A Snowy Paradise (Lake Louise)

Member Name: Andy.mack

Product:	Lake Louise
Date:	17/02/08 (217 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great Skiing, amazing scenery and amazing snow

Disadvantages: Not such a great resort for Apres Ski

After the disaster of last year's ski trip to Val D'Isere, we decided that this year rather than try Europe again we would head further afield to Canada. After a bit of research and a tempting offer from Lastminute.com we opted for Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies. The opinion is that the Canada is one of, if not the best place in the world to go skiing and that coupled with the price and a spot of internet research prompted us to head for the small hamlet of Lake Louise, hidden deep within the Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada.

The Hamlet of Lake Louise is located at the side of the Trans Canadian Highway, about an hour from the bigger resort of Banff and about 2 and a half hours from the nearest airport at Calgary. The journey to Lake Louise alone would have made the trip, travelling out of Calgary past the Olympic site, across the Canadian Plains before hitting the foothills and the majestic mountains of the Canadian Rockies. The scenery and drive into Lake Louise is absolutely stunning and with a constant snow covering in the winter, it makes it look even more stunning.

Unlike the European resorts, Lake Louise isn't a ski in and ski out resort and is in fact split into three different areas. Firstly of course you have the Ski area, which is located about 5 minutes drive from the main centre of Lake Louise and requires a bus transfer from the resorts hotels. Then there is the Hamlet of Lake Louise, made up of about 10 - 15 buildings just off to the side of the Trans Canadian Highway. Then finally there is the area right next to the actual lake, located another 5 minutes from the village centre.

As the resort is actually quite small it is probably best to start with the centre of town. There are only two hotels in the centre of the village, The Lake Louise Inn and The Post hotel and these are complimented by a Hostel all within about 300 yards of each other. All three offer a place to eat with the Post and Lake Louise Inn both having a pub and more formal dining areas. There is also a small parade of shops, Samson Mall, which boasts another restaurant, a sports shop and a few other places to pick up souvenirs and bits and pieces to remember your trip.

The overall impression I got of the resort centre was more of a place of interest for people to stop and have a break if they were travelling along the highway. At the entrance to the village are 2 petrol stations, which contain another couple of eating places, but these were only open until around 6pm in the evenings, suggesting they were more for the passing trade than the people staying in Lake Louise. As the resort centre is 5 minutes from the slopes, there is a free shuttle bus laid on to take you from your hotel on the short journey to the ski area. This bus runs about once every half an hour and is a quick and easy way to get there.

There is a third hotel in Lake Louise and that is located on the Lake itself. I am of course talking about the Chateau Lake Louise, perhaps the most recognizable point of the resort. The Fairmont Chateau is located right on the side of the lake and is about a 5 minute drive from the village and 10 minutes from the slopes. Of course it doesn't matter that it's secluded from the rest of the village as there are a lot of small shops, restaurants and bars in a shopping arcade underneath the hotel. Add to that the stunning views of the Lake and the glacier at the far end of the lake it makes for another stunning aspect of Lake Louise.

Of course the main reason for our trip wasn't to take in the wonderful scenery and tranquil surroundings it was in fact to use the Ski Resort. The slopes spread over the slopes of 4 different mountains, all serviced from the ski base at the Lodge of The Ten Peaks. Within the lodge are three places to eat, ranging from a buffet style restaurant to a bar and finally a fast food counter. Within the building there is also a souvenir stand, starbucks coffee shop and a ski and snowboard shop. It's also within this building you'll find guest services, the rental desks and the ski school.

Once you've finished with the lodge it's out onto the slopes where you are presented with one of the largest ski areas in North America. There is some 4200 acres of skiable terrain in the Lake Louise resort with 139 named ski runs and as much off piste adventure as you could care to try in a week's skiing. One of the real plus points about Lake Louise is the variety of levels of ability that the resort caters for. There is a good mixture of green, blue and black runs for skiers and boarders of all abilities, including a green run (Beginners) from the top of every ski lift.

While the snow and the resort itself is far superior to any I've been to in Europe it does cost a little bit more, but it's certainly worth it. Our pas cost us $552 Canadian Dollars (approx £225) for 8 days skiing, which includes for 2 rest days, meaning that you effectively have a pass to ski 8 days out of the next 10. The cost does also cover two other mountains, allowing you access to the nearby resorts of Sunshine and Norquay but we didn't actually manage to go any further afield during the day than Lake Louise.

During our visit to the Rockies I made use of the ski schools and compared to those in Europe again they seem to be far better. The cost was pretty similar with a day of Group tuition working out at $125 (approx £65) for 4 and a half hours, with a group maximum of 6, however on the days I did lessons the most in a group was 3. The instructors are really good and work really hard with you to improve your ability. My experience was with the snowboarding school and all three instructors I had, Kyle, Meegan and Lisa were all superb, very friendly and helped me develop more in my time there than I have anywhere previously. Having spoken to people in the lodge at lunch time they also had similar comments about the ski instructors.

So overall would I recommend Lake Louise as a holiday destination? Well for skiing and Snowboarding I most certainly would. The slopes are vast and run through the tree's providing views of some absolutely stunning countryside. They aren't anywhere near as busy as the European resorts and for that very reason I'll certainly be heading back there next year. As for actually staying in Lake Louise? Well I think that depends on what you are looking for from a resort. If you are looking for a family vacation or a romantic getaway for 2, whilst obviously having the winter sports then yes it's a fantastic place to stay. If like us however you are looking for places to go and enjoy a few drinks in the evening and maybe a nightclub then I think you'd be better off, as we will be next year, staying in Banff and travelling in each day on the bus.

Summary: One of the largest ski resorts in North America