CanadaDH

I've only been in one room (Signature One Bedroom Gold Lakeview Suite) at the CLL that had a fireplace, and it was functional, but electric, not a real fire. Any of the regular 1-bedroom suites I've been in had no fireplace. I've never stayed in the Mount Temple wing, so I wonder if it's the newer rooms over that building that have the fireplaces.

CanuckFlyHigh

I completely disagree. I would be surprised if you find a single restaurant closed during this time. I go very frequently in the off season because it is less hectic, but the place is still busy. Everything will be open.

CanadaDH

I'm certain the dining options at the Lake Louise ski resort shut down after Thanksgiving. I've also run in to the Station Restaurant in the Lake Louise village being closed in October. Those are just two that I happened to notice during my last visit at that time of year. I'm sure that most places will be open, but there are most definitely some places that are not open.

CanuckFlyHigh

You're correct, the Lake Louise ski resort won't be open. But all of Banff restaurants will be open.

gnomey

my CLL stay is next week. i am using the Chase Fairmont FN certificates for my stay

Can someone advice whether is there any additional applicable charges even after using FN certs? (e.g., taxes, fees) or are all the fees already included under the FN cert?

Thanks

CanadaDH

I haven't used a free night cert at Lake Louise on any of my recent trips. But a few years ago, when I used a free night as part of a 4-night stay, I did not pay any fees at all on the free night.

However, that was before the fixed rate charge of $15.00/night for a "resort fee" was added to their policies. I don't know if they will charge you this fee on your free night.

Jasper2009

I believe the hotel charges the stupid $15/night resort fee even when using a free night cert, but do not have any recent experiences.

gnomey

ok, great, yes. i saw this $15 fee in the pre-arrival email i received. so wondering abt that as well


btw, are there any other parking options nearby property, besides the $30 per night onsite self-parking fee? seems steep, but i will take it if need be, and everybody must need to get there by car (if not, then the exorbitant shuttle)? Does this one still exist https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...k_Alberta.html (the free gov parking lot), can you actually park overnight there? And is it easy to find at 9 pm next week? (i will only be arriving at YYC at 6 ish pm - hope to make the drive asap but i think by the time i arrive, it will be past sunset)


i also heard abt a forest fire nearby (how nearby, i dont know, but there are people talking abt it affecting the view when they take the LL gondola). is it hazy around the lake then?

CanadaDH

I was just there last week. Views change according to the wind direction. Most days, it was very clear, with Calgary and Banff having more smoke than Lake Louise.

The view today is horrible! Check the live webcam! Yuk! You can also view historical webcams, as they archive images every 60 seconds.

http://cams.skilouise.com/

Here is Lake Louise right now, take from the Whitehorn Bistro patio at the ski area...


Here is the same camera from 2 days ago...



The only parking option is essentially at the Chateau. I don't believe they allow overnight parking in the public lot, and even if that was an option, there isn't always space. Essentially, the place is very busy. When the lot fills up (and Parks Canada website has a parking status webpage), they block traffic from accessing the road to the lake. The only cars they allow up are those who are hotel guests parking at the garage. There are free shuttles for day visitors from the overflow lot (a few km south of LL on the Trans-Canada Hwy) and over at the Lake Louise ski area, for when the parking area fills.

The operating hours for the free shuttle service can be found here:

https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/ab/ban...parkbus/louise

CanuckFlyHigh

Just a reminder to everyone on here, you can stay at the Chateau Lake Louise mid-week for $179/night or weekends for $199/night ALL WINTER, with FREE PARKING! The only caveat is that Fairmont Rooms need to be available.

You MUST purchase a Louise Plus Card, which is $109 and gets you your 1st, 4th and 7th free day on the hill. This card usually disappears on December 26th, so purchase soon!
https://www.skilouise.com/louise_cards.php https://www.skilouise.com/benefits/index.php

As an aside, they ALWAYS ask to see this card when you check in (have used it 20+ times on ski weekends). Given that rack rates are approaching $800 dollars here, don't try to use this code without purchasing the card. You will get caught.

Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise

Save up to 45% off. Pay: $179, Sun-Thurs; $199, Fri-Sat.
Complimentary self-park.
Blackout dates: Nov 24-25, 2017; Dec 22, 2017 - Jan 1, 2018; and Feb 16-18, 2018.
Restrictions and blackout dates may apply to non-lift ticket offers. All offers subject to availability. May not be combined with any other special, feature, discount, or promotion. Taxes, fees, and/or gratuities extra.
Promo code: PSKI

fairmont.com/lakelouise
1-800-441-1414

CanadaDH

And the Louise Plus card gets you some nice discounts on the Willow Stream Spa at the BSH as well, if you can go there Monday to Thursday.

We buy Plus Cards every year for our ski trips, as it's the best deal we can get on lift tickets, and the other discounts are just a bonus.

