DESTINATIONS — CANADA
Wild for wildlife: elk
Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise & Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge
FAIRMONT CHATEAU LAKE LOUISE Much of the time, a hotel – even a luxury one – is simply somewhere to lay your head. Not here. The 554-room property distils the Rockies and proffers them up to guests in microcosm, while adding a pleasing five-star sheen. Alberta is a land of mountains, lakes and glaciers, and from my room I could see all three – upgrading to a Lake View room is definitely worth it. The Fairmont is the only hotel sitting on the shore of Lake Louise itself, with views
viewing platform and cafe at the top, so you can make the most of the vista of six mountain ranges from 2,277 metres up. We tried to hike to the summit of Whistler’s Mountain, but found trainers without proper treads would only get us halfway before we started to slide back down through the snow. If clients want to do the walk advise them to bring their boots. They’ll have plenty of chances to use them – Jasper National Park is a hiker’s paradise. Options range from challenging to easy as pie, and Maligne Canyon can offer both, depending on the time of year clients visit. If, like us, they head here in summer, they can take a short wander through this towering limestone canyon spotting local flora and fauna, from the ‘bearberry’ plant that’s like catnip for grizzlies to black swifts – this is one of only four places in North America where the birds
can be seen. Between December and April, visitors can take ice walks and even try ice climbing. Our guide, Wes Bradford, says that even a first-timer could have a go at tackling the 80-metre-tall Queen of the Maligne waterfall. The region is full of wildlife. I
sighted the heavy, crowned heads of bighorn sheep by the roadside, scrambled for my camera when a pair of moose ambled out of the forest and almost walked into a herd of elk, waiting in rather spooky silence outside my cabin at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge. The bears may have narrowly eluded me – every Albertan I spoke to seemed to have iPhone pictures of specimens they had seen the day before I arrived – but the bison and wild boar weren’t so lucky. At Evil Dave’s Grill, a Jasper restaurant far more welcoming than it sounds, I ate a meatloaf made of both – delicious! TW
over the water flanked by Fairview Mountain and Devil’s Thumb, culminating at the far end in the Victoria Glacier. For seven months of the year, the landscape is clothed in white and the lake’s surface frozen; in summer, it’s all greens and blues. Exploring the world on your doorstep is easy with the hotel’s outstanding Mountain Adventure Guides. From snowshoeing and skiing in winter to hiking, biking and canoeing in summer, the activities they organise are brought to life by an incredible level of knowledge, from wildlife and geology to history and astronomy. Our guide, Jeff Douglas, took us on a morning walk around the lake, pointing out snowshoe hare footprints while giving us a short lesson in how the Rockies were formed – utterly fascinating. The hotel started life in 1890 as a one-storey log cabin, and even
the hotel guests stay in today dates back to 1911. It’s a real grand dame, with a soaring lobby and six restaurants, including the wood- panelled Walliser Stube, which serves fondue. Book it: From £165-£300 per room per night.
FAIRMONT JASPER PARK LODGE I know the Rockies are a far cry from the Catskills, but I couldn’t help but feel there was a charming echo of Dirty Dancing about this lovely Fairmont resort – albeit a far more upscale version. The 446 rooms are found in cute log cabins that frame the forested lake Lac Beauvert – the perfect setting for practising that famous lift, or just trying out a paddle in one of the hotel’s kayaks. The main lodge building is on a
grand scale, with a huge lounge and log fire for winter, and a terrace bar for summer. There’s a spa, outdoor and indoor heated pools, and a golf course set around the lake. The Jasper National Park is a dark-sky preserve, so we made the most of the star-gazing with a late-night lakeside picnic, toasting s’mores over an open fire. The hotel has hosted some rather regal visitors over the years. King George IV and the Queen Mum stayed in 1939, and the Queen and Prince Phillip in 1995. Hollywood royalty loved this spot too, with Marylin Monroe and Bing Crosby big fans. A walk around the lake followed by a G&T in the bar by its shores quickly illustrates the attraction. Book it: From £132-£269 per room per night.
fairmont.com
11 September 2014 —
travelweekly.co.uk • 61
TRIED & TESTED:
PICTURE: BREWSTER; FAIRMONT; JASPER SKYTRAM
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