Rimrock Resort Hotel

This was a once in a lifetime holiday for us so we paid to stay in the Rimrock for three nights at the end of our holiday. We booked a Mountain View room which was incredibly expensive and we had high hopes. We arrived three hours too early to check in so the staff said they would get our room ready and would text us because we had reservations just after 4. The room was not ready until 4 and we received no text and no apology. We just about managed to get to our room and out to our reservation on time but I had to call to ask for our bags to be delivered, which we had been promised would be waiting for us. We returned late that evening, which was when we realised how terrible the room was. It was very dated, very rundown and smelled strongly of old cigarette smoke. I had no idea that smell was possible these days and have not experienced it in a hotel for many years. The rooms even have square ceiling tiles of the type you used to see in offices of the nineties. They loudly move when you open the door. Nice! It was too late to do anything about it so I had to complain on the morning. When I did complain, the staff immediately moved us and first checked there was no smell in the room. However, they were not particularly apologetic. We moved our things to the new room but were immediately disappointed again. This room was smaller, even more dated, had very stained carpets and still smelled….just not of cigarette smoke. It did have a slightly better view though, which I would be remiss not to point out is absolutely breathtaking. We were disheartened but we had now list some of our morning and had things to do so realised we could not move again. When I returned our original key cards, I was asked if we were satisfied. I explained the problem, but that we did not have time to move again as we were only true for a short time. No apology or attempt to make it right. We also found out on our last day that the phone did not work, and in fact had no lead to plug into! The concierge staff offered to fix it but by that point we knew we would not need it again and did not want more interruptions to our holiday from a maintenance engineer, so we declined. No offer of anything extra by way of an apology though. I feel I should point out the good points. I’ll reiterate that the view is incredible. It is also best close to the hot springs pool and gondola which are both things you should not miss when visiting. The restaurants are also good and the staff in the restaurants and cafe have very good service. In complete contrast to any of the other hotels we stayed in during our holiday, there was absolutely nothing complimentary. Even water left in the room was very expensive if you used it which was a surprise. I should also mention that the hotel is being renovated, so lots of noise and disruption throughout the day (but not at night), plus scaffolding and boarding to ruin your bite and stay. The staff did mention this on arrival but quite frankly that is too late when you can no longer change your plans. My last point is that it was one of the few hotels we stayed in where we were not asked how our stay was upon checkout. I suspect this is because they know what answer people will give. I have not given this one star, but that is because of the view and the other service in the restaurant, not due to the rooms! We did find out that the hotel is closing but refurbishment in a few months. I suspect the problems we experienced will be resolved by this. However, that does not make what we experienced acceptable and definitely does not mean rusty what we paid was at all reasonable for what we received. I would not normally have accepted this without further complaint, but the Rimrock had already lost is several hours of our short stay so I’m adding a review in the hope it will prevent others from experiencing what we did and ruining their plans. Banff is an amazing place. Don’t ruin your holiday by staying here!

Stayed here for a few nights as a family of four Room was a good size for us with a fantastic view Renovations did not negatively impact us Great location for us as close to the gondola and hot springs. Complimentary bus service made getting into town very easy

We made a reservation six months ago before Emblems bought the Rimrock Hotel on 6/26/25 and began renovations resulting in multiple online complaints about noise and service. We were not informed about the renovations, but Emblems refused to refund our down payment of over $1,000 US when we said we did not want to spend our vacation in that environment. Despite what they say on their web site the Emblems luxury brand cares more about profit than their guests' comfort.

Rimrock Resort was fantastic! We stayed with a Road Scholar tour group and were very happy with the accommodations: beds were comfortable, there were plenty of pillows, the heating/air-conditioning was quiet, and we had a lovely view. The night stand had enough room for my CPAP equipment and the front desk provided distilled water when asked! A real plus because going into town to get some wasn't that easy. The meals in the Primrose restaurant were delicious and the chef was great about taking care to honor my food restrictions. My biggest complaint was that the meals served to our group were too big! The breakfast buffet had an expansive selection of food and include items that people from a variety of cultures eat for breakfast. We didn’t always get the best service because they were quite full but overall the staff was friendly and helpful. I did book a massage since it was a ‘resort’ but was disappointed and cannot really recommend their spa experience. On the other hand, the pool was great—big enough for lap swimming as well as children playing. We enjoyed the indoor hot spring experience and felt it was a better choice than sitting outside with a crowd of people at the hot springs across the street.

The views from the Rimrock are fantastic! The room had everything one would need, and the bed/pillows are comfortable. The only thing that I didn’t like was that you had to take a shuttle or a bus to town and back. Next time I would probably book a hotel in town. ( We did not book this hotel for ourselves, our tour booked it.)