We've never been able to use the PSKI discount on our room, however, since we are normally there during a blackout date. Besides, I think that deal only works out to 45% on the Fairmont rooms. We're booked to stay in the Signature Gold 1 Bedroom Suite this February, and the PSKI discount code on that room works out to less than 10% off. We booked the Stay & Play rate, where we get the 5th and 10th nights free on our stay, so 20% off, plus an additional $200 hotel credit for every 5 nights.

CanadaDH

Someone recently asked me a question about photos of certain room types, and the room differences across the hotel. Since this might be of benefit to others looking to stay at the CLL, I'll post some photos here.

Room types are divided broadly into Mount Temple rooms vs. Main Building rooms. I've marked up the photo below to show the different sections of the Chateau Lake Louise.



The hotel was constructed in 4 distinct wings. On the left side of the photo, the oldest part of the hotel (currently existing) is the Painter Wing, built in 1913. It was originally 5 stories tall (up to the floor numbered 6 today, as the bottom floor of this wing lines up with the second floor of the adjoining Barott Wing, due to the slope of the ground), and constructed of steel and concrete.

The next wing is the Barott Wing, built in 1925, after the original wooden Rattenbury wing burnt to the ground the year before.

The Glacier Wing was completed in 1988.

The newest wing is the Mount Temple Wing, which opened in 2004. This wing is separated from the Glacier Wing by the parkade, and is connected by a hallway of shops. It is set further from the lake, so even lake view rooms here will not have as nice of a view as lake view rooms in the main building. The rooms, however, are supposedly larger. I have never stayed in this wing before.

All rooms in the Mount Temple Wing have air conditioning, as do rooms on the 7th and 8th floors of the other 3 wings. Don't let the lack of A/C be a deterrent, since even in the summer, it gets very cool at night. Opening a window should work just fine.

The 8th floor has smaller/higher windows than the lower floors. The 8th floor only exists across the Barott and Glacier wings, as the present-day Painter Wing stops at the 7th floor.

Fairmont Gold stretches the entire 7th floor across the 3 main building wings. In addition to the 40 rooms and suites on the 7th floor which comprise Fairmont Gold, there are 18 rooms and suites on the 8th floor across the Glacier Wing that are designated as Fairmont Gold. Other than the 4 signature suites in that section, these 8th floor Gold rooms were renovated and added to the Gold product circa 2016. At the same time, two rooms were removed from the 7th floor to make way for a Gold lounge expansion to accommodate additional guests.

To clarify, when I say the hotel is 8 stories tall, I am only referring to the guest room floors. In actual fact, it is 10-stories tall. Floor #1 on the elevator is the first guest room floor. However, there is a Main level across the entire building and a Lower level across the Barott and Glacier Wings, which contain all of the hotel common spaces.

The hotel presently contains 550 guest rooms, 81 of which are in the Mount Temple Wing and the remainder are in the three wings of the main building.

Rooms in the main building have 3-digit room numbers. Mount Temple Wing rooms are 4-digit room numbers. Unless you want to be in the Mount Temple Wing, if you are given a 4-digit room number on arrival, you might want to ask for reassignment right away!


Lake View Junior Suite (#581)

I have not stayed in a Junior Suite since 2012, so these photos are a bit old, and I'm told that all have since been updated.



Below is a stock photo from the hotel website for the same room category, showing the updates.



The view should be the same since the updates!





The floor plan below was taken from the back of the door in room 519, so ignore the yellow shading. Room 581 is located in the Glacier Wing, in one of the "bump-out" rooms on the right of this photo.




Lake View 1 Bedroom Suite (#519)

I have stayed in room 519 on about 5 different occasions, so it has started to feel like home. This room has a bedroom with attached salon, and can be converted into a 2-bedroom suite by opening a door from the salon to room 523. This room sits at the end of the Barott Wing just before it joins to the Painter Wing.

Below is the view from 519 in winter.




Below is the view from 519 in summer.



Below is the main salon, with 4 windows looking out in different directions.




Below is the bedroom.



Not pictured is the hallway from the entrance, past the bathroom, main closet, and leading into the bedroom.

Below is the bathroom, which is rather large, with 3 separate areas for the tub/toilet, vanity and main shower.




Room 519 is coloured yellow in the floor plan below.




Lake View 1 Bedroom Suite (#559)

Room #559 has the same layout as #659, which I reviewed earlier, when we booked that as Lake View 2 Bedroom Suite. Room #559 was the main salon, and we had #561 as the attached King bedroom. Presumably, room #557 could be added as a second bedroom with a Queen-Queen configuration.

Below is the main salon. This room contains 4 windows with a beautiful view, out in 3 different directions. It also contains a pull-out double bed sofa, and a murphy bed on one wall. Not pictured is the hallway leading in to the room from the main entrance, which contains a hallway closet. There is plenty of storage space in this room. There is a dining table on the opposite side of the room.




The main bedroom contains a King bed, a desk by a windown overlooking Lake Louise and Fairview Mountain. There is also a dresser with plenty of storage space, and there are 3 more storage drawers in each night stand.




