More about Inns Of Banff
Good Place to Stay
by TripAdvisor Member turkskel
We stayed at the IOB from Feb 20 to the 25th. The hotel was fairly clean, and really busy with lots of people. Our room was a spacious and the view from our balcony was awesome. The room was cleaned everyday. I am a very meticulous person about cleanliness, and only saw that the staff kind of missed the corners of the room when they were vaccuming the floors. We were in the B building on the top floor. Getting around the hotel was a little challenging with lots of stairs up and down. However, it was great to get a little more exercise. We had the breakfast package included in our stay. The breakfast buffet was ok, the eggs were powdered eggs, which I dont particularly care for. However, the staff was always very friendly. We also ate breakfast a few times in the restaurant, and the food seemed better there. Again, some items they used powdered eggs. The hot tub was a nice way to end a great day of skiing. And again the view of the mountians from the hot pool was awesome.
Overall a clean place to stay. But if you are looking for luxury, try somewhere else.
Acceptable, not great
by A TripAdvisor Member
Just returned from a glorious week skiing the Canadian Rockies. Wish I could say the same about the Inns of Banff. The Inns do offer some nice amenities, like very good (and reasonably priced) breakfasts and an outdoor hot pool for apres ski, but our accomodations could have been better. The 2BR condo we stayed in was dark, the bedrooms were quite small and everything was just a bit frayed around the edges. Noise was easily transmitted from adjoining units, and the condos are located at the far end of the property, a long way from the lobby and restaurant. Be aware as well that the property is located on the very edge of the town of Banff, and although the hotel advetises itself as walking distance from the town center, you will most likely need a vehicle. All in all an acceptable stay, but there are much nicer choices in Banff.
Highly Recommended
by TripAdvisor Member stalybridge
8 of us spent 10 nights at the Inns of Banff over Dec04/Jan 05 and we all enjoyed our stay.
Rooms spacious & clean - coffee etc replaced everyday.
Great location with a 20/30 minute walk into the town - refreshing at -34c one day! Especially good location for skiers as its the 1st pickup/drop off for the ski buses.
Hotels Bears Den pub was good but could get busy with standing room only on once or twice during our stay - not a problem though as plenty of nightlife in the town - check out Grizzly House for some fondue & Wild Bills for steak and live music. Bumpers across the road from the hotel has steaks that need to be seen to believed.
The hotels Reflections restaurant can be slow for breakfast - especially if you only have an hour or so before the ski bus - bettter to use the upstairs buffet which has pretty much the same food but you can go at your own pace.
We booked our holiday with Inghams and our rep - Heather - was really helpful with the excursions. Dog Sleds, Skidoo's and Ice Walking are all good. Beware the 2 hour drive into British Columbia for the Skidoos as its an early start and after a heavy night...not good. That was our fault though!
Would stay here again no question - the skiing is superb
Enjoy.
Great skiing holiday - Feb 2005
by TripAdvisor Member ianthemood4aholiday
When we arrived there was a long queue at reception - All guests from same bus checking in at once. Took nearly 30 mins and after a days travel that wasn't what we wanted. We were given the room with the leak in the roof and to be fair to the staff they said it only seems to happen when the snow melts in warm conditions. We were promptly relocated. Even when factoring in the above I can honestly say we had a great time. Rooms large with lots of storage and good bathroom, service was superb, the food very reasonably priced and of good quality, the leisure facilities excellent (although too much chlorine in the pool made your skin abit itchy) - I had a Shiatzu massage which was very relaxing. Ski bus stops right outside and you are first on and first off. Walk to the village is about 15 mins but opens up a whole choice of shops and eating places. My daughter liked Old Spagetti factory which was fantastic value and the Tex Mex was very good also. Service again in a different league. We also liked the fact that everywhere was totally non-smoking. Skiing was good but Norquay the nearest was steep and not for beginers. Sunshine about 20 mins away was excellent for intermediates as was lake louise. The bus to the skiing was always ontime and the drivers were almost tour guide esque! Brilliant place and nice hotel !
Disappointing
by TripAdvisor Member TAmembers
On our tour of Vancouver and the Rockies this was the only hotel which let us down. It is on the edge of town and a long walk in to the shops and resturants. You can take your car but it isnt easy to park. Banff itself was heaving with tourists and extremely hot. The hotel had no air con although at night it did cool down enough to sleep. Reception told us no hotel in Banff had air con but many others advertised the facility. The room and bathroom were large and clean although very basic. The hotel resembled a large modern multi storey car park and was pretty soulless. Wasn't good value and there must be much better places to stay which are more central.
Disappointed
by A TripAdvisor Member
We got mixed reviews of this hotel… Good: friendly staff briefed us on all hotel facilities when we check in; ample of covered parking; large and spacious room (ours has a balcony too). Bad: disappointed by the cleanliness of this hotel – the carpet in our room has visible dust all around the edge; clogged bathtub drainage (pretty disgusting when water is over-flowing when taking a shower); stinky smell in bathroom (probably caused by clogged drain); dirty coffee machine. Since cleanliness is my priority requirement for staying in any hotel, I’m only giving this hotel a 2 out of 5.
dont believe the hype!
by TripAdvisor Member bluenose_jr
I really cant understand all the negative reviews regarding the location. I spoke to people who stayed in town & they all moaned about the noise up till 2am.
There is a regular bus that takes you to & from town which costs about a $1. The hotel itself was fine nothing fancy but hey I didnt pay a lot of money so I wasnt expecting the Fairmont banff springs, some peoples expectations are too high. I tried all the restaurants in the hotel & bumpers across the road & they were all excellent. The bar in the hotel was great, the hot tub was superb & the pool although quite small was ok. Put it this way Im going back next year.
Nothing Special but Banff is!
by TripAdvisor Member jim2607
Our second trip to Banff, stayed at Swiss Village which is a motel annexe a few yards away from (within the grounds of) the main building at Inns Of Banff.
The room itself was ok, reasonable size, balcony, motel velour/nylon bed spreads but all worked ok and couldnt grumble for the money we paid really.
If youre not an early riser you need to make sure you are way up the corridor as you will get people clumping past your door in skiboots from about 7am. Youve been warned!
I usually like to make use of the hot tub/steam room when snowboarding. This was such a trek away through the hotel via a maze of corridors and when you get there it was full of boisterous kids, just didnt bother.
The Bears Den pub was ok food, chicken in a basket pub grub stuff, and good beer on draught plus a good laugh cynical Canadian barman!
It is a fair trek into town but doesnt hurt to do the walk and you can always call for a cab which are pretty cheap and quick.
Earl's in town is great for food and the waitresses are REALLY cute. The garlic mash and ribs are awesome. Also, try the Rose & Crown for a drink, good pub and sometimes have kicking bands.
Next time Im in Banff I will stay at one of the places in town early on the shuttle bus route like Red Carpet or Ptarmigan. By the time the bus gets to IOB its pretty full already, does mean you get off first on the way back tho!
Sunshine is the place to ride, it really is great! Look out for the Goats Eye mountain on your left as you get near the base. Louise is a bit too far away really and Norquay isnt worth the bother.
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