Latest stay at the Banff Springs
Sep 23, 2011, 10:35 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2010
Location: YYC
Programs: Aeroplan, FPC Platinum, SPG/Marriott Gold, Radisson Gold Elite, BW Diamond Select
Posts: 293
Latest stay at the Banff Springs
This place continues to reinforce all the reasons why it is one of our favourite hotels anywhere. Not only is the history, as brief as it is for a property in Canada, and the architecture something to behold, but the service and variety of rooms never cease to amaze.
My wife and I stayed here last weekend along with friends whose room we booked for them. We used a suite upgrade to a one bedroom (The Rungius Suite on the sixth floor) overlooking the Bow Falls, the river, and the golf course but also got our friends upgraded to one of the signature suites (one of only seven such suites in the hotel) on the same floor.
Ours was a two room suite with a separate living and bedroom (called 'the parlour' by the staff) and was perfect for entertaining as it had two separate entrances, one to the bedroom and one to the living room. It had a bar and separate bathroom along with large sitting area and four windows plus another one in the bedroom. (I'll post some pics shortly.....)
We've become a little spoiled with things like the curbside check-in and the welcome amenity, for examples, but what was especially gratifying was that our friends also received the same welcome amenity and also received the same 2-for-1 Platinum golf special at check-in that we did. Very impressive for folks who don't normally stay here and certainly an incentive for them to visit more often.
Played both the 9 and 18 hole golf courses for the first time this trip and the 2 for 1 'coupons' helped with that. We had already booked the 18 hole foursome for which I had expected to use my plat certificate and passions certificate so now we still have these but aren't sure we're going to be able to use them. Nice problem to have. Maybe we'll have to escape to Scottsdale this winter, especially if the predictions for how brutal the upcoming winter is going to be...
My wife used the Passions spa certificate, which she certainly enjoyed, but she admits that she likely wouldn't have bought this service on a normal basis given the, let's say, 'inflated' prices of the spa services. Sure, it's a nice place to relax and hang out for a while but there's just something about a $200 massage that just comes across as being way over-priced. Sorry, but there's only so much of a premium over what one might normally pay for a massage for being in a mountain setting. Triple the price ain't it.
Used the car service, which also impressed our friends, and got a late checkout to 3 PM (that's as late as we asked for and no resistance at all).
All said, another fantastic weekend in Banff, notwithstanding the weather for our round of golf which included all four seasons during the round but, hey, a person could have been working or doing some other pedestrian activity.
Can hardly wait to get back out there in early November.
Two thumbs up, BSH. ^
My wife and I stayed here last weekend along with friends whose room we booked for them. We used a suite upgrade to a one bedroom (The Rungius Suite on the sixth floor) overlooking the Bow Falls, the river, and the golf course but also got our friends upgraded to one of the signature suites (one of only seven such suites in the hotel) on the same floor.
Ours was a two room suite with a separate living and bedroom (called 'the parlour' by the staff) and was perfect for entertaining as it had two separate entrances, one to the bedroom and one to the living room. It had a bar and separate bathroom along with large sitting area and four windows plus another one in the bedroom. (I'll post some pics shortly.....)
We've become a little spoiled with things like the curbside check-in and the welcome amenity, for examples, but what was especially gratifying was that our friends also received the same welcome amenity and also received the same 2-for-1 Platinum golf special at check-in that we did. Very impressive for folks who don't normally stay here and certainly an incentive for them to visit more often.
Played both the 9 and 18 hole golf courses for the first time this trip and the 2 for 1 'coupons' helped with that. We had already booked the 18 hole foursome for which I had expected to use my plat certificate and passions certificate so now we still have these but aren't sure we're going to be able to use them. Nice problem to have. Maybe we'll have to escape to Scottsdale this winter, especially if the predictions for how brutal the upcoming winter is going to be...
My wife used the Passions spa certificate, which she certainly enjoyed, but she admits that she likely wouldn't have bought this service on a normal basis given the, let's say, 'inflated' prices of the spa services. Sure, it's a nice place to relax and hang out for a while but there's just something about a $200 massage that just comes across as being way over-priced. Sorry, but there's only so much of a premium over what one might normally pay for a massage for being in a mountain setting. Triple the price ain't it.
Used the car service, which also impressed our friends, and got a late checkout to 3 PM (that's as late as we asked for and no resistance at all).
All said, another fantastic weekend in Banff, notwithstanding the weather for our round of golf which included all four seasons during the round but, hey, a person could have been working or doing some other pedestrian activity.
Can hardly wait to get back out there in early November.
Two thumbs up, BSH. ^
