Banff - Our Trip to the Castle in the Rockies

We don't do much to celebrate our anniversary except for maybe going out to dinner, but for our bigger milestone years we do like to plan big trips. For years we had dreamed of visiting Banff in the Canadian Rockies and for our 5th anniversary in 2017, we made that dream happen.

We stayed at the Fairmont Banff Springs which was a stunning hotel, and not only did the hotel itself send us into shock, our 2 story hotel room in one of the castle turrets had our jaws on the floor. We visited in April which means there was still some snow on the ground, it was cold, and we witnessed plenty of freshly falling snow...it was a complete fairy tale! We did a variety of winter activities, but we left plenty for when we return.

The Hotel
There are so many places to choose from when visiting Banff, but we think we got the best use of our time staying IN Banff at the amazing Banff Springs. It is a luxury hotel so it can be pricey, but it was our 5th anniversary so we decided to go big and it was more than worth it.

Upon entering the lobby, we knew our stay was going to be unparalleled to anywhere else. One checked in, we rode the elevator up until the highest floor, and then proceeded down a narrow hallway. Our bellhop then took us up a few flights of winding stairs to reach the castle turret where our 2 story room was awaiting our arrival. I was blown away! Our room was absolutely incredible! The door opened up to the living room which also housed a full (HUGE) bathroom, and once inside the spiral staircase tucked to the side took us up to our bedroom, which also had a bathroom. All beautiful finishes of course. The views from our bedroom were incredible and something I will always remember. And of course, hubby had flowers waiting for me in the living room that I actually thought was just part of the hotel decor. One morning we woke up to see that it had snowed and suddenly we were immersed even farther into wonderland.

Our Room

View from our bedroom

Things to do

There is no shortage of activities in the Canadian Rockies and we did quite a bit. We took a helicopter ride over the mountains though Alpine Tours...I rode shotgun and the views were breathtaking. We hit the slopes for the first time at Sunshine Village and of course took advantage of having a private instructor for the day. There is a little shop located in the Banff Springs courtyard where we rented our ski gear and a bus picked us up right at the hotel. We took the Banff Gondola up Sulphur Mountain for a delicious dinner with snowy views of the mountains. One of our favorite days was driving the Icefields Parkway into Jasper, the most beautiful drive you could even imagine, with little snow flurries following us along the way. A great drive for spotting wildlife too, even if my husband did manage to miss the mountain goat! We also did the Ice Bus tour of Athabasca Glacier which was a really awesome experience.

We drove to plenty of scenic vistas including Surprise Corner which gives great views of the castle, and also some hiking. Our favorite was hiking out to the Ink Pots via Johnston Canyon.The canyon itself is a huge point of interest for many, but with our ice cleats (they were needed) we continued our hike through the forest. The Ink Pots are a series of Springs in a valley and it was a gorgeous place to enjoy our lunch.

Helicopter Tour

Skiing Sunshine Village

Banff Gondola + Restaurant

Icefields Parkway

Glacier Tour + Walk

Surprise Corner

 Johnston Canyon + Ink Pots

 

Scenic Vistas

Visting the Springs in town

Places to Eat

Definitely no shortage of great places to eat here here. The town is just a short walk away and there are many restaurants. We also dined in our hotel I believe twice, once at a little Italian place called Castello Ristorante and another which I cannot recall the name unfortunately, but both were absolutely delicious and there are about 13 places to stop and grab a bite to eat within the hotel. We enjoyed the Rundle Lounge almost nightly, and on property behind the hotel is the Waldhaus Restaurant which had the best spicy wings and poutine. You can easily find any cuisine that you are craving!

Town Views

Dinner in hotel

Rundle Lounge

Waldhaus Restaurant

Of course, no trip to Banff would be complete without a stop at the lovely Chateau Lake Louise. The lake was beautifully frozen, and we enjoyed walking along the frozen lake (hello, we were from Florida...that's awesome! Ha!) and then a GREAT fondue dinner overlooking the scenery.

Banff was easily the most beautiful place we have visited and we can't wait to plan a return trip with the family. Although we didn't hit every highlight in the area, I compiled a list of some activities that may be of interest when planning a trip here, just be sure to check which are open depending on the season.

Great points of interest

Banff Springs Golf Course

Willowstream Spa (Banff Springs

Visit Chateau Lake Louise

Icefields Parkway

Athabasca Glacier

Sulphur Mountain

Banff Gondola

Banff Upper Hot Springs

Vermillion Lakes Canoe

Bow River float trip

Cave & Basin Tour

Helicopter Tour

Hikes

Peyto Lake hikes

Ink Pots

Johnston Canyon

Lake Agnes Teahouse

Big Beehive

Have you ever visited Banff or plan to in the future?