Quick two nights. Nice and clean, quite night sleep. Bus pass for the day. Kitchen is kept tidy. What's more to ask for!
Good place, stayed for 5 nights in August. Despite being out of the town, there was an hourly bus that you can catch for free with a bus pass you get given upon check in. Only issue was that the room got extremely hot in the day time
I was attending a wedding and need a cheeper place to crash and this was very reasonable for Banff. I was a bit confused with the check-in/out process as Im use to hotels where you pay on the way out. We arrived before the room was ready and they graciously allowed me to use the restroom to change into my suit. My friend returned later and was asked to pay up front for his portion of the room. When I arrived in my room late that night an employee (we thought it might just be another guest) came to check the room for a receipt that support to be displayed on the bunk. He didn't talk to us even though we were clearly awake and charged my CC for both of us as if we didnt show up. When I went to check out there was a mystery as to an over charge and was eventually solved by the very capable from desk clerk. Thank you!! That coupled with a very rude guest caused my rating to fall to 4-5 Stars 🌟
The location is really easy to get to, bus route 2 takes you right there, the views from the place of Tunnel Mountain are great, and the on site café has a great menu, nice communal areas, I'd be happy to stay here again, Banff Town is a typical welcoming small town
The rooms are nice and cozy (we were in a 4 bed mixed dorm). Guests are quiet and staff is friendly and very helpful. Toilets are quite clean and the large kitchen is great to store all your food. The only thing keeping me from giving them a 5 star would be the rate of the rooms (we paid close to $260 for 2 beds and 2 nights, which is similar to that of a bed and breakfast or a cheap hotel). Also breakfast isn't included informant, which was too bad. Finally, I think it was great that they gave us free bus passes to use during our stay. The only downside being that buses run every hour which kinda sucks. If you miss a bus you either need to wait 1 hour for the next one, walk to your destination or get a cab. I wish the buses ran more frequently! Nevertheless I'm glad with my stay in HI Banff Alpine Centre, great location not too far away from the town centre and a beautiful view of the mountains!
Exactly what you expect from a hostel. Just outside of downtown (about a 20 minute walk). Extremely expensive for a hostel. But seemed to be the best deal in town. Rooms are clean. Staff is nice. Beer is cood. No worries.
Pros: Clean rooms, good service and security. Cons: restaurant closes at 9pm, wifi signal not very strong in the non-main building, doors close loudly especially annoying in the morning when they clean up each room. Overall not a bad place to stay if you're looking for something more of a hotel and less a youth hostel with lots of drinking and loud parties. Fits perfectly if you're an early bird which is nice to avoid the crowds when visiting Lake Louise or other attractions in the area.
Easily the nicest hostel I have EVER stayed in throughout my travels. The staff were amazing and incredibly helpful. It was a little pricier than a hostel should be (costs about the same as a basic hotel room) but honestly it was totally worth the extra money. The private showers were nice, everything was very clean, and the views were out-of-this-world amazing. I will definitely be coming back to Banff, and I'll make sure to book this hostel again on my future endeavors there.
Dirty kitchen. Drunks crying in the corridors and an overpriced stay. At least the rooms were warm and the staff were helpful
Really good hostel. Small rooms with a couple of bunk beds typically. On site restaurant and a separate pub with Trad on tap among other delicacies. It's probably a pain to get to without a vehicle, as it is out of the way from the busy part of town, but they have shuttles running to local ski hills, and with a vehicle it's no problem.
I was there for the job seeker package plan. On their website it was written 379 dollars, which is fine, but SUPRIIIISE the rate was actually 425 for 2 weeks. Besides they lie such as: you won't find any better price in town which is crap considering if you go to the international hostel the weekly rate is 170 taxes included.
Another thing, the hostel organizes a lot of activities in order to make friends and have a nice experience, but guess what? The hostel's staff hangs out only with the staff!!! Also, when I arrived, a ski school was there for 3 months, they had all the fridges in the kitchen and the kitchen was closed for few hours during the breakfast and dinner for the ski school, aren't we suppose to share and live together in a hostel?
I have never seen a such unfriendly hostel, I don't recommend it!
The room we were in (212) only had a foot of space on each side of the double bed, and should NEVER had been marketed for 2 people. It smelled extremely mildewy; we could hear every word spoken by our neighbors, as the radiator continued through the wall between; it took over 24 hrs to warm up the room (when we arrived the window was wide open) as the radiator is centrally controlled; there was no closet and only 4 hooks to hang our jackets, sweaters, swimsuits and towels (and yes, for 2 people, that's more than 4 items); there was no place to put shoes or luggage, so we tripped over them trying to get to the bed. We've enjoyed stay at this hostel in the past, but this room was beyond the pale.
Very luxury for hostel. Rooms are excellent. Have an attached restaurant which is always an extra plus. rooms are comfy and showers are maintained. Really liked it. Excellent location with good view within 10 min f walking.
Only downside : A little bit costly.