Our Banff Springs Hotel Review – Fairmont Room

Author: Dan Brewer

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The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel is world-renowned as the luxury Castle in the Rockies. With a level of luxury unsurpassed in Banff National Park, the Banff Springs Hotel is rightfully one of the most expensive hotels in Banff. This Banff Springs Hotel review focuses on the most affordable room in the hotel – a Fairmont Room.

It’s true that a luxury hotel the caliber of the Fairmont Banff Springs attracts some guests who don’t consider the cost. But there are many regular folks (like us!) who would love to stay at the Fairmont, but are wondering is the Banff Springs is worth it vs. other Banff hotels.

A Fairmont Room with a king sized bed at the Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Canada.
A Fairmont Room at the Banff Springs Hotel

As you glance at the Banff Springs Hotel room rates, you may be wondering what a stay in a Fairmont Rooms would be like. We have been fortunate enough to stay at the Castle in the Rockies many times and are eager to share our experiences with you in this review of the Banff Springs Hotel.

The elegant lobby of the Banff Springs Hotel, Canada.
The grand Banff Springs Hotel lobby.

Every effort has been made to ensure the information below is accurate, but please confirm your details when you book your stay at the Fairmont Banff Springs. This post contains compensated links.

Banff Springs Hotel – Fairmont Room

The Fairmont Room series is the most affordable type of room at the Banff Springs Hotel. Scattered throughout the 5-star resort, a Fairmont Room is a wonderful place to stay on your trip to Banff.

Every guest at the Fairmont Banff Springs is treated with the highest standard of service, regardless of the room category you are in. A stay in a Fairmont Room at the Banff Springs Hotel is an excellent idea, as you will still enjoy a luxury Banff hotel room, and get to enjoy all the same public areas of the hotel as the higher-paying guests.

The grand staircase in the lobby of the 5-star Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.
The elegant lobby staircase.

Most visitors come to Banff for the world-class Rocky Mountain scenery and the outdoor recreation opportunities. If you want to make the most of your trip to Banff, you won’t be spending a ton of time in your hotel room anyways. So why pay more for a premium room at the Banff Springs Hotel when you’ll be outside anyway?

A stay in a Banff Springs Hotel Fairmont Room is the perfect solution for a visitor who wishes to stay at the best hotel in Banff, without spending a ton of money.

Even the cheapest room at the Banff Springs Hotel offers a chance to see all the luxurious 5-star Banff hotel has to offer, including Mt Stephen Hall.
Mt. Stephen Hall is my favorite room at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.

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The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel is just one of the many luxury hotels in Banff. Read our article to learn more about the others!

The View from a Fairmont Room

The primary reason a Fairmont Room is the most affordable room at the Banff Springs Hotel is the lack of a view. Many of the more expensive rooms at the Fairmont provide guests with a million-dollar view of Banff National Park and the peaks of the Canadian Rockies.

The views from a Banff Springs Hotel Fairmont Room are often limited and may be of the forest, hotel grounds or other parts of the hotel.

The main reason a Fairmont Room is the most affordable room at the Banff Springs Hotel is the lack of a mountain view.
A larch tree on the hotel grounds.
Dan & Celine Brewer, owners of TravelBanffCanada.com, on a Flytographer photo shoot with their kids at Lake Minnewanka, Banff.

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How Big Is a Fairmont Room at the Banff Springs Hotel?

At 220 square feet, the Fairmont Room is the smallest room type at the Banff Springs Hotel. What does 220 square feet feel like?

It’s small, for sure, but it feels like a normal European-sized hotel room. The Fairmont Rooms are definitely one of the smallest hotel rooms in all of Banff, but it’s still big enough for a king-sized bed or two double beds.

Enjoy elegant decor in a Fairmont King Room at the 5-star Banff Springs Hotel.
My Fairmont King Room.

In a Banff Springs Hotel Fairmont Room with a king-sized bed, there’s roughly 4 – 7’ of space between the edges of the bed and the walls. We’ve stayed in plenty of smaller hotel rooms around the world, so by comparison, we felt the Fairmont Room was more spacious than we’d expected.

The TV in a Fairmont Room at the Banff Springs Hotel.

It should also be noted that although the Fairmont website lists the Fairmont Room as 220 square feet, this may be the minimum size and your hotel room may actually be bigger. The Fairmont King Room we stayed in measured roughly 15’ x 16’, measuring 240 square feet (plus hallway and bathroom).

The bathroom in a Banff Springs Hotel Fairmont Room.

Fairmont Room Decor

Fairmont Rooms at the Banff Springs Hotel come in four different bed arrangements: King, Queen, Twin or two double beds.

