Banff Reviews

Banff is such a magical town, nestled within the Rocky Mountains. It has such a varied selection of bars and restaurants there is something for everyone. With the great resorts of Sunshine Village and Lake Louise a short bus ride away what more could you ask for?

Apres-Ski 5/5

Jake Cable

Banff and Lake Louise really are stunning. The town of Banff feels like a modern cowboy town, with a great mix of shops and restaurants. Because you can't ski in/out here, the resort buses are really efficient to cater for the skiers, but if buses aren't your thing, then maybe consider hiring a car for extra convenience. I would recommend trying out at least the big 3 mountains whilst there and make sure you stand on the frozen Lake Louise at some point too!

Apres-Ski 3/5

Esther
Iglu Staff

I have been skiing since I was 12, the annual ski trip used to be somewhere in Europe, however in the last few years European snow has come later and later, in fact most of the European resorts are quite bare right now (December 15) and not looking good for January 16. So I decided that I would try Banff and since my first trip December 2010 it is my first choice ski destination, see below the reasons why: - Guaranteed snow - 3 great mountains to ski on, Sunshine Village, Mt Norquay and Lake Louise - Great food and cheap (currently $2CDN to £1 sterling) even without the favourable exchange rate, it is still cheap. - NO massive queue's waiting for the chair lift's. As the ski area's are so vast, most of the chair lifts have no queue's plus the queue areas are wide, unlike Europe where 4 queues funnel into two or less, so you have no need to get your elbows and poles out to muscle through. - Great ski buses to relax on for the 30 minute/45 minute ride in and out of the resort (Norquay is about 10 minutes) Plus the Canadians are polite, helpful and speak english. Yes it's an 8 hour flight, but it's worth the travelling for the snow, 9 times out of 10 you wake up to a powder day!!!! Banff town is a short walk from most hotels and the variety of restaurants is fabulous and the quality and service is excellent, remember to tip 10 - 15% of the bill, it's common practice, then again the servers are attentive, polite and very helpful. Only major issue, it gets darn cold with wind chill, last year (2014) on Goats Eye mountain it was -45 degress, yes - 45 so no time to sight see...... So if you are fed up with Europe, worried the snow covering is limited then hop on the plane and get to Banff, you will not be dissapointed.

Apres-Ski 5/5

Ebbie

I've recently come back from a 11 night snowboarding trip to Banff, Canada and I have to say what an amazing experience it was. Booked with iglu nearly a year before I went, they were superb at giving info all the way up to getting on the plane. I stayed at the Caribou which was excellent for the money. Decent size rooms, quiet and comfortable, The Keg was great for breakfast too, always big tasty portions. The 3 mountains are easy to get to, only sunshine doesnt pick up outside the hotel, but its easy enough to get on the free roam bus that takes you to Sunshines bus. Lake Louise and Sunshine are both superb, Sunshine is great due to the open-go anywhere pistes, while Lake Louise has great tree line runs. The first track lessons with Inghams at Lake Louise are superb, Tanya the instructor helped loads, and it only cost 100$ between two of us! Banff itself is excellent, lovely food, honest, friendly people and beautiful. Id recommend Saltlik and Tacino for great food, and Eddies burgers for the best burgers ive ever had! Kobe beef is amazing! If youve got a day off, take a stroll up tunnel mountain for great views or visit the excellent hot springs. I also recommend going to bow falls as its gorgeous and there is a good pub behind the Springs hotel called The Waldhaus. All in all a great place to snowboard, amazing champagne powder and i'll definitely will be going back.

Apres-Ski 4/5

Rob Symons

We had a fabulous holiday in Banff and enjoyed some great riding in perfect March conditions - sunny skies, great snow and not too cold. We were a bit apprehensive about getting the bus to the ski areas but it is really well organised and very civilized on 'luxury' coaches, so there is none of this having to stand up and be jostled about that you sometimes get in Europe. You also get to see the stunning scenery in the Banff National Park as an added bonus. We did most of our riding at Sunshine with a day in Lake Louise and a couple of mornings in Norquay, where it seemed we had the mountain to ourselves. The mountain restaurants are good and not as astronomically expensive as those in France and Banff has a wide range of bars and restaurants for the evenings. All the lifties are super-friendly and chatty which is quite unsettling at first if you have done most of your skiing/riding in Europe, and the whole atmosphere of Banff is generally laid back and friendly. Highly recommended if you haven’t already been.

Apres-Ski 4/5

Kirsty