Banff Hostels

I’ve been traveling all over Australia and US and it was not my first time sleeping in an Hostel , I think I know more or less what to expect for that price but this time I must say I have had a terrible experience. In the beginning I had a problem with my credit card which was blocked (my fault) and of course without credit card they couldn’t accept any other way to pay , that’s fine I understand there is a procedure to follow , I was in panic and very tired after 20 hours traveling from Amsterdam and , speaking with the manager of the structure , I have asked her if she could provide a clip or something to extract my canadian sim card from my telephone to exchange it with my personal one so i could have called the credit card company for assistance. She didn’t want to help me and she suggested me to ask some neighbor, luckily a very kind employee helped me once she went away. The second day i went to my room to sleep and I found another person sleeping in my bed , asking to the receptionist he told me that it was my fault because i should have left some belonging on my bed to occupy it, it is weird because normally when you leave you have to take off the sheets and put them in a bin so that was obvious that the bed was assigned at the moment. I had to insist to make them realize that that was their mistake and the person in my bed should have found another bed. The hostel is a little dirty and the young staff is not able to manage properly , they are very disorganized and the manager is very rude and arrogant. Definitely I don’t recommend this hostel at least not more that one night.

I stayed at the HI Banff for just 2 nights, and got to experience 2 different ‘types’ of private rooms. I had initially booked online for a 4-6 female dorm (there weren’t any private rooms left on the third agent site when I had placed my booking), but when I asked to be switched to private upon arrival, I was fortunately offered the option to stay at a 6-person dorm - all by myself - for the first night, and then move over to a private log cabin for the second. Both were interesting experiences, and the room decor (especially with the electronic hearth in the log cabin) definitely made you feel like you were staying at a quasi-wilderness hostel. It was fun on the whole, despite the slight inconvenience of having to move between the two nights. Both the shared shower room and the private en suite shower/bathroom were clean and well-maintained, with decent water pressure and hot water supply, which are extremely important things to have when you’re visiting Banff in its subarctic state...! I didn’t use the kitchen or patron the hostel’s restaurant (called Cougar Pete’s), so unfortunately can’t comment on those aspects. I will say, however, that the only downside of this hostel would be its relative distance from downtown Banff (i.e. the centre of Banff Avenue where all the shops and restaurants are located) - it takes a good 20-min uphill walk from Banff Avenue up to Tunnel Mountain Rd where the hostel is located, and for any season that isn’t late spring, summer or early fall (okay, so winter is the biggest issue I guess), I don’t think you’d find walking for 20 plus minutes out in -10 degree Celsius conditions quite the idea of a pleasant stroll, especially after dinner when it’s dark and bitterly cold, lol. There’s of course the option to take public transport (the Roam transit bus), with Bus No. 2 stopping at Douglas Fir station (the hotel right next to HI Banff), but bear in mind this is a bus that comes at 25-minute intervals. So, not the most convenient arrangement, and something to be aware of when planning your itinerary. Overall though, I really enjoyed staying at the HI Banff, and found it a rather lovely experience as a first-time visitor to Banff. On a side but related note, I’ve rarely been let down by the HI chain, and I’ve stayed at more than 7 HI hostels by now...

All the staff were really friendly and helpful, with some good tips on where to go and what to do - was pointed towards some great MTB trails. Kitchen was always cleaned thoroughly after breakfast, the rooms were cleaned regularly and the shower is good. Stayed in a mixed dorm for a week and had a couple of small issues with a ”princess” in the bunk above me - and mentioned it to the staff, who said they would have a word if required. The ”princess” left - so there was no need for them to intervene - but it was good to know that they won't put up with disruptive guests. Location is a short (10min) flat walk from the very centre of Banff - so couldn't ask for a better location.