YWCA Banff Hotel

Location 5 Location is the best. Very convenient Facility 1, the room I stayed has only one outlet. The room does not have bathroom. The hotel offers two options with private or shared bathroom. Make sure this before confirming reservation. Simple spring bed and two pillows. The toilet in the shared bathroom did not flush. No AC. You have a fan in the room. Parking 4 Parking is free but limited spots. If You arrive late, there would be no parking space available. You can do street parking. Service 3

I was satisfied with my 2nights stay here with my two daughters. First location is in downtown; room was ok ( though no TV ) and i didn't mind the details but it was clean. Second I was anxious about the parking coz it says first come first served ( i don't want to drive farther to find on street parking ); we came late for those nights but ended up have couple of slots left which was good! Third the structure on walls were not concrete so you will hear the other hotel guests passing by your room & of course the room beside it.. I should have give 5 stars to this hotel but on our check out day due to the 3rd factor (wall structure) we heard a couple making out on the left side of our room (the voices & the noises they made) it was kinda disgusting; maybe i blamed it to the people not to the hotel..

*Please read the reviews before you book* I stayed here for two nights with my family and we were surprised that this facility was being used for tourists with a mix of families in need of supported housing / supporting women from domestic violence. While I think it's a great cause, I believe the staff could've been a lot more transparent and honest about what this places includes. The room is basic with thin walls, which makes it easier to hear other people in there rooms. The facility also looks like a former hospital and is quite spooky at times. However, the staff are lovely and friendly, they even upgraded us to another room free of charge!

*lived here as part of staff accommodation The rooms are a good size w a roommate, I’ve stayed in smaller ones for sure. There’s one long desk, 2 wardrobes, and a space to hang clothing. You and your roommate share a bathroom. It’s a bit expensive considering you’re with a roommate and share a kitchen with a whole floor, but at least all utilities are included. The cons are there is no air conditioning and it can get brutally hot on the fourth floor in the summer. Definitely being a fan. At the moment there is only warm water 50% of the time. The staff are nice but can be way too strict. They threw away several pots, pans, plates, cutlery, and cups I had just bought (still in packaging) because it wasn’t labeled in the kitchen, even though they had never assigned me a spot to put my things. Said they would get back to me and never did. Cost me lots of money. A bunch of peoples food was thrown out even though it was labeled, but on the wrong shelf (there was no one living there for that space so we all used it. Never got notice to move things.) i do appreciate that they change out the sponges and t towels in the kitchen regularly. We could definitely use some paper towel in there though. The wifi was good when I first came here, but the last few weeks nothing loads so everybody has been using their data or going to cafes. They provide you with bedding (no duvet just blanket) and it’s not bad, apart from the squeaky and sinking mattresses. Also there’s coin laundry in the building which is really nice, but it has eaten like 15$ worth of coins that don’t register on the machine. This place could be so much better if they just fixed a few things. Please stop throwing peoples stuff out. At least have a lost and found bin you keep for a week or something. That’s everyone’s biggest issue here. If you need maintenance they are super timely and get stuff done right away. The building is super close to everything. There are a few sketchy people here (there’s a portion of the building that acts as a shelter) but they mostly just ignore you. There are worse places to live.

We wanted self-catering, & this had the cleanest kitchen we have ever stayed at!|Friendly Staff will lend you a bear spray. Free car parking.|Perfect location for downtown & for public transport to The Gondola & Lake Louise etc (car parks there fill up fast).|Room not large but nice.

A quiet place for a great night of sleep. This venue will be missed as an in between hostel and hotel experience. Thank you for a wonderful experience and

This is a “Hostel” and NOT a hotel!!!!! !!! On the website the rooms look simple but clean, bright and airy. This is not how we found it. |On our arrival the receptionist also told us how they had permanent residents in the hostel/ hotel, as it was a YWCA. |Our room was so dark and dreary with hardly any light. It was clean, but that was all that we found remotely nice. Shower didn’t work properly and I got scalded and couldn’t turn the temperature down so had to jump out of the shower as quickly as possible. It was also tiny and the water ran all over the floor. |Location was also good…but for a few extra pounds we could have stayed somewhere much nicer.

What a unique and amazing facility. The staff are great, kind, caring and genuine people. The service offered are tailored to the local community needs. The hotel is a brilliant social enterprise. Great place to stay, visit or support.

