Deer Lodge — Restaurant in Alberta

Had multiple issues: Check in June 14th. 2018: There were 11 rooms booked under the name of our group leader, since it was a was a group booking & Dr. Bhargava had informed your hotel at the time of booking. We are a group of 70 + years professionals (physicians) residing in India & USA, touring the Canadian Rockies.. At the time of the check in, which was chaotic, we were told that there would be no help available with our luggage , since the hotel was not aware that this was a group booking. The people at the desk were understaffed & not equipped to handle our large group, & the manager was not very polite & had no interest in our plight or desire to resolve it. There was a gentleman trying to help us with our luggage, but most of the luggage had to be lugged up the floors ( no elevators) by us old people. There is simply no excuse for this! Check out June 15th. 2018 : at the time of the check out, we were again told by the desk clerk & manager ( a different one), that there would be no help with our luggage available, “since the hotel was not aware that this was a group booking” . That took us by surprise, since , if you note, we had checked in the day before, had told the desk that we were checking out, as a group the next day & that we would need help! The manager was condescending & rude, indicating that since she had not been informed, that she was not responsible! We politely & firmly reminded her that the lack of communication between hotel staff is not the responsibility of the guests! She couldn’t care less! We ended up again moving our luggage from our rooms to the bus, with the partial help of one gentleman worker. When me & my wife returned to our rooms the nite we checked in, the room was hot., so we called the desk clerk, a gentleman, who told us that “all he could do to help us was to tell us to turn the knob on the AC clockwise “. Not very helpful, he did not offer to send anyone up, the knob did not work, but by this time we were too disgusted & tired to call him up again. Next morning, we got no hot water for bathing/shower, we were informed that this was an old heating system. So we did not bathe. We heard that other rooms had a similar issue. The front desk just shrugged! The rooms were very small & dated. Not very clean. The bar service , on the 14th, evening, was excellent.

I just want you to know, that me & my wife have traveled to 60 countries. We have had issues at some hotels, but the issues have always been resolved in a professional manner. I have no desire to put your hotel down. So please consider my criticism as constructive: You are obviously understaffed , you have people ( management?) working who are arrogant, rude & with out consideration for the comfort of your guests (after all, you are in the “hospitality” business) & do not feel accountable for their actions or inactions. There is an obvious lack of communication within your system, & the upkeep or maintanance of your rooms has a lot to be desired, especially since you are advertised as a top notch hotel. And your rates are not cheap.

Incidentally, on our 10 day Canada trip, we had no issues with the other hotels.

If there are any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. You should have my contact number at my check in card.

Sincerely

Praveen (Varsha) K. Malhotra...

Overall: The 3 star rating is not to say this place is not enjoyable. It's simply based on the relative ratings of the places to stay around it. Stayed here in early February 2022.

Great location, away from the hustle and bustle of the village. A few minutes of walking or driving gets you to Lake Louise for some epic mountain views while skating. Wear extra layers, it can get cold, and windy.

Depending on how you like to travel, this could be an enjoyable place to spend the evening OR it could be cumbersome. My partner and I chose to stay in the historic rooms. The cozy atmosphere at the end of a long day filled with adventure, is what I enjoyed most about it. My partner felt the room could use some modern amenities. For example, more outlets to charge electronics, and better water pressure in the shower (this I can agree with). My only gripe was the lack of maintenance to keep its charm, there was plaster flaking from the walls and ceiling, and water damage in some spots that were clearly just patched in haste. The common areas were nice to have, rooms where you can chill on the couch and read a book or plan tomorrows adventure, or maybe do some work on a laptop. There's a lounge area just before you enter the Mount Fairview restaurant, with a warm fire, where I chose to take in the architecture and engineering of the space. All the common areas have good lighting, and interesting photography to take in as well. The restaurant itself is quite large, lots of options for seating, be it at a chair height table with mountain views, or a high top table, or at the bar. We only ate here once for breakfast, but I would have no issue eating any meal here, it tasted good, looked good, and priced fair. Only negative comment to the restaurant, the temperature in the room was a bit too cold to enjoy the meal in complete comfort. After snowboarding all day at the slopes just 10 minutes away (by car), we enjoyed a nice soak in the hot tub! Time it right, and you got the tub to yourself and your partner. 😉 Keep it PG tho! There's a camera watching you for your safety. I took advantage of the dry sauna as well, both amenities perfect for muscle recovery. Was not a fan of the super cold tile floors in the change area tho, So maybe bring some flip flops or crocs.

While our interactions with the staff were limited, they were very nice. Check-in was quick and inviting. They pretty much leave you alone from that point (which I appreciate). Any issues that come up you can call them from your room phone, or head to the front desk. During our stay we had an issue with our toilet, it decided one night to continue cycling water, and the shower made a weird skreatching sound while in use. As we departed for the days adventures in the morning, I mentioned it to the front desk. And upon our return in the evening, they had a room ready for us to move to. I would have preferred to stay in the same room, and have the problem with the toilet addressed, but, that's life sometimes and I appreciate the quick problem solving regardless.

Summary: Its a lodge, not a Hotel. Don't expect to be pampered. Come to appreciate the character and history of the lodge, and enjoy disconnection from the matrix. I'll be looking to stay again in the future,...

The property is old and they've kept that charm. However, they've been seriously lacking some maintenance. We stayed 2 nights in 2 different rooms. Both had screens too small for the windows, the sides were just open gaps and the height was "fixed" but just adding blocks of wood. I'd understand if this was a temporary fix while they worked through the issue but this was obviously permanent. The scariest problem for us was in our first room.We went to plug in our phones and the one outlet with a table light plugged in was behind the bed. There is no headboard and so the mattress was just pulled out a couple inches, enough for the pillows to fall in. The plug was loose and hanging half out. I put our charges in and they did the same so I unplugged everything. The outlet itself was loose on the wall as well. It was especially inconvenient because of the 3 lights in our room that was the only one that even worked. For what I paid, I'd rather not wake up to my head on fire. I'd also think I'd be able to shower but the second room had a handheld shower head with no where to hang it. Oh there's also a scald warning tucked in behind (we didnt see until on our way out and accidentally). When I booked I was told there's accessible rooms and there really isn't. When all of this was emailed to the general manager the response was that they will add a hook for the shower head. And everything else was written off as "well it's a heritage property".

Other minor issues: jets in hot tub weren't working, parking lot is a mess at the entrance, a can of sprite was $5! (I understand tourist pricing but come on!!!) Our first night we couldn't even get drinks,the machine was broken. Luckily, the bartender was kind enough to get us each a pop even though they were closed. Don't expect their free wifi to work. (They also brushed off this issue. Just don't advertise it if it's so unstable). It worked for us for maybe a total of 10 minutes between the 2 days. Bring one of those travel locks because the doors are sketchy and I would not trust their locks

Pros: The location and view are incredible, especially from the roof top. If you're there, go up with a book and just relax in the hot tub or in a lounge chair.

Breakfast was the best. My son is still talking about how great it was. The dining room and sitting rooms all have wonderful views and are quite comfy and welcoming. Every single employee we had contact with was kind, knowledgable, and helpful. Even with my mobility issues, the walk to Lake Louise was pretty...