The main bathroom contains a large granite double vanity, a whirlpool tub for two people, and a walk-in shower with seat.



Off the hallway in the main entrance to the suite, there is another bathroom with toilet, pedestal sink, and a combined bathtub shower. This could serve as a full bathroom for any guests that may be using the salon as a bedroom, but I suspect most guests simply use it as a powder room.




The views from this room are excellent!





Below is the floor plan showing room 559. This can be a King suite by adding 561, or a Queen-Queen suite by adding 557, or a 2 bedroom suite by adding both.




Lake View 1 Bedroom Suite (#819)

Room 819 has a different layout than floors below it. Because the 8th floor stops at the end of the Barott wing, the room wraps around more than the suites on the floors below, to offer views along the roof of the Painter Wing.

This view is looking toward Mount St. Piran, Mount Whyte and Mount Niblock.



This view is looking straight out at Mount Victoria.



This view is looking toward Fairview Mountain.



Here is the main salon.



Below is the bedroom.



Below are some bathroom photos.




Room 819 is located on the far left side of the floor plan below. It occupies the bedroom and bathroom marked as "819" as well as the salon in the front which doesn't show a number on the plan.




Lake View 2 Bedroom Suite (#659 )

This suite actually consists of 3 separate room numbers; 659 (the main salon), 657 (the second bedroom with 2 queen beds) and 661 (the master bedroom with 1 king bed). The suite is set up so that the hotel can configure the doors to rent it as a 1-Bedroom Suite with either a Queen-Queen setup or a King setup, or in the 2-Bedroom Suite configuration which I had booked. This suite is located where the Barott Wing meets the Glacier Wing.

Each of the three rooms has a full bathroom attached, so the occupants of each bedroom do not have to share a bath, and the bathroom off the hallway entrance to the main salon works as a great shared powder room.

Below is the floor plan of the 6th floor.



Below are photos of the Salon (room 659). The sofa is also a pull-out bed and the cabinet on the opposite wall actually contains a murphy bed, so you could actually sleep 4 people in the salon. Therefore, this suite does have beds to sleep 10 people, however, we were just a group of four, with a couple in each bedroom.





Below is the small bath in the main salon, which we used as a powder room.



Below is the view looking out one of the front windows in the salon. There are four windows in the main salon, two looking straight over the lake toward Mount Victoria.



The view below is out toward Mount St. Piran. I did not take a photo out from the other direction, which looked across the lake toward Fairview Mountain. Each bedroom also has windows overlooking the lake.



Below are photos of room 657, which contains the two Queen beds.







Below are photos of room 661, which is the Master Bedroom with the King bed.





Below are photos of the Master Bath.






Fairmont Gold 1 Bedroom Signature Lake View Suite (#703)

This suite, which is the only room in the hotel in this category, features floor to ceiling windows in different directions. It's a long walk to get there, but well worth it. It is at the far end of the Painter Wing.

Note the differences in the floor plan below vs. the other floors. There are very few non-lakeview rooms on Fairmont Gold. In the Painter Wing, all but 1 room face the lake, with elongated rooms coming off of a hallway that faces the mountain behind. The Fairmont Gold lounge is located in the Barott Wing, near the connection to the Glacier Wing.

The floor plan below is before expanding the Gold Lounge.

UPDATE: The photos below are from a pre-renovation visit. We stayed in the room again after the 2019 renovation, and I have added photos below. I've left the pre-renovation photos so you can see the difference!



I've marked up the floor plan as best I could, to reflect the recent removal of two guest rooms to expand the Gold Lounge.




Below is the main salon.






Below is the bedroom.



Below is the main bathroom.




Below is the powder off the main room entrance.



And suite also features a special name as well as number.



And while not a part of room 703, below is the Fairmont Gold lounge which guests in room 703 have access to.

Here is the old lounge, pre-renovation:



The lounge has undergone renovations recently, where two additional guest rooms were removed in order to enlarge the lounge, and a number of 8th floor rooms have also been designated as gold, which has led to increased people in the new, larger lounge. Some current photos are below.






And on a recent visit, we again stayed in the Marquis de Lorne Suite, which was renovated in 2019. Below are some photos of Suite 703 since the renovation.

Jasper2009

Fantastic post, CanadaDH! Thanks for the detailed overview!^

uncertaintraveler

I love the "painting" that is above the couch in this photo, and from the posted photos, it appears that it is only in the Gold Floor rooms (I've never stayed in a non-Gold Floor room at Lake Louise, so I'm guessing that your photos are representative in this respect).

Surprisingly, I've not been able to buy it from the hotel, and no one in the lounge (although, admittedly, this was years ago), knew if one was even for sale.

CanadaDH

I know suite 519 has a lot of smaller paintings. Most of them are of the Chateau from different points in history, and also a number of wildlife prints.

Some of the artwork I saw in the gold lounge, I ended up purchasing. Not from the hotel directly, but found out who the artist was (local artist from Canmore) and ordered prints from an art gallery in Banff who distributed her work.