Sunshine Mountain Lodge

Banff, Alberta

Main Lodge Suite
Sunshine Village Gondola
Deluxe Waterfall View Room
Sunshine Village Gondola
Main Lodge Suite
Sunshine Village Gondola
Deluxe Waterfall View Room
Sunshine Village Gondola

The hotel

It could sell out purely because it’s the only ski-in/ski-out hotel in Banff National Park, but the team behind Sunshine Mountain Lodge didn’t think that was enough. Pulling out all the stops, they’ve also packed in the area’s biggest al fresco hot pool, an indulgent spa, a ski boutique (so you can travel light and arrive on the slopes bang on trend), huge windows that frame the incredible scenery, a family room with everything from Wii to a pool table, and evening activities like movie nights, snowshoeing, and tobogganing. Dressed in wood and stone, the lodge delivers on authentic Rockies charm too — and on true mountain après-ski (and pre-ski) treats, with its gondola-side café and crêperie, Canadian bistro, grill bar, smokehouse, and Chimney Corner Lounge, where you can cosy up around the fire each night, with rich hot chocolate.

Amenities

  • Bar
  • Ski
  • Hot tub
  • Families
  • Ski In Ski Out
  • Games Room
  • Internet Access
  • Restaurant

Where is it

Located at an altitude of 2,158 m in Sunshine Village, within Banff National Park, just outside the town of Banff. Transfer time from Banff: 20 minutes.

Hotel information

84 rooms. All with flat-screen TV, telephone, iPod docking station, fully-functional windows, Keurig coffee maker and hairdryer. Deluxe View with Balcony Rooms are located in the main lodge. They feature majestic mountain views from a private slope-side balcony. The bathrooms feature slate floors, granite counter tops and eco-double flush toilets, with 1 queen-size bed and a single sofa bed, sleeping maximum 2 adults.

Deluxe Waterfall Rooms are located in the main lodge and due to their waterfall facing postion, are quiet and relaxing in the evenings. The bathrooms feature slate floors, granite counter tops and eco-double flush toilets, with 1 queen-size bed and a single sofa bed, sleeping maximum 2 adults.

Main Lodge Suites are located in the main wing of the lodge. Spacious suites feature a cozy fireplace and mountain views from the private balcony, with 1 king-size bed and 1 double sofa bed, sleeping maximum 4 adults or 2 adults and 2 children.

Located at the Sunshine Mountain Lodge you will find the Mad Trapper’s Smokehouse rustic mountain pub (lunch and dinner), Eagle's Nest Canadian Bistro (dinner), Java Lift Coffee Bar (breakfast and lunch) and The Chimney Corner Fireside Dining (breakfast, lunch and dinner). First Tracks Cafe (breakfast and lunch) and the Creekside Bar & Grill (breakfast and lunch) are located in the Creekside Lodge beside the gondola at the Base. One of Canada's largest outdoor hot tubs. Sauna. Complimentary equipment locker located conveniently on the ground floor of the new West Wing. Each locker has space for equipment, including boots, helmets and outerwear. A boot drying rack is available. Year-round outdoor movie nights. Tobogganing is available Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday evenings after the ski lifts have closed on traditional maple wood toboggans. Games Room equipped with pool table, WII console and arcade games. Family Room with sofas, big screen TV, wood-burning fireplace and board games. Shuttle bus to and from Banff town.

*Denotes local charge.

Please note: The lodge is only accessible by gondola or hotel shuttle. For arrivals after the gondola closes, a resort shuttle will pick up passengers from the check-in location at the base of the mountain. Gondola operating dates are 30 Jun–4 Sep Fri, Sat, Sun and Mon 8:00am–6:00pm (subject to change). It is reccommended that guests arrive 30 minutes before the last gondola time. On days that the gondola is not in operation, a bus will take guests to the hotel. Bus operating dates are 3 Jul–31 Aug Tue, Wed and Thu 8:00am–6:00pm (subject to change).

Please note: The Sunshine Mountain check-in is located at the parking lot/base area in the Creekside Lodge and is open daily from 8:00am–6:00pm. For guests arriving after 6:00pm, please call the Sunshine Mountain Lodge Front Desk at tel: 403-762-6500 at least 2 hours ahead to make arrangements. Please allow upto 2 hours for delivery of luggage from the base area.

Rating summary

  • Location Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Sleep Quality Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Rooms Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Service Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Value Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Cleanliness Image of the Tripadvisor rating

Traveller rating

  • Excellent (637)
  • Very good (463)
  • Average (198)
  • Poor (63)
  • Terrible (19)
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Sunshine Village to Shadow Lake Lodge Hut-to-Hut Package

