The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel
National Historic Site of Canada
Banff Springs Hotel, October 1929. Note the bare hillsides around the hotel at the time. Trees would later fill them in.
Country	Canada
Province	Alberta
Municipality	Banff National Park
Nearest city	Banff
Region	Western Alberta
Elevation
Area
Governing body	Fairmont Hotels and Resorts
Designated as a National Historic Site
Type of NHSC	Canadian railway hotel
Visitation	(in)
Origin of Name	{{{name_origin}}}
Founder	William Cornelius Van Horne
Architect	Bruce Price
Established	1887
Year built	1888
Architectural style	Scottish Baronial
Important Events	{{{events}}}
Website	Official Website of the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel

The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel is a former railway hotel constructed in Scottish Baronial style, located in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. The hotel, designed by architect Bruce Price,^[1] was built between spring of 1887 and 1888 by the Canadian Pacific Railway, at the instigation of its President, William Cornelius Van Horne. The hotel was publicly opened on June 1, 1888^[2] and rebuilt in the 1920s after a fire.

Under the stewardship of its current owner, Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, the hotel has recently had an extensive renovation which, however, has not changed its original grandeur. A significant feature of the change has been the addition of a world class spa. An original construction flaw, the siting of the entrance and lobby on the river side, has also been corrected in this renovation. (The architect is said to have declared "you built my hotel backwards!")

The hotel is within a spectacular setting in the Rocky Mountains, just above the Bow Falls, close to thermal springs. It is within walking distance of the resort community of Banff. The main view from the hotel is across the valley and towards Mount Rundle, frequently cited in geology books for its exposed and tilted ancient seabeds.

The original wooden hotel burnt down in 1926, and was rebuilt larger and in its current form in 1928. In 1968, the hotel was winterised and has been open year-round since.^[3]

The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel is one of the premier resort hotels of the world. The golf course in the river valley is also noted worldwide.

Halfway up the internal staircase closest to the Bow Falls may be found a noted painting of William Davidson felling trees on the Miramichi River in colonial times. Davidson was the first European settler in that area, and grew up in Moray, close to Banff, Scotland.

[edit] See also

• National Historic Sites of Canada
• Fairmont Hotels and Resorts

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• Banff Springs: The Story of a Hotel (2007; Summerthought Publishing[1])

[edit] External links

• Official Website of the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel
• Historical images of the Banff Springs Hotel
• Emporis Listing

v • d • e   Canada's grand railway hotels City hotels The Empress • Hotel Vancouver • Hotel Macdonald • Palliser Hotel • Delta Bessborough • Hotel Saskatchewan • Fort Garry Hotel • Royal York • Château Laurier • Queen Elizabeth Hotel • Windsor Hotel • Place Viger • Château Frontenac • Hotel Nova Scotian • Lord Nelson Hotel • Hotel Charlottetown • Hotel Newfoundland Resort hotels Jasper Park Lodge • Château Lake Louise • Banff Springs Hotel • Digby Pines Resort • Prince of Wales Hotel • Highland Inn • Château Montebello • The Algonquin

Coordinates: 51°09′52.2″N 115°33′47.7″W / 51.1645°N 115.56325°W / 51.1645; -115.56325