Fairmont Banff Springs

Rising from the pines above the Bow River like a Scottish castle mislaid in the Rockies, the Fairmont Banff Springs is one of the most photographed buildings in Canada and the grandest of the railway hotels the Canadian Pacific built to lure travellers west. The original 1888 hotel gave way to the present baronial pile of Rundle stone in the 1920s, all turrets, arched galleries and vaulted stone halls, and its silhouette against Sulphur Mountain has been shorthand for the Canadian Rockies ever since.

Inside, the hotel is an exploration in itself: ballrooms, terraces and stone corridors that repay wandering, with windows framing the Bow Valley and Mount Rundle at every turn. Rooms range from cosy castle chambers to grand suites, and the sheer size of the property—more than 700 rooms—means it hums with activity year-round rather than offering boutique hush. The Willow Stream Spa, with its mineral pools, and the Stanley Thompson-designed golf course along the Bow River are attractions in their own right.

The setting inside Banff National Park is the trump card. In winter, three ski areas including Lake Louise and Sunshine Village are within easy reach; in summer, hiking, canoeing and the Banff Upper Hot Springs fill the days, with elk occasionally wandering the fairways. It is a bucket-list building in a bucket-list landscape, best approached as a castle holiday rather than an intimate hideaway.