Sep 12, 2019 jennieinn Calgary, Canada

We purchased the Sunshine Village to Shadow Lake Lodge Hut-to-Hut Package which Sunshine partnered with Shadow Lake Lodge. Our stay at Sunshine was $600 which included dinner, breakfast, and a bagged lunch. The quality of the food here was terrible. For no reason, Sunshine created a separate menu for the package which was less than half the size… Read more
We purchased the Sunshine Village to Shadow Lake Lodge Hut-to-Hut Package which Sunshine partnered with Shadow Lake Lodge. Our stay at Sunshine was $600 which included dinner, breakfast, and a bagged lunch. The quality of the food here was terrible. For no reason, Sunshine created a separate menu for the package which was less than half the size of their normal restaurant menu with inferior food choices. For dinner we had the chicken: a small portion with a tablespoon of extremely salty pesto, few veggies, a large portion of bland mashed potatoes, and inexplicably a cup of plain dry arugula with no dressing. Value $40/ea. Breakfast was two eggs, two slices of Costco bread, three slices of translucent bacon, and four McCain's-style frozen hashbrowns. Some were still frozen. The bits of melon with the breakfast were days old and had soured. This for the 27km hike into Shadow Lake. Value $20/ea. The bagged lunch was again created only for this package and was supposed to consist of a sandwich, bottle of water, piece of fruit, cookie, and bag of chips. Ours was a day-old soggy sandwich made the night before, and inexplicably a salad in a cardboard to-go container completely inappropriate to a hiking trip it wouldn't have survived, and no fork. These were also made the night before and were soggy with dressing and completely inedible. We had to discuss with the staff about the hut-to-hut offerings. They did put together the items for us but didn't include the chips. Value $25/ea. Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Weekend Getaway

Sep 10, 2019 Taylor F

Overall good stay. Was nice to be able to see this mountain in the summer as we are usually there in the winter to ski. The hotel was really nice, definitely on the expensive side. Was the last night it was open so they had started to run out of things (food & beer choices). Was nice to get a free upgrade but even still the price seemed to… Read more
Overall good stay. Was nice to be able to see this mountain in the summer as we are usually there in the winter to ski. The hotel was really nice, definitely on the expensive side. Was the last night it was open so they had started to run out of things (food & beer choices). Was nice to get a free upgrade but even still the price seemed to expensive. Only mega downside, the toilet paper was awful in the room... we also couldnt get the temperature to regulate on the lower side so was a bit warm in the night. I think it would be a decent stay in the winter for families but for a group of friends it would probably be more fun to stay in banff as there isn't a ton of stuff to do after the hill closes. Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Best Message EVER

Sep 7, 2019 Caragoodin2019

My therapist was Bridgett and this petite young lady stretched my body in so many ways that it totally put me to sleep. I gave a highly stressful job and I am constantly seeking relaxation therapies. I have not ever been that totally relaxed. Thank you so much for an amazing healing day for not only myself but my best friend Missy Too! A day to be… Read more
My therapist was Bridgett and this petite young lady stretched my body in so many ways that it totally put me to sleep. I gave a highly stressful job and I am constantly seeking relaxation therapies. I have not ever been that totally relaxed. Thank you so much for an amazing healing day for not only myself but my best friend Missy Too! A day to be remembered for a life time. Wish you were in my state, I would be your number one client. Again Thank you. Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Unique experience but . . .

Sep 6, 2019 dreamtraveler4 Great Plains

We recently stayed in this Lodge for 5 days and here are the pluses and minuses: Beautiful mountain top experience and fun to ride up in the gondola. Staff was outstanding and very helpful - young people from all over the world, and knew their jobs. Remote - very quiet at night and hiking options there were great. Saw some wildlife while there… Read more
We recently stayed in this Lodge for 5 days and here are the pluses and minuses: Beautiful mountain top experience and fun to ride up in the gondola. Staff was outstanding and very helpful - young people from all over the world, and knew their jobs. Remote - very quiet at night and hiking options there were great. Saw some wildlife while there which was great. But about a 20 minute drive from Banff or to reach the main TC#! highway. Bit awkward if you wish to eat in Banff at night etc etc. Free S'Mores every night was a nice touch and yummy! Rooms - average, but dated. Nothing fancy and pretty small. Price was comparable to hotels in Banff, but still expensive for what you get. Bath soap was awful - had chucks of 'rock' or something in it that was rough to the touch! Never got a clean towel over the 5 nights we were there - but they did always make a 'V' of our toilet paper each day! Go figure! Did make our beds daily and think the sheets were changed there. Restaurant was just average and had limited menu selection. Buffet breakfast daily but was expensive and food especially pastries were dry. Would recommend a one or two night stay if you want just the novelty of staying in a ski lodge on top of a mountain in the summer - but wouldn't recommend for the amount of time we stayed there due to above issues and remoteness. Final score - maybe three stars. Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Perfect location!

Sep 5, 2019 evelynfuego Pembroke Pines, Florida

Had never stayed at a ski lodge before. This was just lovely off season. Parking is at the bottom of the hill where they have a guest center. A gondola or shuttle can take you uphill to the actual hotel. Make sure you check the times of service, but their shuttle is available on request. The staff was so nice and friendly. Everyone was helpful… Read more
Had never stayed at a ski lodge before. This was just lovely off season. Parking is at the bottom of the hill where they have a guest center. A gondola or shuttle can take you uphill to the actual hotel. Make sure you check the times of service, but their shuttle is available on request. The staff was so nice and friendly. Everyone was helpful and kind. Always smiling! The place is close to all the beauty there is in Banff. We rented a car and drove into Canmore which isnt far. Coming from US, we expected things to be different. The bedroom with the trundle was quite small. Smaller than an average holiday inn room. We were also quite hot on some nights despite the cool 40° weather outside. Coming from Florida, we're used to blasting the AC at 65 degrees lol. Perhaps that's why we were uncomfortably hot. They provided a fan which helped a bit. Either way. I would come back here! Loved the place! And it randomly snowed one night. It was amazing! Read less