Hotels in Banff

Banff is mountain fairytale. Since I come from Europe, I believe it can be better decorated for Christmas. There is plenty of things to do, restaurant and bar selection is awesome, you can find basically everything, everything is short walk away(I could say 5-10min away). Lots of short or long trails you can reach within 5min of walk. Nice campgrounds with clean washrooms. Lots of places around to visit...if you are nature "freak" like myself one week is short because selection is huge(Banff Gondola, Hot Springs, Johnston Canyon, trails around city, beautiful asphalt trail that you can easily walk or pedal bike to Canmore(16km away), then Lake Minnewanka, Lake Louise 45min away and lots of other things)... Restaurant we can recommend: Balkan has great food, Grizzly House is unique experience because of exterior and interior, but food is little bit overpriced for what at the end you eat. Keg in one of the hotels has great buffet breakfast. Of the restaurant we liked Coyote Grill and Bar. Make sure you come earlier because all the good restaurants are full with long waiting lines. Bar/pub we really like is Elk and Oarsmen, beer selection is decent, food is regular pub food, you won't be thrilled. Across the street there is Banff brewing company, its an okay place but I wouldn't recommend it, same as the pizza place beside it. Beers are not as good as some other micro breweries, but the pub is pricer than others. Great night out you can find in Dancing Sasquatch.

I didn't go hiking, shopping, or ice skating. I went to the Rose & Crown Pub and Dancing Sasquatch (first time at both establishments). I found that they were really fun and I do not enjoy night clubs (Dancing Sasquatch) at all. I checked out Park for a cocktail and some delicious Fried Chicken Mac N' Cheese for dinner. I had brunch at The Bison, which a friend recommended to us, and it was phenomenal! I had a caesar, a mimosa, and chocolate milk shaft (espresso alcoholic beverage) alongside the Brunch Pizza (SO GOOD!), Huevos Rancheros (OK, a bit dry - needs more sauce, and way too many beans in my opinion), and the Broek Back Benny (Very good as well!). I usually eat at Balkan's Greek restaurant when I am in Banff, but I am glad that I tried the Bison and checked out some of the night life! Be sure to dress warm! You can enjoy Downtown Banff and explore when you are much warmer! Or there are tons of taxi's everywhere if you don't want to walk in the cold. Ice skating is beautiful during the day!

Our trip to Banff was for snowboarding over the Christmas period. We visited the Big3 mountains, Sunshine being our favourite. Norquay had a lovely family atmosphere but wasn't for us due to being beginners, we found the slopes a bit too steep. ! Downtown Banff was fabulous, all the restaurants were of good standard and fairly priced. We visited Earls Kitchen on our last night which was excellent, pity we found it so late on in our trip. We hired a 4x4 from the airport. It was simple enough driving to Banff. Banff its self had plenty of parking and was easy to get around. We weren't told to buy a Banff National Park pass, we soon realised we needed one so bought it from the Tourist Information Centre. If you don't get one you will receive a fine!!!! This was our third trip to Banff and certainly wont be our last! :)

We liked the fact that the hotel provided us with complimentary bus passes and that there was an excellent bus service and a friendly bus driver. We didn't have to worry about parking or driving on snowy roads and we found that Banff was very easy to get around on foot. We ate in the Banff Brew Pub (bus stop right outside the door) but we were mainly self catering. Would avoid the little convenience store on Tunnel Mountain Road - expensive! $4.00 for a stick of butter but it was an emergency. Visitor information staff were very helpful with lots of suggestions for winter hikes. Surprised that there were so many walks we could do without snowshoes or skis. The highlight was the hike up Johnston's Canyon to the huge ice waterfall. The trail was excellent even on a cold snowy day though we did wear Trax over our boots for extra security. The trail head is a 25 km drive along the Parkway away from the main Trans Canada Highway - very picturesque in winter and well maintained.

Banff town centre is picturesque with quaint little shops and surrounded by majestic mountains. There are lots of good places to eat, for burgers head to Eddies, Earls kitchen and bar has a good selection too. Evening meal you can't beat 'Maple Leaf' their food is out of this world, a little pricey but soooooo worth it. It's easy to walk anywhere in town but there is a bus service that runs frequently. During the winter months crossing the roads and walking on the pavements can be very slippery even with proper snow boots on!

Of course, the town of Banff is in Banff national park and is surrounded by spectacular rocky mountains. Parks Canada as limited development so Banff has maintained its quaint small town charm (no big box stores). Parking was eliminated on the main street, encouraging pedestrian traffic. Lots of activities for all ages and fitness levels. Of course, skiing is the big winter attraction and hiking in summer. Walk through town and meet visitors from around the world. Lots of affordable tours to satisfy any interest. Drive the parkway at dusk (slowly) to see wildlife in its natural habitat. The mountains are just awesome.