YWCA Banff Hotel

We wanted self-catering, & this had the cleanest kitchen we have ever stayed at! Friendly Staff will lend you a bear spray. Free car parking. Perfect location for downtown & for public transport to The Gondola & Lake Louise etc (car parks there fill up fast). Room not large but nice.

You may think you're saving a buck to stay here. But in fact you're destroying your vacation. This is the worst place I have ever been to. Isn't the main function of a hotel to be able to sleep in it? Well, can you in a room temperature of over 30? The photos in this listing probably belong to decades ago. The room are awful. When we arrived the private washroom was unclean, there was hair in the bed. All would be OK if the room was livable. The communal kitchen is terribly smelly. Really should be classed down. Avoid. Avoid. Avoid.

Banff is expensive in the summer. After searching many places, prices were $400 to $500 or more per night. I found YWCA and Reading many reviews I was a bit worried. Some rooms you have to share a hallway bathroom with others ( which was not for me) but they did have rooms with private bathrooms in your room. Some pictures I seen showed very plain, nothing fancy, minimal accommodations. We knew what we signed up for but were still a bit worried. Check in seemed normal, friendly service, quick and easy. Parking can be limited at certain times of the day and we had to park around back. . We were in a one bedroom on the 3rd floor facing the back of the property. Room was basic with a double bed, a nightstand with lamp, a desk/table with 2 chairs and a fan. Bathroom was very small. With toilet sink and small shower. Everything was clean. The room had newer flooring. There is no a/c, but many hotels don’t. But while we were there it cooled off at night and we had the windows open and did use the fan one night. Hôtel is close to town, you can walk over the bridge and you’re in downtown Banff. You can walk along the river to Bow Falls. I was happy with the stay. It saved us money. It was clean and close to town. Wifi worked well. We were barely there, only to sleep and shower. Other reviews said something about strange people roaming around, but we barely seen anyone at all. Front desk had extra bear spray for us to use. I would recommend this hotel to anyone trying to save some money, that just wants a clean no frills place to stay close to everything.

The YWCA Hotel was perfect for what we needed. It is difficult to find a place to stay in or around Banff that does not cost the Earth. The YWCA is a budget accommodation which many other that have left reviews seemed to have forgotten! I would not pay attention to a number of the reviews that have been left. I would also recommend reading the website, as you will see where the profits are spent...to benefit those who are in need. We never had any issues with parking, there was always room at the property in the mornings and evenings. Yes, the rooms are basic but you are staying in one of the most amazing areas in Canada so you really do not spend much time at the hotel anyway. The property is located a short walk from the center of the town, just over the Bow River. The Bow Falls are are short walk from the hotel, which is a must visit.

Location is superb. Easy to get to Banff AVE by foot in a couple of minutes. The room is super basic. It's a bed for the night & nothing more. No carpet in room. No TV. No basic extras that you'd expect in a room like a hairdryer. Bed mites are a problem here. Bed sheets and room cleaning was done every two days. Share bathroom was smelly. The hotel feels a bit weird/errie, especially in middle of the night, going to the shared washroom/toilet via the corridors. Strange sounds. Maybe it's *******! In terms of guest services, it is very poor & I found staff to be clueless and they never interacted with their guests. YWCA is deceiving, it's not a hotel and should never advertise as a hotel on accommodation booking sites. Banff is beautiful! However, I can't say the the same for YWCA Banff hotel.