Jannet L.
Yelp
so nice to be far away from the insanity of banff - it was like disneyland there when we stopped by for lunch one afternoon. seriously it was crazy, parking insane and so many people everywhere!! also went to the fairmont, also disneyland-esque. insane numbers of people everywhere.
so to get back to our hotel, was so nice. quiet, lovely, right next to the bow river. pay extra to get the "good" side, which has views of the river. would be nice to be able to afford those private villas, look like something out of a fairy tale. but our room had a garden lanai, looked out on the river, quiet. the rooms was big, bathroom good. yes a little older finishings but i think they are going for quaint. location close to freeway, close to samson mall where there is breakfast places and small market.
pool, steam room really nice. open til 9pm, enjoy after dinner, looking out at sky, very clean and well kept.
front desk staff so friendly and happy and helpful.
spa - aestheticians really warm and friendly. the steam room, change room, waiting room lovely. got plenty of tea in french press, fresh fruit, relaxing fire and fountain.
the two negatives were some of the staff - and this is unwelcome given the $400 per night price tag. the first were the bell men - handsome, nice to look at, first people you meet when pulling up to the hotel. so they should be trained to open the car doors, unload the luggage, ask if we are checking in, tell us self parking is available etc. not just stand there and watch us get of car looking around in confusion, unload our luggage ourselves and then ask, do we need help? the second staff member that didn't fit was the receptionist at the spa. very surly, unhelpful, when we couldn't find times for our treatments that coincided, seemed irritated and annoyed that we couldn't figure it out. seriously, we are paying $160 per treatment, we expect more.
i don't think that they think they are better or too posh as some mentioned in other reviews. i think they are young and poorly trained. so the owners should really think about training these people who are the face of their institution - maybe they should take lessons from the front desk people or from the people who work at the dining room like mario and joshua. these people are the epitome of customer service and helped us to recover the enjoyment of our stay here.
if not for those negatives, this woulda been a 5 star review.