Mountains loom behind Banff Aspen Lodge in the Canadian Rockies
Gateway to Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies, the small town of Banff, seems to have a hotel, motel, or lodge on almost every corner. Yet, as the base for Canada’s most visited national park, Banff’s lodgings still sell out regularly, especially in the busiest months of July, August, and September, and prices have been steadily rising. One property that can still provide a reasonable value in this extremely popular destination is the independent, family-owned Banff Aspen Lodge.
Here’s the scoop:
Banff Aspen Lodge
With the peaks of the Canadian Rockies rising up behind the property, Banff Aspen Lodge sits right on Banff Avenue, a short walk from the town’s many cafes and restaurants. The 88-room hotel has two sections, sharing a common lobby.
One side of the three-story property is built around an exterior courtyard where outdoor walkways lead to the rooms. Although it’s the same height as the courtyard section, the adjacent “tower” building has interior corridors.
You might not care which section of the building you’re staying in during the warmer months, but in winter, consider requesting a room with a hallway indoors. Or if you’re staying in the courtyard section, remember your jacket when you’re heading to the lobby or breakfast room.
A Premium room with two queen beds at the Banff Aspen Lodge
Guest Rooms and Amenities
The guest rooms, which were all updated in 2021, come in several different configurations and sizes.
The entry-level—and smallest—unit is the Economy room, which has one queen bed and is designed for one or two people. These rooms are all located on the hotel’s ground floor and do not have a patio or balcony.
The Superior rooms, also with one queen bed, are larger and have either an outdoor patio or balcony.
A separate sitting area in a “divided” room
At the upper end, the Premium rooms—all with balconies or patios—come in either a two-queen bed layout, a queen + sofa arrangement, or a “divided” room design.
The “divided” rooms are well-suited to families or small friend groups. One option has a bedroom on one side and a sitting area with a sofa bed on the other side, with a bathroom in the middle. Another configuration has two small bedrooms with a bathroom between them, one with a queen bed and the other with two twins.
All the room types have similar furnishings, with pale woods and white bedding, modern bathrooms, and the same amenities: flat-screen TVs, Nespresso machines, tea kettles, cups and glasses, mini-refrigerators, and small safes.
The hotel offers incentives to guests who forego daily housekeeping services.
Environmental Initiative Program
Banff Aspen Lodge offers an “environmental initiative” program for guests staying at least two nights.
You can opt out of housekeeping services for any day of your stay by hanging the “environmental initiative” door tag outside your room.
Displaying the tag with the coffee cup out gives you a complimentary beverage at the hotel’s Whitebark Cafe. If you turn the door tag the other way, the hotel will make a donation to the Banff Community Foundation, a charity that supports local environmental programs.
Facilities and Services
All room rates at the Banff Aspen Lodge include a basic buffet breakfast served in the dining area on the lower level, beneath the lobby. Options include yogurt, fruit salad, granola, scrambled or boiled eggs, sausage, breads, cheeses, and cold cuts, along with juices, coffees, and teas. The granola, made in-house, is particularly tasty.
In the hotel lobby, you can also purchase coffee, pastries, and sandwiches at the Whitebark Cafe, with an outdoor patio overlooking the Banff Avenue action. The seating areas in the lobby are always full of people enjoying coffee or snacks, too.
Soak in the hot tubs or steam in the sauna in the hotel courtyard.
In the outdoor courtyard, the hotel has are two hot tubs and a sauna for guests, which are particular popular during the winter months.
The hotel has no swimming pool or fitness facility, but in the middle of Banff National Park in Canada’s Rocky Mountains, you have plenty of options for recreation right outside your door.
Rates
In the quieter months, nightly double room rates at the Banff Aspen Lodge start as low as CAD$179 (US$128), including a buffet breakfast. On mid-summer weekends, even the smallest rooms run at least CAD$559 (US$399) per night.
Check rates online at Expedia, Booking.com, or Hotels.com.
If you’ve come with a car, the hotel has a limited number of parking spaces, either in a covered area or open lot behind the building. But leave the car behind if you can — you can reach many places in town and around the park on foot, on the local Roam Transit buses, or on the national park shuttles. And you’ll make your good-value stay in Canada’s most popular national park even more sustainable.
TIP: Banff Lake Louise Tourism provides detailed instructions online for getting around Banff, Lake Louise, and vicinity car-free.
Looking for other Banff accommodations? Check out our reviews of The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, The Dorothy, Mount Royal Hotel, Elk + Avenue Hotel, Moose Hotel & Suites, and the Juniper Hotel & Bistro. Or read more about the Canadian Rockies region in my guide, Moon Vancouver + Canadian Rockies Road Trip.
Hotel feature by Vancouver-based travel, food, and feature writer Carolyn B. Heller. Photos © Carolyn B. Heller. Travel Alberta and Banff & Lake Louise Tourism provided support for my Canadian Rockies research trip.