An elegant light fixture in the most affordable room at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.

We stayed in a Fairmont King Room at the Banff Springs Hotel. The king-sized bed mattress measured 78” x 72” (198 cm x 183 cm) and had a very tall fabric headboard. The mattress was firm, yet soft and provided a very comfortable night’s sleep. The king-sized bed also had 4 pillows.

Enjoy 4 large, fluffy pillows on a King sized bed in a Fairmont Room at the Banff Springs Hotel, Canada.

In addition to the king-sized bed in our Banff Springs Hotel Fairmont Room, there was a small desk with a chair and lamp, a sitting chair, two bedside night stands (each with two drawers), three lamps and a hutch with a flat screen tv on it.

An elegant sitting chair in a Banff Springs Hotel Fairmont Room.
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In-Room Beverages

Guests who stay in a Banff Springs Hotel Fairmont Room have a decent selection of complimentary hot beverages:

Each room has a hot-water kettle and 7 different flavors of tea from Lot 35 including Imperial Breakfast, Egyptian Camomile, Decaffeinated English Breakfast, Kyushu Japan Sencha, Creamy Earl Grey and Flora’s Berry Garden.

Tea lovers will enjoy a selection of Lot 35 tea at the best hotel in Banff.
The Lot 35 tea selection in my Banff Springs Hotel room.

In addition, you’ll have a Keurig coffee maker with 3 Colombian medium roast pods and 3 Colombian decaf medium roast pods.

the cheapest room at the Banff Springs Hotel offers excellent in-room amenities, such as a Keurig coffee machine.
  • There are two creamers in the otherwise empty mini-fridge.
  • Packets of white sugar, raw sugar and sweetener.
  • 2 coffee cups.

List of Amenities in a Fairmont Room at the Banff Springs

  • A window that opens for fresh Banff National Park air.
  • 6 easily accessible and available power outlets.
  • A spacious closet with real, removable hangers.
  • A full-length mirror on back of the hotel room door.
  • Three glasses for the filtered, never-bottled local Banff tap water.
enjoy water from Canada's first national park at the most affordable room at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.
  • An extra-large bathroom mirror.
  • An ironing board and iron.
  • Two folding suitcase racks.
  • Two Fairmont bathrobes.
  • Two pairs of Fairmont slippers.
A comfy Fairmont bathrobe at the Banff Springs Hotel, Canada.
After a long day of hiking, kick back and relax in your Fairmont robe…
  • Blackout blinds.
  • In-room safe.
  • A Fairmont pen and pad of paper.
  • Personalized climate control.
  • A telephone with voicemail.
  • A nearly silent quartz bedside clock.
Elegant bedside touches in a Fairmont Room at the Banff Springs Hotel.
  • Two shower caps.
  • A shoe mitten (handy for cleaning dress shoes).
  • A hair dryer.
  • An in-bathroom makeup mirror.
  • Shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, body lotion and 2 body bars from Rose 31.
  • Cotton swabs and cotton balls.
Enjoy Rose 31 toiletries when you stay at a Fairmont Room at the Banff Springs Hotel (shampoo, conditioner, body bar, shower gel and body lotion).
I love the toiletries at luxury hotels.
  • 2-ply toilet paper.
  • 2-ply Kleenex.
  • Shower and bathtub.
  • Towels and washcloths.
  • An ice bucket and ice tongs.
  • A bottle opener.
The ice bucket found in a Fairmont Room at the Banff Springs Hotel, Canada.

Banff Springs Hotel Fairmont Room Television Options

Our Fairmont King room had a 42” LG flat-screen TV. Viewing choices include:

  • On-demand still-in-theatre movies, normal movies, fitness videos and karaoke playlists.
  • Approximately 55 regular TV channels.
  • Information about the Banff Springs Hotel.
  • Request Hotel Services such as housekeeping, luggage storage, a new pillow, refills on room supplies, etc..
  • The ALL Be Well channel, with free on-demand fitness and yoga videos.
  • Hotel account review (to look at your current hotel bill).
  • Wake-up call, weather forecast.
  • A variety of music channels (paid service).
The TV, Keurig and mini-fridge in a Fairmont Room at the Banff Springs Hotel in Banff National Park, Canada.

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Are you visiting Banff with your furry friend? You may be surprised to know that the Banff Springs Hotel is one of the best pet-friendly hotels in Banff!

