Pine Bungalows Resort — Hotel in Municipality of Jasper

The good and a little bad about Pine Bungalows!!

The location could not have been better. Very close to the town of Jasper. The cabins were amazing ! We were in the Riverfront King cabin. The cabin smelled fresh, screens on all the windows, no AC or fan but it also was not needed. It was clean, had hand sanitizer on site, great location right next to the river. Included pots, dishes, kettle, toaster and coffee pot w/coffee accessories, utensils, microwave,stove, mini fridge, the usual hotel bathroom supplies, heated bathroom floor, picnic table outside, outside chairs and a cooking/fire bbq, No TV which was very nice. The bed was also very comfortable. Since the cabins were in the middle of the woods there were a few small beetles inside the cabin throughout our stay but that’s almost a given for the staying in a cabin so we weren’t bothered.

It was a rough start to our stay at the Pine Bungalows.

We drove 8 hrs to get there and arrived around 7 pm on a Monday night. We were greeted by Steve. He spoke kind but had an attitude for sure . We were told that we were late and was supposed to arrive the day before (Sunday) and so we were already checked into our cabin a day early. Some how the dates were mixed up but that may have been my own fault. The days we had planned to stay were Monday night and Tuesday night. The cabin was actually booked for Sunday night and Monday night. In speaking to Steve he said even though we were not here on Sunday we are still being charged for the cabin rental for that first night (which is understandable I guess) and there was nothing he could do and also mentioned that there was nothing else available to rent for the second night (Tuesday) that we had planned to be there. He said check out was at 11am. Steve was very rude to deal with. He offered no sympathy at all knowing we just drove 8hrs to get there, just to sleep for a few hours and have to leave at 11 am the next day. He didn’t even attempt to check for availability for us or give us an option to speak to a manager. Our mini vacation was basically ruined and we just checked in and went to the cabin to go to sleep. I went to the cabin feeling distraught. The way he made us feel was enough for me to never return back there ....UNTIL .... I sent an email to the manager John H. right away once we got to the cabin. I let him know about the mix up with the dates etc. and I asked if there was anything he could do to refund us for the first night that we were not there. I let him know that we understand that there is no vacancy and that we had to be charged for the cabin for Sunday but I could not justify sleeping in a cabin for 6 hrs for $420.00 and driving for 8 hours to get there and have to drive another 8 hrs to get home the next day. John was sympathetic and was very pleasant to deal with and responded to me right away ( which I didn’t expect to hear from him so late at night). He understood that mistakes happen and sometimes dates get mixed up. He immediately offered for us to stay in our current cabin for an additional night at no charge. We didn’t get a refund for the previous night but that was totally fine since we could stay the additional night. We accepted that and everything worked out perfect. We had also delt with a lady at the main office and she was fantastic and so nice as well. I would stay here again and again with out a second thought. Even though it was a rough start it ended amazingly. I suggest to make sure you check and double check your reservation dates so you don’t have the same mixup we had.

Thanks John for such an...

I will start with the positives. The location was great. A nice short trail is on the property, and we saw a mother elk and her baby from our balcony. The room was clean, and the staff provided a one-use grill to cook food when we arrived because the power was out.

During our stay, Jasper's power was knocked out by a fire 30 kilometers away. There were minor inconveniences arising from that that I will not mention in this review because the owners/staff should not be blamed for an incident beyond their control. However, I do have a major gripe with the resort's general adaptability and follow through on accommodation requests.

I booked 16 lodges/hotels during our 7,000 mile cross-country roadtrip between Alaska and Virginia. I booked online using the same filters for every reservation to indicate that we were a family of five (two adults and three kids who were seven years old or younger, including a 4mo old baby). Nonetheless, I was surprised to find only one king bed and one twin bed when we arrived. Somehow my reservation was booked as only for two adults, and I have no idea how that happened. Every other reservation on our roadtrip was booked correctly. The main issue in this situation was that our two oldest kids are territorial and no longer sleep in the same bed well together. The twin bed was too small for me, my wife, and the baby while she nursed him during the night.

The evening we arrived, I approached the receptionist with a friendly demeanor and politely asked to change rooms. I know you get better results with sugar, and I was certain the booking mix up was just a technical glitch. I said that I would be happy to pay the difference. The receptionist was friendly and understanding and said to come back in the morning when the supervisor was there. He said there should be no problem switching from a lodge room to a cabin. My family and I went to bed that night uncertain whether we would be freezing in the morning without power overnight. Thankfully, the back up generator was delivered and energized the room at 2am.

The morning receptionist, in contrast to her coworker the night before, was totally unwilling to move us and claimed there were no linens for the cabins. I approached her with the same friendly disposition as her coworker the night before, but she was short with me and unfriendly. I suspect that the true reason they could not move us was that the back up generator could not supply electricity to the hotel style rooms and the cabins which, based on the many empty driveways, were largely unoccupied. The staff could have just told me that, and I would have understood, but the uneven approach to my request to switch rooms and the rude and unempathetic demeanor of the morning receptionist left a lasting negative impression.

I would probably not...

Lets start with the location, as its definitely the big reason why i gave this a 4 star review. Stretched along the Athabasca river and only a 6 minute drive into Jasper Townsite, this is a really great way to be thrown into the wild, but still having the benefit of having a town very close by. Check in was very easy and front desk was very friendly. Due to COVID, no early check in so make sure you plan your first day at length, as check in is no earlier than 4pm. The cabin was clean and spacious (we stayed in the 2 bedroom Heritage Cabin with 4 adults and there was TONS of space). The full kitchen was really nice to have, and a big fridge made a big difference on the amount of food/drinks we could keep cold. A couple things to remember to bring, as they were absent from the kitchen:

Hot pads, the give you a really nice cast iron pan and big pots but nothing to put them on. We ended up easing a face towel from the bathroom.

Paper Towels, non provided.

Basically everything you need is provided by the hotel, so not too much to worry about! The Bathroom was clean and spacious. Heated floors is a GAME changer, and the Rocky Mountain Soap Company amenities are fantastic. There is not really much for storage in the bedrooms, a coat rack but no bench or anywhere to keep a suitcase. Beds were comfy and have 4 monstrous pillows, and the fireplace heating was very cozy.

I wish there was a quiet hour in place, as at 11:00pm there were still kids running around with glow sticks and burning matches, and its hard to enjoy your fire outside of your cabin when they are screaming and running in between cabins.

One thing that really surprised us is the cost of a bag of firewood. We asked for a bag delivered to our cabin upon check in (no price was given to us, but last year they were $6 per bag, so its what we expected), but after settling our bill at check out, our invoice read $15 per bag. We spent FORTY FIVE DOLLARS for about 4 hours of fire, which is wayyyyyyyyyy too much for the small bags they provided. My advice is to bring your own firewood if you can, if you enjoy sitting around the fire, it will save you $$$$$$$.

They also have a little cafe at the main building with lots of food options. They don't have any Coke/Pepsi products and only have local handcrafted sodas, so they area bit pricier. Nothing wrong with supporting local companies so this is something I appreciate. A can of beer will cost you $6 and they only stock Jasper Brewing Company, so if that's not your thing, bring something else. Jasper Brewing Company makes wonderful beers, so you should at least give them a try!

We will definitely be going back, hopefully these tips can save you time and money, and make the best of...