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The Rocky Mountaineer! 06/17/2012-06/22/2012
6/29/2012 9:15:58 AM Link 1 comment | Add comment
I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to take part in a “Learning Journey” on board the Rocky Mountaineer including stays in some of the Western Canadian Fairmont properties from June 17th through June 22nd, 2012.
After flying to Vancouver and getting to the hotel we (the group of travel agents from all over the US) didn’t have a lot of free time since we had a dinner hosted by the Vancouver Sheraton Wall Centre followed by an inspection of the hotel. The hotel is one of the largest in Vancouver and is comprised of two towers. The towers are shaped kind of like a football (if you looked at them from above) so the rooms are spacious and each have an entire wall of windows with varied views. My hotel looked out over downtown, but some of them had a view of the Bay. The beds were very comfortable, and everything was clean and tidy!
June 18th and 19th were spent on board the Rocky Mountaineer in Gold Leaf service. When I first looked at my itinerary (which pretty much gives you exact times of where you need to be when and is very informative) I thought that the two long days on the train would be a bit tedious towards the end…but they weren’t! The Rocky Mountaineer goes slower than your average train, and will slow down even more when you get to a particularly scenic part of the journey so people can take pictures (which you can do so from the outdoor vestibule). The Rocky Mountaineer also “pulls over” for freight trains so sometimes that can prolong the journey as well.
The journey I took was a 2 day journey from Vancouver to Banff with an overnight stop in Kamloops. The first day the scenery was very much like what I am used to in the Northeast, except for the relatively arid climate of Kamloops. The second day is when we really started getting into the Rockies and seeing some amazing scenery.
Different levels of service available on board the Rocky Mountaineer:
Red Leaf: Red Leaf is more like a traditional rail journey. The carriage has large picture windows and cold meals are served at your seat. Complimentary beverages with lunch.
Silver Leaf: Silver Leaf is a good middle ground between red and gold. The carriage is a single level domed car, although the windows aren’t as large as the gold leaf dome. Meals are served at your seat for silver class as well, but they are warm and there is a choice of entrée. Complimentary beverages with lunch.
Gold Leaf: Gold Leaf is luxury all the way. The carriage is a bi-level dome, the lower level is the “dining car” and the upper level is a glass dome with very comfortable seats. Meals are a la carte with your own kitchen per carriage. Beverages are complimentary throughout the journey.
The second day on board ended in Banff. We said goodbye to our on board attendants (who were all lovely) and boarded our Brewster transfer to the Fairmont Banff Springs hotel. Because we were in Gold Leaf service we stayed at the Fairmont properties, but Red Leaf passengers can upgrade their hotels to the Fairmonts as well! The Banff Springs is a beautiful place, and is worth a visit even if you aren’t staying there (the first 3 floors and grounds are open to the public—you just have to stay out of the guest room floors). It was built in 1888 by the Canadian Pacific Railroad as a hotel that was exclusive to rail passengers (this will also be true of the two other properties we stayed at). Each room in the hotel is different, and there is even a year round outdoor swimming pool!
Upon arrival in Banff we didn’t want to miss anything so we went downtown for a look around. The town of Banff is very clean, and the people are friendly. There are lots of tourist shops and restaurants. It is about a $10 taxi ride from the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. We went to sleep, and the next morning we had a hosted breakfast (the buffet was pretty amazing) and an inspection of the hotel.
We then boarded our tour which would eventually drop us off in Lake Louise. Having experienced both a transfer and a tour, if you have the option to take a tour that will get you from point A to B it is a much more pleasant experience with narration along the way. We went to “surprise corner” to get a peak of the Fairmont Banff Springs from across the river, visited Emerald Lake, took a tour through Yoho National Park, and visited the Natural Bridge. We ended our tour at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise.
The most amazing thing about the Chateau Lake Louise is the scenery. The lake, once it has melted for the season, is this beautiful turquoise color due to the minerals that become suspended in the water as they run off the mountains. Once again, the public areas of the hotel are in fact open to the public and you will meet lots of different people on the hiking trails all around the Lake.
This evening we had a fondue dinner which was my first experience with fondue. This was followed by an inspection of the hotel. The rooms at the Chateau seem to be a lot more uniform than the rooms in Banff. We then spent the evening walking around the lake and talking to some British tourists.
The following morning we didn’t have to be ready for our transfer until noon so we decided to take advantage of the first real chunk of “free time” we’d had on the trip. We got the sunrise wake up call so that we could go out by the lake and take pictures of the sun rising over the Victoria Glacier (this was about 5:10 AM). After that we decided to take the complimentary transfer over to the Lake Louise ski hill to ride the “gondola” (you have your choice of an enclosed gondola or a regular ski lift chair) to the top of the ski hill. The views were truly breathtaking and Lake Louise looked like a tiny turquoise speck amongst all of the mountains!
We had to take a cab back to the hotel because we were on a time crunch, but normally you could take the complimentary transfer back as well. We boarded our Brewster bus for a 3rd time and began our transfer to Calgary. The drive is only about 2 hours but since we had lots of stops both in Lake Louise, Banff, and Calgary it took about 4 hours for us to get to our final destination, the Fairmont Palliser hotel.
We had a couple of hours before we had to be back at the hotel for dinner and a site inspection so we took advantage and walked around Stephen Avenue, a pedestrian street a block from the hotel filled with shops and restaurants. They had lots of western wear shops that were undoubtedly gearing up for the upcoming 100th anniversary of the Calgary Stampede.
We had a 6:00 PM site inspection of the Palliser. Many of the floors in this hotel have been renovated as well, which is giving them more of a uniform feel. The rooms in this hotel were also a little larger than the other two properties we stayed at. We then had an amazing dinner in the Rimrock Dining Room.
Before we knew it, our journey had come to an end, and it was time to say goodbye and goodnight since some people had very early flights home. It was wonderful to get to know my travel companions, and I feel fortunate to have experienced such an awesome product!
Sarah Dobrydney
6/29/20129:17:25 AM
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