Palliser Lodge — Hotel in Area A (Kicking Horse/Kinbasket Lake)

Palliser Lodge, Kicking Horse: The lodge itself is away from the other buildings in the resort, and so you check in at Glacier Lodge in the main part of the resort and then drive up to Palliser. Check-in was friendly and reasonably efficient, if not very proactive. And those on the desk seemed to have little idea about the timings of the resort. When asked when the rental shop shut, we were first told that it had already shut (at 15:30). Another member of staff overheard this and said that it shut at 17:00. Actually, it shuts at 16:30. I would have thought that the questions that people most commonly ask at check-in in a small winter resort involve the opening times and locations of the lift pass office, the rental shop and the lifts.||||Having got key cards and gone up to Palliser Lodge, we found that the key cards would not open the ski locker. So we had to walk back down to Glacier Lodge to get those changed. Having then finally got into the ski locker, it was apparent that the locking slots on the ski racks did not take two pairs of skis as we had been told at reception, just one pair. So, that involved another trip down to Glacier Lodge to get another ski lock.||||For me, as a Brit, the condo-style room had the same problems that I have with pretty much all Canadian properties. The beds are too soft, and the lighting is too low. Apart from not being able to see anything, the absence of master light switches at the door and by the bed is a mystery. Instead, there is always a vast array of scattered light switches and lamps that need to be turned on/off individually, with the result that leaving the room or going to bed ends up being a long, complex mission to turn off a plethora of different switches. Oh, and there are never any USB sockets.||||There was no housekeeping until day 4 of your stay. Since we were only there for three nights this didn’t happen. The amenities in the bathroom were basic but sufficient, and the room had a washing machine and dryer.||||The rental shop in the resort is not a place I ever need to go back to. Surly staff, who had zero interest in customer service, and who shoved out knackered old equipment that had not been serviced. Excuses about being too busy were pathetic – I want what I have pre-paid for and this was mid-January, without much snow and the resort was pretty empty. I had also signed waivers online, but that whole process needed to be repeated in the shop in ink.||||The systems in place for collecting pre-booked ski passes were also archaic. I turned up with a spreadsheet for the journey with the booking reference for my ski pass, and my ID etc. etc. But they could not help me without the original email. Quite bizarre, since as far as I could tell the email had no more information on it than I had already given (including the booking reference at the top).||||We stayed at this property as part of a trip along the ‘Powder Highway’ in January 2023 (although only 50% of that name was correct at the time). The cost of this property per night was CAD $279 (1 bedroom suite). See my other reviews for our stays in the Sutton Place Hotel in Revelstoke CAD $379 (Studio Premium Suite) and Taynton Lodge in Panorama CAD $345...

The beauty of the location of the resort is unparalleled, but Mother Nature gets that credit. The ONLY reason that I have given the resort an adequate rating is because of its surrounding beauty and because of the (exceptional) tour that we experienced through the Grizzly Bear Refuge. The exterior of the resort is beautifully done. However, once you get inside... Rooms themselves are dated and cramped. When my wife and I showered the morning after our arrival, we were standing in water deeper than our ankles by the end of our shower. I brought it to the attention of the front-end staff at the reception desk as we were leaving the next morning for breakfast and a day-hike. I gave them permission for maintenance staff to enter our room in our absence. Apparently their maintenance staff were on vacation, because we were still ankle-deep in water from a backed-up shower drain as we were showering before going for dinner on our final evening of a 6-day/5-night stay. I had my wife take a picture of my submerged ankles and feet, which I showed to the reception person on our return from our dinner, requesting that their management team contact me to explain why the situation had occurred in the first place and specifically why it hadn't been rectified when I had brought it to their attention the first time. I repeated this request when we checked out the following morning. As yet (3 days), I have not been contacted by their management. With respect to the room itself, when you check in, you might be shocked to read that there will be no cleaning staff entering your room until the 4th day of your stay. When we travel, we have always reused our towels and don't typically have our sheets changed during a hotel stay, but it is nice to have garbage removed and the bathrooms freshened up on a daily basis. At this resort that will not be happening! I guarantee that whoever is on the far side of the bed is going to stub their toes or bruise their knees on the footboard of the bed or tv table while trying to walk past (particularly at night). There is no restaurant directly operated by the hotel, so don't be planning on room service to celebrate a spectacular day. Truly a shame as the view from the balcony while eating dinner or breakfast is beyond breath taking. The various affiliated coffee shops, restaurants, or pubs on the hill do not open prior to 9 am, so if you are planning to start your hike, ride, or any other activity prior to that, you are heading back into Golden to have your breakfast (would strongly recommend The Big Bend Café). Long story short, this resort should be, but is far from, an idyllic place to stay in the paradise that...

Very mixed views about the Palliser Lodge.||It is positioned ideally for much of the activities Golden has to offer (hiking, mountain biking, the bear refuge, rafting, the skybridge to name a few.) The resort itself offering much of these on the doorstep. As a place to rest after a day of busy and thrilling activities, it really is ideal.||During the summer, it is reasonably priced. ||However, there is a sense of lack of care for the smaller details that let it down and it very much felt like a ghost town (in summer at least). So many small, on their own minor things, that alone would be easily overlooked. But, together add up to a less satisfactory stay without crossing the line into being poor or unacceptable. Just so so!||While the bed was huge, the bedding clean and crisp and the mattress extremely comfortable. While toiletries were well presented and welcoming. While the small kitchen area included washing up liquid, can openers, plates, glasses and so forth... Other things just seemed old or tired or simply forgotten about. Or just not thought through. ||Expect wonky drawers that don't closer properly, blinds that are a escape-room-level challenge to just pull up nevermind keep up, plaster that's been repatched but the painting over forgotten about, a coffee maker with filters and coffee provided, just nobody has bothered to clean it. Sinks with no plugs (luckily the bath still has its own), a balcony with two chairs just no table, inside a random dining chair with no workstation to sit at, and just to really top it all, a dvd player - welcome back the year 2000! It's all just a little odd!||Check-in takes place in the nearby Glacier Lodge which has a warm, welcoming, spacious lobby and reminds you of what things could be like, if someone actually could be bothered. I wonder if their rooms have plugs for sinks too? Or if they've upgraded to Blu-ray? (Note: a quick TripAdvidor hunt shows a similar fate to the rooms of Glacier Lodge) Palliser Lodge's lobby still exists, but only, like everything else, as a reminder that time has abandoned the place.||If all you need is a fairly priced, no frills base to sleep full of quirks and tired fixtures and fittings, you'll be more than happy. Adventure awaits around every corner and for many that is more than enough. For anyone who is looking for a stay somewhere that is well maintained and has a sense of care for the smaller details, perhaps try elsewhere. ||In short the Palliser Lodge is comfortable but needs a little TLC to bring it back up to what it could be. If you're happy to keep your expectations low, then...