- Aug 8, 2023
- 4 min read

The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel

THE Best hospitality experience you will ever enjoy!

Service, done correctly:

One of the first lessons I learned as a concierge was to reply to a guest with the simple phrase, "It's my pleasure!" I can honestly say, staying at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel was MY PLEASURE!

If you are looking for a world-class luxury hotel experience then rush to wonderful Banff Canada and stay at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. Yes, it is very expensive but you will not regret your decision.

Ask my husband about staying at any hotel with me and he will tell you that I just can't "turn off" my hospitality personality. The management at the Fairmont deserves every accolade possible. They take care of their staff so that the staff wants to take care of you! And they do so by working with them, side by side. (Gil, you know who you are and that is your secret sauce as well! Cudos to both management teams.)

Go ahead and upgrade your stay to the "Gold" level. (There are only two types of reservations, regular and gold.) Sorry, Karen, here you are NOT entitled as a super-premium, 10-carat, platinum deluxe diamond inner-square guest. If you choose to PAY for gold service, you will be afforded an extra level of service. Trust me, you will enjoy every penny of it!

Gold guests have a private entry to the hotel, a private reception, and a private lounge open from 6:30a to 10p daily with private concierge. Wonderful. The lounge serves exquisite food for breakfast, an extremely generous selection of canapes at cocktail hour, and desserts during the evening all with private bar service.

When you arrive at the private gold drive, the valet will greet you warmly regardless of the weather. Very shortly thereafter, a gold concierge will greet you outside at your car. He/she will walk you in and assist you further. The rundown of the hotel is thoughtful and customized to your needs. Lots of genuine smiles and eye contact. Yes, this is good, very good! If your room is not ready for early arrival, the gold concierge will walk you up to the private gold lounge, where you can unwind in style. Of course, the turnover from reception to the lounge is flawless. Your gold concierge provide a brief and very helpful overview of the gold amenities and their services. And they deliver, ALWAYS!

Don't worry about ANYTHING more for the rest of your stay, the gold concierge have already memorized your names and faces and you will be professionally assisted. Every time you arrive back at the lounge, no exceptions. Of course, they take every reasonable opportunity to "check in" and ensure that if you have ANY concerns, they address them immediately, at least daily. Bravo! All of this happens BEFORE you have any chance of a concern spoiling your stay. Bravo!

Not staying as a gold guest? The main reception is just as professional. I checked. The lobby concierge... just as fantastic as well. I checked. Again, every accolade possible to the entire management team.

Now let's talk about food and beverage service. Yep, it's fantastic! The food tastes great. The recipes are interesting. (How do you make a simple salad of cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, and black olives sing? The perfect balance of buttery olive oil with just a hint of vinegar and house-grown fresh herbs. Yes, they did that.)

Now let's talk about attention to guest food allergies. Yep, they do that too and do it the best I have ever experienced. Start with EVERY food server ALWAYS asking about food allergies. Next, label foods at buffets and on EVERY menu with allergy information. Then, bake your own in-house gluten-free bread and pastries. Then, toast them in dedicated gluten-free toasters. The staff prepares your gluten-free selections by first cleaning their prep area, washing their hands, and putting on clean gloves. Yes, I checked. Do you know how wonderful it is to enjoy your meal dining out WITH NO COMPROMISE and a HIGH DEGREE OF CONFIDENCE that you will not be ill afterward? If you do not suffer from food allergies like me then yes, you do. Every day. I don't... but I did while staying at The Fairmont Banff Springs.

By now you probably get the idea that The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel is a special place. Nope, no, nada, not yet. Brace yourself.

On the back patio of Rundle Bar, we listen to Hey Ya! by Outkast from the house's playlist.

The hubs and I saw signs for a local gin and learned that we could taste it at The Fairmont Banff Springs. Will this give you a hint of where I'm going?

You are looking at the "Wild Flower Fairmont Banff Springs." It's made with Wild Life Rundle Bar Gin, Lillet Blanc, St. Germain & Plum Bitters. Nope, it's not "too sweet or fruity." It's great.

So great I ordered a second round. The weather turned and started to sprinkle. We didn't care because we were seated under an umbrella and dressed for a bit of weather. We were also staring at the Bow River next to Mount Rundle. Beautiful. Where am I going with this, again, brace yourself.

The rain picked up even more and eventually, all the other guests scurried inside. The staff continued to check on us saying "no worries, enjoy yourself, enjoy your private patio!" Wonderful.

But now the wow moment comes. We ordered a nosh from the outdoor kitchen nearby. As the rain came down and we were well into our second adult beverage, FIVE SERVERS HELD THREE UMBRELLAS OVER OUR FOOD AS THEY GOT DRENCHED but OUR FOOD WAS PERFECT! Wow, all with smiles and professional service! THIS is five-star service.