Otter Hotel — Hotel in Banff

We stayed at the Otter for 2 nights at the end of May for a birthday trip and we really enjoyed this new hotel. Thoughts are below.||-----||Starting with the positives:||- I called to book and spoke to TJ. I have to give him a shout out because he went above and beyond to help and was a pleasure to chat with. He’s great at his job and made the reservation process very smooth.||- The hotel itself is brand new - very clean, with a modern but cozy feel. There are small details we appreciated in how it was built - for example, the restaurant was easy to access, there was plenty of parking, and there are modern, luxurious, and clean bathrooms for guests to use on the ground and first floors.||- The hot pools and the views were the reason we booked this hotel and they did not disappoint. The facilities were immaculately kept - the changing rooms, the gym, the sauna, the resting area around the pools - everything was clean and luxurious in feel. We appreciated that there is easy access to towels and that the hot tubs are open late. The views from the pools are incredible and that coupled with there being music, made for a high end, restful environment. We didn’t experience any disruptive noise as all the guests were very respectful, even when it was at capacity.||- Even though the hotel isn’t right where all the shops are, we didn’t find that it was out of the way at all. It’s still on the main road, just a little further down, and if you have a car, it takes no time to get to the main area. Free bus tickets are also provided, making it super easy to get around.||- The room itself was beautiful. It would be nice if the TV could face the bed, but the other features of the room made up for that. Everything from dimmable lighting, ceramic mugs, a stylish kettle and coffee machine, to a comfortable bed and modern feel - it was nice to return to such a room after a long day. Make sure to bring your own slippers, as Banff doesn’t provide any anymore, and if you don’t like high profile down pillows, bring a pillow that you like with you.||- The hotel welcomed us with a happy birthday dessert in the room. Thank you!||------||Some areas for improvement:||- I booked what I thought was their best room (according to the website), as I really wanted an excellent view of the mountains. We were a little disappointed when we walked in because the immediate view when you look straight out the windows is the building right in front of it. It looked like a wall. Once you were in bed, or if you went on the balcony, you could see the mountains to the side so it was nice to experience that way, but I do wish it was possible to stay in a room with an excellent view, not just from the corner of the window. Especially as we were celebrating a special occasion.||- While the coffee and tea upon check in are a nice touch, they are only restocked if you leave your preference card by the coffee machine in your room before 10am for housekeeping. This is challenging because we don’t often leave the room before 10am and it doesn’t make much sense why housekeeping can’t restock it when they come to clean the room mid-day. ||- I don’t think the bathrooms were designed by a woman :) as it was nearly impossible to apply makeup with having to stand so far away from the mirror. It would be helpful to have a small closeup mirror like many hotels have.||- As mentioned above, while there are many pillows, they are all the same - very high profile, down pillows. We ended up removing almost all of them from the bed and barely using a pillow to sleep on at all. It would be nice to have at least a couple of pillows to choose from.||------||Overall, it was a very positive stay and I would not only come back to visit, I would recommend this hotel to my friends and family. I hope the quality and level of service keeps up for many...

We stayed at the Otter for 2 nights at the end of May for a birthday trip and we really enjoyed this new hotel. Thoughts are below.

Starting with the positives: I called to book and spoke to TJ. I have to give him a shout out because he went above and beyond to help and was a pleasure to chat with. He’s great at his job and made the reservation process very smooth. The hotel itself is brand new - very clean, with a modern but cozy feel. There are small details we appreciated in how it was built - for example, the restaurant was easy to access, there was plenty of parking, and there are modern, luxurious, and clean bathrooms for guests to use on the ground and first floors. The hot pools and the views were the reason we booked this hotel and they did not disappoint. The facilities were immaculately kept - the changing rooms, the gym, the sauna, the resting area around the pools - everything was clean and luxurious in feel. We appreciated that there is easy access to towels and that the hot tubs are open late. The views from the pools are incredible and that coupled with there being music, made for a high end, restful environment. We didn’t experience any disruptive noise as all the guests were very respectful, even when it was at capacity. Even though the hotel isn’t right where all the shops are, we didn’t find that it was out of the way at all. It’s still on the main road, just a little further down, and if you have a car, it takes no time to get to the main area. Free bus tickets are also provided, making it super easy to get around. The room itself was beautiful. It would be nice if the TV could face the bed, but the other features of the room made up for that. Everything from dimmable lighting, ceramic mugs, a stylish kettle and coffee machine, to a comfortable bed and modern feel - it was nice to return to such a room after a long day. Make sure to bring your own slippers, as Banff doesn’t provide any anymore, and if you don’t like high profile down pillows, bring a pillow that you like with you. The hotel welcomed us with a happy birthday dessert in the room. Thank you!

