The Banff Springs Hotel ...

Banff Springs Hotel from Tunnel Mountain (taken a few weeks ago)

A friend of ours held her 40th birthday party in Banff this past weekend and was kind enough to organise a group rate at the Banff Springs Hotel, the original hotel in the Rockies, built to accommodate the rich who travelled across Canada on the Canadian Pacific Railway.  It is a spectacular hotel in an even more spectacular location and we were incredibly excited to have the opportunity to stay there.

The view from our room

And from the other direction

We arrived nice and early so we could make the most of the facilities.  As we were checking in, we noticed a historical tour about to start, so we jumped at the chance to learn a little more about the hotel.  The hotel has a fascinating history since it first opened in 1888.  Did you know that the hotel was originally built backwards?  This meant that guests looked into the side of a mountain, whilst the kitchens and the staff quarters had the million dollar view!  Over time, however, the hotel has been rebuilt, this time in the right orientation.

Our room

What a view from the pool!

After an academic hour, we headed to the heated outdoor pool, which is much like the Banff Hot Springs (which are just up the road from the hotel), where we bobbed about until we turned into prunes and it was time to prepare ourselves for a night on the town in Banff.

A male deer enjoys the green, green grass

Spray River

The night out was a lot of fun.  C and I began the evening with champagne in the Rundle Lounge at the hotel, feeling very posh and sophisticated.  Which didn't last for long as we joined the others on a Banff pub crawl.  About 25 people turned up for A's birthday, meaning that it was quite the group to get around Banff as we launched from one pub to the next.  We left at the fairly sedate time of 1.30am.

Spray River meets the Bow River

Pretty patterns in the ice

The next morning, after a late breakfast at the hotel, C and I wandered down to the Spray River, following it along to the Bow Falls and then walking all the way to downtown Banff, before turning around and walking back.  It wasn't quite a hike, which is why we would normally head to Banff, but on a cold, clear morning, it was the perfect thing to fix a foggy head from the night before.

Rainbow colours off the Bow Falls

Such a beautiful location

A stay at the Banff Springs Hotel is definitely recommended.  If you're coming from outside Alberta, it obviously has the charm of the Rockies, but if you're a local and used to only going to Banff for a day trip (it's only about 1.5 hours from Calgary), then it feels somewhat decadent to actually stay the night, especially at the legendary Banff Springs Hotel.