Four-star One MICHELIN Key Banff, Banff
Fairmont Banff Springs
The railway's castle above the Spray River, opened in 1888 and rebuilt in the 1920s, with 724 rooms, 27 holes of golf and the peaks of Banff National Park all round.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.
- MICHELIN
- One Key, 2026
- Rooms
- 724 rooms and suites
- Opened
- 1888, by the Canadian Pacific Railway
- From the airport
- About 90 minutes from Calgary International
The hotel
The Castle in the Rockies.
The Canadian Pacific Railway opened the Banff Springs in 1888, a five-storey wooden hotel by the architect Bruce Price, with room for 280 guests. Walter S. Painter added a central tower in 1914. In April 1926 fire destroyed the original building, and John Orrock's new north and south wings opened two years later, in a style drawn from French châteaux and Scottish baronial houses.
The hotel became a National Historic Site of Canada in 1988. Fairmont, the old railway hotel company, still runs it. The rooms have since been reworked in a restrained, modern style that leaves the mountains to do the talking. Stanley Thompson laid out the golf course in the valley below, and afternoon tea in the Rundle Bar goes back more than a century.
- Fairmont Spa Twenty-three treatment rooms, a mineral pool and waterfall pools, with separate lounges for men and women.
- Golf below the peaks Twenty-seven holes by Stanley Thompson, including the Devil's Cauldron hole.
- Two pools An indoor pool of 32 metres and an outdoor one of 20 metres, both open all year.
Rooms & suites
Turrets, terraces and Fairmont Gold.
Rooms range from Fairmont and Deluxe rooms to Turret and two-bedroom suites, with a separate Fairmont Gold category of rooms and suites.
- Rooms Fairmont and Deluxe Rooms King, queen or two-bed rooms, with View categories for those who want the mountains outside.
- One bedroom Turret Suite A one-bedroom suite named for the castle's turrets.
- Two bedrooms Terrace, Majestic and Crown Suites Suites with two bedrooms, in three categories.
Dining
Six places to eat and drink.
Restaurants as listed by Forbes Travel Guide. Alberta has no MICHELIN restaurant guide. Shown for information.
- 1888 Chop House Steakhouse, Alberta produce A champagne cart opens the meal
- Waldhaus Restaurant German, alpine Above the Spray River
- Castello Italiana Italian In the hotel
- The Vermillion Room French brasserie All day
- Grapes Wine Bar Wine and charcuterie In the hotel
- Rundle Bar Afternoon tea and cocktails A tea tradition of more than a century
Good to know
Before you go.
- Arrival Check-in from 4 pm, check-out by noon.
- Children Welcome at any age; children up to 17 stay free in an existing bed.
- Pets Accepted on request; a charge may apply.
Getting there
Flying to Banff.
Calgary International is about 130 kilometres east, roughly an hour and a half by road. Private jets use the same airport, where several FBOs and customs are on site, and a car takes you on to Spray Avenue.
- Vancouver 1 h 15
- Los Angeles 2 h 50
- Toronto 3 h 50
- New York 4 h 35
- London 9 h 35 long-range jet
Questions
What guests ask first.
- How many MICHELIN Keys does Fairmont Banff Springs have?
- One, in the MICHELIN Guide's 2026 selection for Canada.
- How old is the Banff Springs Hotel?
- It opened in 1888. The present stone wings date from 1928, after a fire in 1926.
- Which airport is closest to Fairmont Banff Springs?
- Calgary International, about 130 kilometres away, roughly ninety minutes by car. Private jets land there too.
- Can SkyCourtage arrange the flight to Banff?
- Yes. We arrange Business and First Class seats on scheduled airlines and private jet charter to Banff, with one final price, our margin included. The hotel is booked with the hotel or through our booking partner.
Also in Banff
Other hotels worth the trip.
- Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise The landmark of Lake Louise, 54 kilometres up the valley from Banff.
- Post Hotel & Spa A riverside ski lodge from the war years, renovated and kept for summer and winter alike.
- The Lodge at Bow Lake Listed by MICHELIN under Lake Louise, by Bow Lake on the road north to Jasper.
Staying at Fairmont Banff Springs?
Book the room, then the flight.
Rates and availability come from the hotel itself. For the journey to Banff, a Business or First Class seat or an aircraft of your own: tell us the date and we come back with one final price, our margin included.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.