Moraine Lake Lodge

One of the nicest hotels I have ever stayed at. The setting is spectacular with the jaw dropping beauty of Moraine Lake. The cabins are spacious with deluxe bedding, a balcony, and a fireplace. The staff is young, gracious and upbeat. Breakfasts are excellent with many voices. A light lunch and tea and cookies are available in the afternoon. An all around memorable experience. The only slight drawback is the constant parade of tourists during the day- limited because Moraine Lake Road is closed to thru traffic.

Let's start with the obvious. Moraine Lake Lodge is wildly expensive. I also had a wonderful, relaxing time there. Is it worth it for you? ACCESS: One of the reasons the hotel costs what it does is the road to it is only open a fraction of the year. My stay was the day after it opened in early June. And there were people (not lodge staff, park staff) manning the access road gate who didn't fully know protocol yet, meaning I got barred from making a left turn and had to detour several miles until I could turn around and get back to it. PARKING: One of the main reasons to pony up and stay here: guests of the lodge are the only private cars allowed to park at the lake. Everyone else must take a bus or shuttle for the 220 minute drive - or you could bike or hike (it's 12 km uphill). There is a small lot next to the hotel with just enough parking for the guests. It is slightly tricky to maneuver. The ability to be at Moraine Lake early in the morning or late on a summer evening, to essentially have it to yourself is worth a lot. SERVICE: Excellent - one of the best points of the place. Everyone took care of you, both front desk and dining staff, with the right balance of cheerful warmth and professionalism. Staff is proactive, housekeeping was happy to clean exactly at the time I specified. FOOD: Chances are you're going to be eating here if you're staying here, unless you want to drive a minimum of 25 minutes each way. Breakfast is complimentary, and a la carte, there is also a complimentary light lunch buffet served in the main hall. The downstairs dining room was upscale, had a lovely view of the lake and wonderful service, plus the food was memorable. Prices were high-ish, but in line with other places in an expensive resort area. ROOM: The lodge's rooms are well-maintained but keep to the idea of a lodge. They're reasonably rustic, and at least the Wenkchemna cabin rooms are small. VIEW: Just so you realize - if you are looking for that "money shot" view you see in the photo, NO ROOM IN THE LODGE HAS IT. That view is from "the rockpile" that is immediately adjacent to the lodge, but about a 15 minute uphill hike because of steps. In the famous views of the lake, including the one used as the thumbnail, the lodge is out of frame, slightly to the right. The view you get, at least from the Wenkchemna cabin I stayed in, is a side view across the lake. It's pleasant, but no "money shot." During the day, there will be many tourists walking the paths. If your dream is to be able to see a view like that as you wake up from out your window, I *think* the only way to get that is to pay a stiff price for one of the premium rooms at the Chateau Lake Louise. However, I found I didn't mind much heading to the rockpile by myself at twilight and watching the blue, still, lake from there. ACTIVITIES: Staying at the lodge includes both canoe rental (which was allowed for guests before day visitors) the opportunity to go on a simple guided hike. Both were enjoyable, if you have never canoed, Moraine is a perfect place to try it. There were also some nature talks given in the evening. The place is deliberately low-tech (but wifi works fine). CLIMATE: Don't assume it will be warm, even in June. Snow was melting on the trails and I needed a medium winter jacket, gloves and a hat. It's wet because of the melt, bring hiking boots. VALUE: I hate the maxim "If you have to ask you can't afford it," but I think there's a helpful corollary here: If you're not going to be able to get past the price sticker, it's too expensive. As for me, I wondered if Moraine Lake Lodge would be "worth it." I don't think it would have had I only stayed a rushed single night. But I stayed two nights, so I could unwind and enjoy the slower rhythm of the Lodge, and I felt both refreshed and taken care of. It ain't a value proposition, but I left happy.

非常糟糕的经历。我一个月前就预订了房间，但当我到达时，他们却告诉我没有房间。 我是在Agoda上预订的房间，并在一个月前收到了确认邮件。为了确认预订是否有效，我在到达前3天又发了一封邮件询问，酒店在我到达前一天回复说预订已经确认。但当我花了一个小时开车到达时，酒店的工作人员却告诉我没有房间了。他们为我预订了另一家酒店，我只能再开车回露易丝湖或班夫入住那家酒店。当时已经是晚上9点了，我还没吃晚饭，感到非常饥饿。我没有选择，只能再开车30分钟去他们安排的露易丝湖的那家酒店。 办理入住并进入房间后，我发现那是最差的房型——“铁路旁的房间”。每隔15-30分钟就有火车经过，导致我整晚都无法入睡。这不仅破坏了我当天的旅行计划，而且由于睡眠太差，第二天我无法开车。 现在已经过去一周了，酒店方面依然没有任何回应，完全无视我发的邮件。真是一次极其糟糕的经历！ 现在已经过去6周了，我给客户服务中心发了几封邮件，仍然没有任何回复。我会继续举报这种恶劣的行为。

Lovely location and the king cabins are very comfortable. The wildlife talk we attended was amusing and informative - great fun. Canoes on the lake are included for residents. Lake is very crowded in the day but once the tourist buses have stopped in the evening guests have the place to themselves. This is a real bonus. We have stayed here several times over the years and really enjoyed it. However one negative this time was the food. The food is very expensive and normally it has been good but this time my evening meal was very disappointing. The potato was served in little thin fried sticks that were overcooked and impossible to eat. They tasted burnt. The steak wasn’t very good either, particularly for the exorbitant price (captive audience I suspect). My husband and our friend had a chicken dish that was, quite frankly, odd. It was served in a bed of almost liquid mashed potato with some kind of sauce dribbled through it that looked like blood. The flavours didn’t work. Breakfast was very limited in our opinion and not that good. To sum up, great location and accommodation but let down by the food in our opinion.

Such a wonderful experience. The 12km entry to Moraine Lake is exclusive to Lodge guests during Summer, or those that secured prebooked tickets on a day use bus. The rest of the time this amazing gem was ours to enjoy. The lodge has been on-site for many years and is warm and welcoming. Our deluxe lodge room was so spacious wirh high ceilings and a side view of the Lake. Dinner was very nice, as was the included breakfast- both with views to the lake. Staff were all very friendly and helpful. It's an expensive consideration to stay here, but we felt the exclusivity and offerings were worth every cent.