Banff Hotels and Accommodation

(Banff, Alberta - AB, Canada)

The capital of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, Banff is home to an array of hotels and accommodation options. However, despite having almost 4,000 beds on offer each night, available accommodation in Banff is often scarce, particularly during the peak months of July and August, when it becomes virtually impossible to find vacant rooms. Therefore, advance hotel reservations throughout the year in Banff are not just advisable, they are essential.

Accommodation is cheapest off season, from October through May, although the winter season still remains busy and expensive. Each year at the beginning of November, both the Mountain Film Festival and the Mountain Book Festival are staged, and as the town's biggest annual events, greatly affect the seasonal lodging scene and hotel availability.

Where to Stay

Many of the motels and chain hotels in Banff stand along the strip from the Trans-Canada Highway into town, and charge surprisingly high rates. Around 20 hotels and motels are based along Banff Avenue, to the north of Elk Street, offering modern facilities, group rooms and even kitchen areas. A small cluster of further motels are situated at the north end of the town, close to the woods, offering cheap rooms year-round.

Bed and breakfast accommodation can be found throughout the townsite and is usually family run, with the Banff Tourism Bureau listing at least 50 B&Bs. Featuring private rooms, 'Tourist Homes' are becoming extremely popular in the Banff area, being similar to B&Bs, but without the breakfast part.

Standing just 15 miles / 24 km from central Banff, the nearby town of Canmore is within easy reach of the town and is known for its inexpensive accommodation. Often a popular alternative to the more pricey hotels and lodging options in Banff, Canmore can be reached in around 20 minutes, with regular shuttle buses operating between these towns each day.

Many of the most desirable hotels in Banff offer spectacular views of Mount Rundle and the Sulphur Mountain, such as the luxury Banff Springs Hotel, which ranks amongst the town's most notable hotels and is particularly grand. Although rooms here are on the expensive side, reservations are always required many months in advance.

For some of the best value accommodation that the town has to offer, consider staying at the Y Mountain Lodge - a hostel along Spray Avenue, which features dormitories, inexpensive separate rooms and more than 300 beds in total. Popular with backpackers, other youth hostels include the Global Village Backpackers Hostel along Banff Avenue, and the Banff (HI) Youth Hostel on Tunnel Mountain Road. Several campsites are also available around the townsite and are often simply first come, first served. These campsites are a cheap alternative to hotels and motels in central Banff, and include the Bow Valley Parkway, the government-run Tunnel Mountain Villages and Two Jack Lakeside, along Lake Minnewanka Road. Camping grounds are frequently close to popular hiking trails and spectacular mountainous scenery.