I wasn't sure what to expect and thought I could tolerate anything for a few days... and happily discovered that this place did not disappoint. Private room/bath was small, clean, simple, great views and even better location! We kept the windows open and used a fan which kept the room comfortable day and night. The YWCA was a short walk to the Art in Nature Walk by the Bow River, and center of town, and a short drive to the Banff Hot Springs, Staff were friendly, helpful, and we used their local suggestions on several occasions! They have a great mission and service to those in need, which makes this place even more special!

This non-profit hotel was a welcome surprise. Never know what to expect at hostel/hotels and this one didnt disappoint. We booked a one night private room. Walked in and we had two beds, a great view of the mountains, plenty of towels for two people, soap and shampoo all provided. The bathroom had huge windows that opened to allow the air in and the steam out. The shower and vanity looked newly installed or renovated. The bed was comfortable but a bit worn. They had lamps which added outlets to the desktop area and a place to hang coats. The elevator worked quickly and everyone from front desk staff to the guy mopping the floors was nice. For a hostel they had many welcome amenities that you wont find at more expensive hotels. They had a reading room, ice machine, kitchen and TV room on level one. The huge kitchen area had 4 fridges lined up so you can store your perishables as well as oven and stoves to cook on. This place is a 6 min walk to the bustling downtown area and the Dancing Sasquatch. You see two or 3 brew pubs and McDs before getting to the Dancing Sasquatch. We thought about driving but its a headache parking in Banff so we just walked. Glad we did bc it was closer than we thought. Not sure what other people paid, but for $99 CAD it was a deal.

For a simple place to rest your head, I would definitely recommend the YWCA Banff Hotel. It's certainly not your typical luxurious vacation hotel but not quite a hostel either. My husband and I stayed in a single room with a private bathroom, but there are also shared dormitories and shared bathrooms - depending on your preferences and budget. Prices are very reasonable for the area. We loved the convenient location overlooking the gorgeous Bow River and the pedestrian-friendly bridge connecting to shops and restaurants! Parking is first-come, first-served but they do provide a permit for cars to park in the few designated spots if you're lucky enough to snag one (which we were!). The room had only the necessities: bed, shower, wifi, toiletries but lacked aesthetic appeal and anything superfluous. No television or coffee maker. The shower was tiny, juuuust big enough for its primary purpose. Even with that said, we would stay at the YWCA again for the affordability and closeness to outdoor activity that we were in Banff to enjoy anyway! Plus your stay funds the YWCA's mission to support local community services and empower women. Right on!

Rooms/bathrooms were tiny with no air conditioning or working wifi( not a big deal but that's not what we were promised). Also because there was no air conditioning we always had to leave our windows open and there is a daycare with toddlers five feet away. The majority of staff were extremely helpful however one man working the night shift is the reason I'm giving one star. I would definitely say spend the extra money and get something a little bit nicer than this; it's worth it. Also my sunglasses mysteriously disappeared from the table in our room...hmm

Put in position of founding a place within 2 weeks traveling - difficult to found 3 nights, but this place had 1 room that covered my dates! Yeah! I was truly happy to find something and then at a reasonable price. I had checked both hotels along with B&Bs. We had room 315 that faced the court yard with 2 of the 3 windows that opened, had bed with private bath. Note that there is no TV or refrigerator but there is a phone. The room appears to have been remodeled within the last few years. Bedding has 2 white sheets that cover the comforter, this is great! No dirty bedspreads. Location cannot be bet. Main restaurants and shops across the bridge, no need to move your vehicle. Never stayed at a YMCA but was open since the pictures appeared nice and the front desk person was wonderful in sharing information about the YMCA. I have recommended this place already to a few people - can't see how hotels in the area would be that much better for the prices that are ask, that is if you can find one!

Looking for the local prison? Look no further! You're in luck. It has everything a prison has to offer, minus the bars and cavity checks. YWCA is worse than staying in military barracks. At least they get MRE's. This place is advertised as a "hotel" with queen beds and private rooms. We walked into eight bunk beds, one shower/toilet and nasty floors. The sink didn't drain, the shower flooded out onto the floor and the beds were beyond squeaky. You would have hoped someone was getting lucky with the level of squeaking that went on in that room. 8 girls, one bathroom? Convenient. Needless to say we didn't last more than one night here. We ended up checking out and going to stay at Mount Royal Hotel (SO worth the money). Also, no they would not refund us at YWCA. The front desk staff had the flattest affect and were as helpful as the sloth from the Zootopia scene at the DMV. Obviously won't be back. Take you're money elsewhere my friends.