Tekarra Lodge — Hotel in Alberta

If you are looking for a place with bad management and customer service, you've found the right place.

We were woken up by what sounded like a mouse in the room. After waking up and investigating (didn't want it chewing through our bags to get food), it became clear that it was a squirrel in the wall. Additionally, we could see the squirrel moving through a small hole in the wall. I could have literally poked the squirrel with a pen. The squirrel woke us up several more times during the night as it scratched around the wall and attic.

We talked to the front desk in the morning about the rodent problem and asked to be moved to another cabin. The were extremely defensive and acted like they were doing us a favor by doing anything for us. When we asked for a discount on the previous night since we slept horribly -- certainly not the experience expected for $250 / night -- they told us we were already getting a lower priced room the second night so we shouldn't get a discount on the first night. (After further hassle, we did get a very minor discount.)

We also provided them with info on the hole in the wall and squirrel -- information they didn't even care to inquire about -- and they said they'd get it fixed some time. As you might guess based on the crappy service so far, they actually put some poor person in that cabin the day we got out of it, so clearly they don't give a crap about the people who give them money. Short-sighted, greedy, and disrespectful.

Other issues we encountered that were minor relative to the items above: The cabin was tiny for the amount of stuff they crammed into it. The sofa, coffee table, and fire place were crammed together. I can't imagine that it's safe to use the fireplace in such a place since there's almost no separation of the fireplace and furniture. Bathroom door didn't latch, so wouldn't go here for a new couples retreat. If you want to use the washer / dryer, bring your own quarters since the people at the front desk don't keep quarters for exchange. We had to ask other guests to split our bills so we could use the laundry facilities. Also, detergent is, of course, overpriced at the front desk. We overheard one other customer complaining to the front desk that he had been charged twice. Sounded like it got resolved, but ugh, just another example of this place being crappy...

The trip started well with seeing a group of elk outside as we drove up. All the staff we encountered here were very friendly and helpful. Don’t miss the s’mores night and also the interpretive talk. Both are excellent. We didn’t have the chance to see any other entertainment while we were there. We didn’t walk in to jasper but it seemed close enough. The lodge was smaller than expected, and I hadn’t realised the lodges actually join another lodge. I assumed from the pictures I saw that they were all separate. I was woken very early one day by someone’s alarm going off next door. So I assume the walls are fairly thin. I have to admit we didn’t hear too much after that. Just the odd voice now and then. I was told the beds were very comfy, I was on the sofa bed which was not comfy. It woke me up when I moved in the night due to squeaky springs. The lodge had everything you needed. The soaps in the toilet were so nice we went and bought some from their shop in Banff! (Rocky Mountain soap company) I enjoyed having a log fire going during the cool evenings. We were in a Columbia king cabin and it was smaller than I expected. However as a family of 4 we were quite used to the space by the time we left. We did have to live out of the suitcases though as there’s no wardrobes or drawers. Having no tv was a bonus. The wifi was very good if you must get some screen time. Plenty of parking available.

I’ll recommend Tekarra Lodge as it’s an authentic experience. Is it a 5* place? No. But then it’s not...

Overpriced, old and not everything is in working order.

Stayed one night at Tekarra Lodge in cabin 18. Cabin was very small and had no view to speak of. There were no TV and the WiFi was extremely weak. Toilet was quite small, as was everything in the cabin and door did not close properly. You actually had to slam the toilet door for it to latch on. Walls were thin and we could hear what the couple in the adjoining cabin was doing. The worst thing that happened was the hot water ran out halfway during my shower. I had to wash off the soap with ice cold water!! After we approached them about this, we were told that the hot water tank was shared with another adjoining cabin. Apparently the adjoining cabin had used up all the hot water and we needed to wait for 30 minutes before hot water could be restored. So we waited and guess what? Hot water didn't come back. This should not have happened and we should be informed about this during our check in! Since we could hear what the other couple in the adjoining cabin was doing, we could have taken our showers way after the adjoining cabin had.

This was the most expensive stay during our Canadian trip ($300+/ night) and we expected better. We went around Jasper and found that there were cabins that charged lower rates with better views and activities. Would not recommend this...