Some areas for improvement: I booked what I thought was their best room (according to the website), as I really wanted an excellent view of the mountains. We were a little disappointed when we walked in because the immediate view when you look straight out the windows is the building right in front of it. It looked like a wall. Once you were in bed, or if you went on the balcony, you could see the mountains to the side so it was nice to experience that way, but I do wish it was possible to stay in a room with an excellent view, not just from the corner of the window. Especially as we were celebrating a special occasion. While the coffee and tea upon check in are a nice touch, they are only restocked if you leave your preference card by the coffee machine in your room before 10am for housekeeping. This is challenging because we don’t often leave the room before 10am and it doesn’t make much sense why housekeeping can’t restock it when they come to clean the room mid-day. I don’t think the bathrooms were designed by a woman :) as it was nearly impossible to apply makeup with having to stand so far away from the mirror. It would be helpful to have a small closeup mirror like many hotels have. As mentioned above, while there are many pillows, they are all the same - very high profile, down pillows. We ended up removing almost all of them from the bed and barely using a pillow to sleep on at all. It would be nice to have at least a couple of pillows to choose from.

Overall, it was a very positive stay and I would not only come back to visit, I would recommend this hotel to my friends and family. I hope the quality and level of service keeps up for many...

My husband and I stayed at the Otter in a king suite for 7 nights and loved this hotel. The reception staff were always friendly and helpful and we were able to borrow bear spray from them for free for the whole of our stay. You also get free bus passes from the hotel to use on the Roam local routes which really comes in handy, especially if like us you haven’t hired a car. Bus stop is right in front of the hotel. ||We liked the room, would have been even better with a Mountain View (these were unavailable when I booked) but we did have a nice quiet view out the back over trees. It was nice having a kitchen area in the room, and the tea/coffee/hot chocolate provided each day for you to make in the room was a great touch. ||We ate breakfast at the hotel a few times and took dinner back to our room and all the food we tried was excellent. In particular I loved the eggs Benedict on the chive biscuits, and the French toast. In the canoe hotel next door they have Sudden Sally where they sell takeaway drinks/sandwiches/cakes/pastries, we loved everything we tried from here. They also have 50% off between 2 and 5pm!||The otter has hot pools on the roof top overlooking the mountains which is just beautiful. ||We didn’t use the gym but went to look at it and it was better than expected, with technogym equipment. ||My main points that I think could be improved or that people should be aware of:||- If you are wanting a hotel that is right on Banff Avenue within a few minutes walk of the shops then know that this is further away, around a 15-20 minute walk depending on which part of the avenue you are going to. We never found this to be a problem but you can also take the number 1 bus from right outside the hotel which is free with your bus pass and only takes a few minutes. For food you do have sudden Sally next door in the canoe hotel as mentioned above, and sudden Sally also do dinner alongside the Otter hotels restaurant Good Folk. There is a co-op supermarket opposite which is handy and an A&W burger place. ||- The air conditioning unit in the room was very loud. You could control the temperature but not the power of the fan. It would go on and off all night loudly and was situated at the side of the bed, so whoever sleeps on that side of the bed has all the air blasted at them and the noise ||- The lifts can be really slow. You also have to take two separate lifts if you’re on the 4th floor |- There is no room service. Would be great if they started bringing food & drink to the rooms|- The pillows are a bit hit and miss, lots of them but some are lumpy some are flat some are too padded etc |- A couple of the servers at breakfast seemed quite inexperienced, perhaps they were new ||Despite these few niggles we would highly recommend and would...