Signature Luxury Travel & Style
CANADA Take a ramble through the Rocky Mountains, staying in its historic chateau-hotels
Adventure awaits nature-lovers bound for the glorious Canadian Rockies, as Joanna Tovia discovers on an indulgent journey by train, bus and automobile from Calgary to Whistler.
Canada has been calling my name for some time and, now that I’m here, I wonder what took me so long – its natural beauty astounds me at every turn. I fly into Calgary and waste no time heading to Banff National Park, an easy 90-minute drive away. Snowflakes greet my arrival at Fairmont Banff Springs, turning the Scottish-inspired castle into a fairytale.
It was the first hotel built by Canadian Pacific Railway’s William Cornelius Van Horne nearly 130 years ago; his vision was to build a series of lavish hotels along the newly completed railroad through the Rocky Mountains. “If we can’t export the scenery, we’ll import the tourists,” Van Horne proclaimed at the time. The spectacular mountain surrounds opened up a world of discovery, and Banff is now well known for its skiing, hot springs and year-round outdoor adventures.
The World Heritage-listed hotel has the intimacy and warmth of a luxury boutique hotel despite its grand size, and has accommodated the likes of Marilyn Monroe, European nobility and more than a few ghosts; a bride whose veil caught fire as she descended a candlelit stairway is said to haunt the halls.
I’m up early the next morning to go in search of elk, and there they are, huddled together on the snowy golf course. Breathtaking mountains soar into a cloudless blue sky every which way I look, and I’m already regretting not allowing more time here. But I’m about to find out that my path through the Rockies leads to one jawdropping moment after another.
“Snowflakes greet my arrival at Fairmon Banff Springs, turning the Scottish-inspired castle into a fairytale.”
Lakeside adrenaline
On arrival at Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, the next hotel to fulfil Van Horne’s lofty vision, I head out with guide Mike Vincent and can’t help but get caught up in his passion for the area. With 145 runs, Lake Louise is the second largest ski area in Canada after Whistler but, like Banff, summer is the most popular time here – book well ahead.
We strap cleats to our boots and set off around the frozen lake. Guides are able to tailor outings to fitness levels and guests’ appetite for adrenaline-fuelled fun, with expeditions ranging from skiing and hiking to snowshoeing. “Snowshoeing for the non-skier is the best powder thing to do hands down – it’s a hoot!” Vincent says.
While the winters are “spectacular”, summer is “amazing”, Vincent tells me as we tromp around the lake, pausing only to let a horse-drawn sleigh glide by. Canoeing and horse riding get naturelovers outdoors in the warmer months, but less active guests are kept just as happy. The hotel’s position right on
Lake Louise offers year-round beauty, even if you’re just inside looking out.
Into the woods
It’s hard to leave without doing every single one of the activities on offer (and staying until summer to enjoy a swathe more), but it’s time to hit the road for Jasper National Park.
The drive along the Icefields Parkway is one of the world’s all-time best drives and I soon see why. Ice-covered mountains rear majestically into the heavens, and I ogle the frozen lakes, fields of ice, glaciers and frozen waterfalls in astonishment throughout the three-hour drive. Allow extra time for stops at the vantage points dotted along the way so you can take in every remarkable moment.
Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge has a charm all its own. What began as a smattering of tents on the lakeshore is now a village of cabins. It’s high-end, in a woodsy kind of way, and attracts celebrities and dignitaries galore. The Queen has even stayed here.
That night we’re treated to a ‘signature cabin crawl’, feasting on fondue, seafood chowder, bison and more in three separate cabins, sipping on Moët & Chandon as we go. The chefs source meat and produce from local farms, their menus reflecting Canada’s heritage and evolving foodie scene.
The lake beckons me out with the first rays of dawn and I hike around it in peaceful solitude. The melting water reflects snowcapped mountains and the odd squirrel scampers by.
After a hearty breakfast I borrow one of the lodge’s fat-tyre bikes to explore the tracks winding through forests to other lakes and along the river. I’m gone for hours; I just can’t get enough of it.
Boarding a VIA Rail train in Jasper promises adventure of a different kind. I’m bound for Vancouver and travelling in style in a Prestige sleeper car. By day, an L-shaped couch offers complete comfort for two as the world goes by and, come evening, the concierge folds down your bed, fluffs up your pillows and practically kisses you goodnight. A dining carriage and glass-roofed bar car set the scene for a romantic night out.
I’ve slept well by the time the train rolls into Vancouver, but I’m not done with my ramble through the Rockies just yet. A bus is waiting to take me north to Whistler.
Snow on the pine trees
Skiers speaking myriad languages accompany any ski boot-clad clomp through this bustling resort village and on the lifts and gondolas rising high up the mountains. Fairmont’s Chateau Whistler is a two-minute walk from the nearest ski lift and offers luxury and convenience in equal measures.
Regularly rated as North America’s best ski resort, Whistler Blackcomb covers 3306 hectares, offering snow bunnies a long season (November to May) of steeps, bowls, glades and corduroy, along with cruisers and gentle rollers.
The Adventure Group takes me 1100 metres up Whistler Mountain into a snowy wonderland. With snowshoes on, we can leave the skiers and snowboarders zipping down the slopes behind and venture out into the peaceful pine forest. Fresh snow has fallen overnight, blanketing the wilds in white.
Snowshoes are grippy and we can tackle all kinds of terrain without fear of slipping or stumbling. When we plop down into the snow for a hot chocolate, a trickling stream is the only sound breaking the silence. As I have been throughout my trip through the Rockies, I’m happier than a pig in mud.