both a lodge and condos. We were travelling with my parents & two toy poodles and had reserved two rooms in the lodge. The Choice Hotels website said that the hotel was pet-friendly and charged $25 (Canadian Currency) for up to 2 pets per room not over 15 lbs. each. Our two toy poodles qualified; however, when we arrived at the hotel the desk clerk informed me that the lodge was NOT pet-friendly. After some searching by the clerk, she put my family up in the condos (which were pet-friendly) & my folks in the lodge. She also gave us a discount on the condo-room & did not charge for the pets. Clerk was very friendly and apologized for the mix-up, but they really need to get the information straight on the Choice Hotels Reservation System. We ate dinner at Boston Pizza downtown & while a little pricy, the food and service were both great! Breakfast the next morning at the local A&W Root Beer Drive-In was also surprisingly good & very reasonably priced. Would love to return to Fernie. It sure beats the heck out of crowded Banff & the mountain scenery is breath-taking.

The Riverside Mountain Lodge deserves an above average for its rooms, but only an okay or less for its restaurant. Our room was spacious and clean, but unfortunately too close to the lounge and lobby. We heard the activity in that area until quite late. Ask for a room at the other end of the lodge if you are tired after a long day on the road. Their restaurant was okay depending on what was ordered. The steak was overcooked and the bill was incorrect.

We just got back from the resort and my family loved the place. We got a 3 bedroom chalet and is was perfect for our family. Lots of room and all the conveniences. The kids loved the waterslide, lots of fun. We'll be back