posted 01-06-2003 12:28               

As for restaurants, we were just there over Christmas and would actually suggest trying out the resort's dining room, Seasons. As a timeshare guest you should get a little card that gives you 25% off their prices, and the quality's generally pretty good.

Others can hopefully give you some suggestions about night life, but we've gone there with our 7-year old daughter each time so we can't speak to that ourselves!

As for other places to go, well, it partly depends on what time of year you were planning to go and what kinds of things you like. For downhill skiing there are quite a few nearby hills (Sunshine is likely the best overall, but that's just going on what I've picked up, not from personal experience). There are plenty of hikes that can still be done in the winter, and if there's enough snow you can do cross-country skiing & tobogganing. I believe the resort rents toboggans & skates (they have a small outdoor rink you can skate on in the winter).

We were just there over Christmas and go there quite often, so maybe give some more detail on what kinds of things you like to do and see, and we can give you better suggestions.

Bart
In Banff (there is a resort shuttle that goes into town every hour), there are SCADS of options for very good restaurants. At the top end (price-wise) you could try Beaujolais (French - duh!),
Grizzly House Fondue, Saltlik, and then some of the restaurants at other hotels in the area (esp. Banff Springs Hotel and Rimrock Resort, but also Banff Park Lodge).

If you do end up renting a car, you could also try some places in Canmore that likely won't be as busy as the Banff ones - Melange was really nice, Sinclair's is supposed to be very good as well.

posted 01-07-2003 11:43               

I found the 2-bedroom timeshare unit to be very nice, fairly new-feeling (4 years ago), gas fireplace, felt spacious compared to the 2-bedroom unit at Banff Rocky Mountain Resort.

The facilities at the Chateau are fairly nice as well, although the pool was fairly small (and on the cold side). The restaurant on-site is quite good, too. I believe the timeshare side is now handled by the new Banff Gate Mountain Lodge & Spa just down the road towards Banff (at Harvie Heights), but perhaps someone else can confirm that. I was told that you would actually check in at the Banff Gate Lodge, THEN go back to Canmore to your unit. But you'd get access (probably) to the Banff Gate's facilities as well if you want. It's just a couple minutes' drive.

Some drawbacks we found: the TRAINS! Chateau Canmore is right next to the train tracks, and the first couple of nights we found it jarring to hear the train go zooming by every couple of hours all night. I think by the 3rd or 4th night we were more used to it and managed to sleep most of the way through the night.

The other drawback is just that the location isn't really 'nice' - you have the train tracks on one side, busy road on the other, rest of the hotel on the east side and right next to a trailer park on the west side. We were more familiar with the Banff Rocky Mountain Resort and FAR preferred its more scenic location to CC's, as well as not being next to the train tracks, but thought the inside of the units was definitely superior to Banff's.

We also enjoyed exploring the Canmore and Kananaskis area for the first time on the timeshare week-long stay, so don't take my comments as too negative. Just be aware of the trains - if you're a heavy sleeper, it likely won't bother you. Enjoy!

Bart

posted 01-08-2003 07:29               

This info is correct.

But you'd get access (probably) to the Banff Gate's facilities as well if you want. It's just a couple minutes' drive.

Actually, you have to pay $7 a day per person to use Chateau Canmore's facilities...Banff Gate's are free.

posted 01-09-2003 21:35               

There also seemed to be a push on to get Chateau Canmore owners to switch to points - anyone confirm or deny that? Thanks.

Bart

posted 01-10-2003 06:51               

Last year the pool and exercise room at Chateau Canmore were free and when we checked in we were told we could use Banff Gates pool also. I don't like the idea of driving up to the Banff Gate resort either! Guess I won't stay at Chateau Canmore again!

posted 01-10-2003 16:15               

The surrounding area is spectacularly beautiful, and my kids enjoyed the skiing. Lake Louise was still frozen, and it was fun to walk on it after enjoying a wonderful meal at the hotel there. We did some hiking, too.

posted 01-13-2003 14:50               

The more specific you can be, the better answers you're likely to get.

Bart
P.S. - my apologies for starting a tangential topic within this thread about Banff Gates - I should have started a new thread for that instead.

posted 01-14-2003 12:46               

I'm not a skiier, but I've heard the most about Sunshine for skiing. You might want to check about using the ski shuttle, as I think there's one either run by the resort or by Sunshine. Might be an extra cost, though. The Sports Desk people are generally quite helpful about suggestions for things to do, too.

As a timeshare guest, you should be given a card that gives you 25% off the restaurant at the resort ("Seasons"), and they serve nice food there so give that some thought.

LOTS and LOTS of places in town to eat, from fast-food of most types to family-type places (Old Spaghetti Factory) to upscale (Beaujolais, Saltlik, Grizzly House) to various ethnic variations (Balkan for Greek, Giorgio's for Italian, Magpie & Stump for Mexican, etc.).

Plenty of places to quaff a beverage as well, like the Rose & Crown (I've heard a lot of locals hang out there), Barbary Coast, ummm...might need some help on this one as we have a little one and can rarely get out to a nightclub-type of place!

As for other sights, well, you should drive through town to the Banff Springs Hotel to check it out. It's a fairly impressive and sprawling place!

Also see if the gondola is operating - takes you up to the top of Sulphur Mountain, I believe, or close to the top. That's right near the Upper Hot Springs if you'd rather soak in this more natural kind of deal than the resort's two hot tubs. Bring a towel, though, to save on renting one.

At some point you should take the Tunnel Mountain Drive into town instead of the usual main road, just to get a slightly different perspective.

You can walk on the Bow River (easy access from in town), even skate on it if you bring skates or rent.

If you don't mind a bit of a drive (45 min) you could go to Lake Louise and poke around there at the Chateau. The scenery is fantastic in the summer (postcard-perfect) and is also very nice in the winter. You can walk/skate/ski on the lake, take a horse-drawn sleigh ride around the lake, hike around, lots of places to eat and even shop (if you don't mind paying top dollar)!

At the resort again, bundles of firewood are $7 (CAD) each and aren't that bad of a deal - we actually checked at some places in Banff and Canmore, and the prices there weren't substantially different.

Check out the little sheet at check-in that tells you what activities are planned by the resort for the week. I think the manager's reception is Monday night, usually. You can also bring or rent squash rackets to use at their two courts, work out in the exercise room (looks fairly decent to me, from the outside ), borrow board games, play a game of pool in the deli/lounge, watch some TV, buy an Internet surfing card for their terminal (also in the deli/lounge) at $5 CAD for 15 minutes, do laundry at their coin-op 'laundromat' (cheaper to pack along your own detergent, of course, and fabric softener sheets).

Just don't expect a 5-star place and you'll be happy...there are some little niggling things that might disappoint you otherwise. Like paint peeling from around the (inside) window frames and things like that. We now expect some things like that and enjoy ourselves pretty much every time we go.

Hope this helps some, and I hope you can give a trip report when you get back.

Enjoy!

Bart