Moose Hotel & Suites — Hotel in Banff

I'd wager that this hotel is better than the Banff Springs Fairmont itself. It's right on the main road just where all the shops and restaurants begin. Right around the corner from IGA, the local supermarket. Excellently situated and has a nice view - although pretty much every location in the city of Banff has a lovely view since it's nestled in the mountains. It's also located right next to its 3-star hotel sister property the Ptarmigan which looks a little outdated at least from the outside.

The property itself is bigger than I'd imagined - it has I believe 5 floors, although the 5th is the rooftop where there is a spa, indoor pool, and outdoor hot tubs. The outdoor patio also has a firepit but it's more of an afterthought and not really a place to hang out exclusive of getting in the hot tub.

The layout itself is slightly confusing but only because the architects strove to make every floor unique in its own right. The first floor layout will feel different from the first which will feel different from the third and so on. There's public seating on both the first and second floor which are comfortable - the first floor is furnished with a nice wood fire. The property is in the form of a perimeter which surrounds a small historic home in a beautiful courtyard with a nice collection of shimmering trees and sunlight. There are also conveniently located vending machines which offer everything from Canadian snacks to toothbrushes and toothpaste to tylenol.

The concierge is extremely helpful. When we couldn't choose between two open rooms on different floors facing different directions, they took us personally to view each room in person to decide. They also provide early check in/late check out if possible and they hold suitcases for you if a room is not available before you check in or if you check out and want to stay in town a little longer. They lock them away in a badge secured storage room so you're know it's safe and even tag them with identifier luggage tags so they're not lost.

We stayed in a second floor suite which overlooked the courtyard. This included a balcony (2 chairs, no table). Each balcony is separated from its neighboring balcony with a sort of artistic wall made to look like trees/plants. Inside, you have a living area with a gas fireplace, a small but roomy couch that seats 2 with 2 foot rests, and a square kitchen table with 2 chairs. There is a tv above the fireplace but we didn't bother to turn it on we were so tired from all the hiking every time we came home. The fireplace is turned on through simple and easy to use buttons which include 30, 60 and 90 minute durations.

The kitchen (at least for our unit) has not designated space and is just a nook in the hallway which includes a mini fridge, a microwave, a cabinet with plates/cups/bowls/silverware, an electric kettle and a sink. They've provided dish soap and an assortment of coffee items and some tea. The electric kettle is mildly terrifying - you can see exposed coils which directly touch the water but it seems to work fine and not cause any electrocution. There are 2 trash cans provided - one for recycling and one for regular trash.

The bedroom is a pretty reasonable size (we had a king bed). The bed was SO comfortable and came with 6 fluffy pillows. The heat/ac worked extremely well and we never felt too hot or too cold while in the room. There was plenty of space for storage with the 2 bedside nighstands as well as a huge armoire. The windows in both the living room and the bedroom are screened and open by unlocking one handle and rotating another. A great way to enjoy the cool outdoor air without entertaining any bugs. Plenty of built-in outlets with usb charging on both sides of the bed. Plenty of different lighting level options as well as benches to put your suitcases. One strange thing about the bedsheets is that they were secured by a strap instead of by tucking in under the bed itself so some of the bed was at times exposed if you pulled on the sheets... google won't let me...

So - I previously wrote a review, full transparency I gave it 3 stars and wasn't that impressed as we had a poor experience with noise. ||However, the hotel did assist us and really did their absolute best to accommodate us, and because of that I deleted the 3 stars and have upgraded to 4. ||My previous review a few days ago - ||On our second morning waking up in Banff, it was not a natural wake up again. We were woken by the constant noise of trucks right outside our balcony. Loading, unloading, emptying recycling, then garbage, then laundry, then food....it was never ending from before 7am. ||Not the peaceful mountain experience we were hoping for! We stayed in room 261, which (along with many other rooms) faces the side street (Moose St). We unfortunately were right above the loading dock/garbage collection point. The noise happens even on the weekends, and it's such a shame. We had a 'superior queen' which honestly is a small room, no storage space and no amenities to make food. (Small fridge and kettle, nothing else). ||Honestly I felt tired, grumpy, and unhappy given the cost of the hotel which is think is high compared to others. ||However - on speaking with reception the staff - who are all super lovely and helpful - they moved us to a room opposite which was a little bigger and most importantly, didn't have street noise. Hooray! I was unimpressed initially we had to pay to upgrade this, BUT - the manager apparently did try to contact me and also waived that charge which was very appreciated. ||We were then in a 1-bed room, which had a lovely big and comfy bed, and a nice fire, plus kitchenette. There were things lacking though, for example there was a microwave, toaster, and coffee/tea facilities plus some plates/glasses and cutlery. But, no can-opener. No bottle opener. No small spoons/teaspoons. ||The things that for me, made the hotel stand out - and would actually make us book again when we come back to Banff, are a) proximity to town, it's right there and makes getting the busses etc easy. b) the staff, they are all very, very friendly and helpful. c) the rooftop hot tubs are very nice, not huge, and quite busy at the end of the ski-day, but, a really nice addition and relaxing. d) the restaurant was great, really nice food and very accommodating when we arrived super late on our first night. Plus the reception area, fireplace etc are all very cosy and welcoming. ||There's also free parking underneath which is always good. ||I do think the rooms are a bit small unless you're in a large suite on the top floor, and it's not the cheapest hotel...but...actually reflecting on our stay, I would stay again, as long as it's a 1 bed room at least, and not facing Moose St! The noise is obviously not the fault of the hotel, and as I said, the manager and staff really did treat us well and took our concerns...

We stayed four nights at the Moose and to be completely honest I was very disappointed.

Rooms - We had a one bedroom king suite, chosen specifically for some division of space for my husband and I and our two small children. It’s easier to put them to bed in a bedroom and watch TV in the living room. The layout of the space made this possible but the beds were absolutely horrid to sleep on. For a winter stay they provided a thin comforter for the king bed. The pull out couch was even worse, not to mention was not ready made. My husband and I had to make the bed the first night to which old chips were found when we pulled the cushions off.

Room service - Any request we made for extra towels was prompt, however room cleaning was spotty. We had the room cleaned a number of times. The second time being excellent but the last occurrence was horrible. They didn’t sweep the floors or vacuum, the pull out couch bed was left unmade, the kitchen sink area left a mess, the table was not wiped and a few of the used towels were not taken away and replaced.

Pool - Towels were left in the indoor pool area on the floor. In exiting the indoor pool area to get to the outdoor hot tubs someone had clearly cut their foot and left blood marks everywhere, and a bandaid which was super gross to find.

Eating - We ate at the restaurant downstairs once for dinner, once for lunch and once for breakfast. Our dinner service was not good at all. The pizza was not good, the pasta we order for the girls was clearly microwaved and the server took 30 minutes to get us our drinks. Lunch was way worse, I ordered a soup of the day which came to the table stone cold. Again, the pasta I requested for the kids was clearly microwaved ( how hard is it to make pasta with tomato sauce). Breakfast the service was much better but the food again was by no means worth what we paid.

Overall, for paying over $500 a night this stay was anything but what we had hoped for. Especially considering we arrived a week border Christmas and the hotel and town of Banff was relatively dead. I won’t be...