The Crossing Resort — Hotel in Alberta

I stayed at The Crossing Resort twice in July - first for one night with out of country friends on the way from Jasper to Calgary, and second for 3 nights with a Calgary hiking group of 14 people. Communication re booking a group for rooms and meals was excellent, and the group rate for rooms was attractive. The buildings are old and a bit dark and dated, but the rooms are clean, showers hot with good pressure, and beds are comfortable. The grounds have been upgraded since I was there many years ago, with lovely plantings of flowers and trees, and numerous places to sit outdoors - round concrete tables and seats in front of the units amongst the flowers and trees, a large pergola behind the motel, and some picnic tables in the trees. We ate at both the Mt Wilson restaurant (buffet breakfast, buffet supper one night and menu the other nights) and the Lounge. All meals were very good and service was excellent with very pleasant servers and bartenders. Meals are expensive, as they are in any remote area where everything has to be brought in over a long distance. WHAT REALLY STOOD OUT WERE THE PEOPLE - BOTH STAFF AND MANAGEMENT!! On the first night of our second stay the Jasper fire moved into the Jasper townsite and several smaller fires erupted in the back country sending many campers and hikers South to the resort. We awoke to moderate smoke and decided to take most of our belongings with us hiking that day in case we couldn't return to the resort, leaving only cold food and drink in our room fridges. We didn't check out but left our keys at the office just in case. There was a communication error and we returned to find our fridge cleaned out - all food and drink removed. This was reported to the office - they provided a large sandwich, veggie tray, and fruit for our lunch the next day. Following that, our removed food and drinks were located and returned to us as well. That evening the Resort Manager sought us out at dinner and comped us a lovely bottle of wine for our inconvenience. At the time, we were not aware that many of the staff had been up much of the night before - they had opened the restaurant and store up to people fleeing the fire. It was impressive that we were treated so well by staff that were likely overtired and stressed. Add to all this, is the lovely setting and mountain views, and lots of hiking within an hour's drive from the resort. I will not hesitate to stay at The Crossing...

Location is easy to find. There is plenty of parking. Likely one of the only hotel options for two hours, if not the only option. The property and region in general is surrounded by mountains which creates an exceptional view. The property's landscaping is also meticulously maintained with garden beds thoroughout.

The rooms are clean. Basic items are included like towels and a coffee maker. However, the bed feels like stone and flopping into the bed should be avoided. The bedding is at best, scratchy. The only saving detail is the ceiling fan. The parking is located directly next to the room door and while it is convenient, you're likely to wake up too early to the noise of neighbors preparing to leave.

There is several options for food which includes a gift shop, pub and restaurant. The staff are friendly. The menus at each option are rather limited and the pricing at each is just predatory with average food quality that does not justify the price. However, the serving sizes of the meals at the restaurant are large and at least try to make up for the price. The gift shop is heavily stocked with grocery soveniers and other travel items you may appreciate. For a local, the pricing seemed excessively high (a small cup of drip coffee at the gift shop will run you $4.25 or a can of Rockstar at $8.50). As a group, we opted to drive in to Nordegg for breakfast instead.

There is lots of tables and seating areas outside of the rooms. If you're fortunate enough to have planned ahead and brought food with you, you'll be grateful for the planner and not having to pay the predatory prices for the food here.

There is zero phone reception in the region, regardless of cell phone provider. The only source of wi-fi is when you are directly inside the pub. The pub is also only open 4pm - 11pm. You'll need to plan ahead the night before as when you're leaving, you won't be able to plan your route, check weather or check in with anyone. Some may appreciate being forced to disconnect. For others, it may leave you...

Pros: A only gas station between lake Louise and Jasper (it’s about 25% more expensive understandably) halfway between Banff and Jasper so a halfway point to stay the night if you don’t want to do a 4-hr drive in one day Staff is nice Bed was comfortable

Cons: there’s no Wi-Fi or any cellular signal. Didn’t know that until I arrived - it’s really hard to let family know that I’m safe or in case of emergency the rate we paid was $300 a night - but the rooms and buildings were so run down - chipped paint everywhere, questionable brown caked up goo in hot water/coffee machine, outdoor wood patio warped flooring and railing, looks like years of lack of maintenance. For the same price, you can get much better options, at least much cleaner and better maintained rooms. And they looked quite busy when I checked in, not sure where their profit went if not to at least spend some back on the rooms You can smell the humidity when you step into the rooms, it just smells like someone washed a pair of socks, stuck them in a plastic bag and opened the bag two weeks later - for old lodges/motels, I was expecting it, but surprisingly throughout the trip, all other older lodges we stayed in Banff and Jasper were updated and had good ventilation so that this was never an issue. So it’s not an environmental thing that plagued everyone else. It just felt so yucky when you stepped into the room knowing that there’s no Wi-Fi or cellular signal now, plus the condition of the rooms, I’d rather drive another hour to lake Louise for lodging (comparable prices) just to have a peace of mind in case I need to get hold of someone and for more food options other reviews say that the views are fantastic. They are, indeed. However, to put in perspective, the whole icefield parkway is magnificent - which doesn’t necessarily give the crossing resort the competitive edge. I booked it initially for convenience of the location and the views. After staying here, I’d say that it’s definitely...