Canmore Alpine Hostel - Alpine Club Hostel — Hotel in Alberta

At the start of this review, the question asked by Google reviews was "How was your stay?". I can't comment or rate the stay because I never made it. The 1-star review is based upon how I feel HI Canmore handled my booking and subsequent cancelation. The facts: On the 17th of July, 2021, I booked a 2-night stay for September 18th and 19th through Booking.com. I thought, "finally, this whole covid thing is easing, numbers are looking good, it is time to get away into the mountains". At $105/night, I opted for what appeared to be the only private room remaining. Unfortunately, my plans took a turn for the worst, and unforeseen family illness forced me to cancel my trip. I had to cancel my accommodations through Booking.com, along with a request to HI Canmore to consider at least a partial refund. I canceled my booking at HI Canmore on August 25th, a full 24 days before my scheduled arrival. The response from Matt at HI Canmore was " We will not be charging you for the second night but will not be refunding the deposit. If you have travel insurance that may cover the cancelation fee." The deposit I was charged at the time of booking was $105. So, I am out $105 for a booking that I canceled 24 days in advance. No doubt, HI Canmore will fill that space. My guess is HI Canmore needs the $105 more than I do. The thing is, if HI Canmore offered even a partial refund of 30 to 50%, I would have been happy with the service and the consideration. Unfortunately, that was not the case. I'm sure it is a nice place to stay, however, I cannot recommend HI Canmore based upon this experience. As a side note: WestJet had no problem refunding me the amount of my flight. Thank you, WestJet for...

This Review is for the Alpine Club of Canada, based at this location.

The ACC is clearly a valuable organization. They provide care and access to scenic cabins that allow for exploration of beautiful locations in the Rockies. What is less wonderful is their callous reservation policy. Due to COVID and health concerns, my party was unable to attend our booking. We reached out to the ACC for any possibility of alternative dates, a credit for later use, a partial refund, anything. There was no leeway or understanding at all. They at best told us we should have gotten trip insurance, which we learned about through later searching their site, but which was never offered at any point in the booking process. Additionally, looking at the insurance they suggest, the cost would have been nearly equivalent again to the $1200 trip, and may not even have considered COVID a valid reason for trip cancelation. I understand that businesses are struggling in these times, but so are consumers: having inflexible policies like the ACC's does not encourage me to book through them in the future, or to recommend...

This was a great place I hope to come back too someday. Although the rooms were small and tight, if you're using the room to sleep, it's great. The beds were good and the washrooms well kept. There was one shower out of order but that still left 3 male and 3 female showers with good heat and pressure. A nice common room downstairs with a pool table, board games and a TV, a nice room upstairs with comfy couches for all your butts preferences, (ultra soft sink in style to a more rigid cushions), beautiful view and access to trails with a beautiful deck out back. Few things to note, parking lots are small and very icy. I also feel like they are missing a nice spot with a fire pit and chairs outside. Other than that, I would come back here when I'm out with friends and family in the Rockies snowboarding or...