Amenities and Activities Included with Fairmont Room

The Banff Springs Hotel has a long list of amenities and activities included with every stay at the Castle in the Rockies. Every Banff Springs hotel room incurs a $60 per day Resort Experience Fee. In return, all registered guests will enjoy:

  • Free wi-fi in-room and throughout the resort.
  • Kids will receive a welcome gift (one of the many reasons the Banff Springs is one of the top kid-friendly hotels in Banff).
  • Complimentary 1 hour bike rental.
  • Guided wilderness walks, bike tours and hikes.
  • Read newspapers and magazines from around the world with PressReader.
  • Outdoor fitness classes.
  • Discounted hotel shuttle to Lake Louise (twice daily in summer).
Guests staying in the least expensive room at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel have access to all the same amenities as other guests, including campfire pit rentals.
The campfire pits at the Banff Springs Hotel.
  • Outdoor equipment rentals (hiking poles, ice cleats, etc.).
  • Strollers and child-carrier backpacks.
  • Ski, golf club & bike storage.
  • Self-guided scavenger hunts.
  • Discover local biking & hiking routes with the RunGo app.
  • Take-away craft kits.
  • Virtual bingo, trivia and paint nights.
  • Tickets for the Roam local transit bus (making it a transit-friendly Banff hotel).
Enjoy free Banff public transit when you stay at an affordable room at the Banff Springs Hotel.
The Roam public transit bus stops in front of the Banff Springs Hotel.

Fairmont values these activities and services at over $200. It’s another fine example of the least expensive room at the Banff Springs Hotel enjoying the same luxury amenities as those who rent the more expensive rooms at the Fairmont.

An elegant spiral staircase at the fairmont banff springs hotel.
An elegant spiral staircase.

Upgrade to a Fairmont Mountain View Room?

Upon check-in at the Banff Springs Hotel, we were offered a complimentary upgrade to a Deluxe King room (which is typically $100+ extra). The hotel staff had no idea we run the Travel Banff Canada website, nor are we top-tier Accor loyalty members. We were just ordinary guests, who got offered an upgrade.

The amazing views of Banff National Park mountains from a Fairmont Mountain View Room at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.
Fairmont Mountain View Room at the Banff Springs Hotel.

We turned the complimentary upgrade down so we could focus on writing this review for you about the cheapest room at the Banff Springs Hotel. She then offered us an upgrade to a Fairmont King Mountain View room.

We only accepted the upgrade after she confirmed the Fairmont Mountain View rooms are identical to the cheapest rooms in the Banff Springs Hotel, but they come with a magnificent mountain view.

The Fairmont Mountain View rooms only cost a little more than a Fairmont Room per night. This is a small price to pay when you are visiting a place as magnificent as Banff National Park.

For just a little more money, an upgrade to a Fairmont Mountain View Room at the Banff Springs Hotel provides outstanding views of the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
The view of Mt. Inglismaldie from my room.

Banff Springs Hotel Fairmont Room Recommendation

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in a Fairmont Room in the Banff Springs Hotel. We enjoyed the many luxurious amenities available to us, often forgetting we were staying in the cheapest hotel room in the Banff Springs Hotel.

If you are looking for a wonderful hotel room in a Banff luxury hotel, without spending a fortune, a stay in a Fairmont Room at the Banff Springs Hotel is perfect for you.

A review of the cheapest room at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.

Get a Deal at the Fairmont Banff Springs

As locals, we enjoyed a 30% discount on our hotel room with the Banff Springs Hotel Alberta residents discount.

If you are not from Alberta, you may be interested to know that Fairmont always has a series of special offers for the Banff Springs Hotel. The deals change all the time, but typical examples are a seniors’ discount, CAA/AAA member discount, golf packages, skiing packages, and much more.

Read More

A stay at the Banff Springs Hotel is a big part of your Banff travel budget. Be sure to learn how to get a deal at the Banff Springs Hotel before you book your room.

We hope you enjoyed our review of the Banff Springs Hotel Fairmont Room. You won’t ever forget a stay at the Castle in the Rockies!

More About the Fairmont Banff Springs

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Is the cheapest room at the Banff Springs Hotel worth it? Click to read why this might be your chance to be pampered in luxury at this famous Banff Hotel!
Standing at Aylmer Lookout Banff National Park

Dan Brewer, a life-long Alberta resident, calls Canmore home along with his wife and two kids. He is the co-owner of Travel Banff Canada, where he gets to share his passion for the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Dan, along with his family, love being outdoors doing one of the many activities they enjoy in the mountains: hiking, mountain biking, paddleboarding, skiing, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.

When he's not in Canmore enjoying one of his favourite local hikes, you can find him hoping on a plane to explore a new country with his family or working on one of their other two travel sites: Family Can Travel and Baby Can Travel.

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