Chateau Lake Louise

The hotel from the opposite shore of the lake.

The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise is a Fairmont Hotel on the eastern shore of Lake Louise, near Banff, Alberta. The original hotel was gradually developed at the turn of the 20th century by the Canadian Pacific Railway and was thus "kin" to its predecessors, the Banff Springs Hotel and the Château Frontenac. The hotel's wooden Rattenbury Wing was destroyed by fire on 3 July 1924, and was replaced by the current Barrot Wing one year later. The Painter Wing, built in 1913, is the oldest existing portion of the hotel. The Mount Temple Wing, opened in 2004, is the most recent wing and features modern function facilities; these include the Mount Temple Ballroom.

The hotel was first conceived by the railway at the end of the 19th century, as a vacation destination to lure moneyed travellers into taking trains and heading West. By the time airplanes and automobiles had displaced the trains, it had gained sufficient renown to have a life of its own. In 1999, Canadian Pacific Hotels (a division of the Canadian Pacific Railway) acquired Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, and adopted the Fairmont name for all of its hotels, resulting in the Chateau Lake Louise being operated as a Fairmont hotel.

From the start, the goal was to exploit the stunning natural beauty of the emerald-green lake and of Victoria Glacier which rose above it. There were many hiking and canoeing itineraries for nature lovers. Eventually, all the natural areas around the hotel were incorporated into Banff National Park. This park has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Originally built to function only in summer, the hotel was winterized in 1982 and now offers all of the regular ski resort fare during the winter months. In addition to the usual skiing, ice skating and snowboarding, there are sleigh rides, ice sculpture contests and snowshoe excursions.

The hotel is also a popular place for special events, including hundreds of weddings, throughout the year.

Currently, The Chateau Lake Louise resort hotel is owned by Oxford Properties, the real estate arm of OMERS and operated by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts of Toronto.

• Lake Louise window.jpg

  View from inside the Chateau

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  Chateau Lake Louise reflecting in the water

• Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise.JPG

  Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise

External links

• Official site