Banff Lake Louise Ski Resort.

Banff is a bustling, friendly little town set in the Banff National Park. Downtown Banff offers traditional Canadian hospitality with an variety of bars and restaurants.

So small that ‘village’ is an exaggeration, just a handful of hotels and a few shops form the small village of Lake Louise. Lake Louise has its own substantial ski area situated a five minute bus ride away from the ‘village’ and hotels.

Lake Louise.

This is a resort of quite extraordinary natural beauty half an hour from the small town of Banff in the Alberta National Park. It is dominated by the grandiose edifice of Château Lake Louise, the hotel built in 1890 on the edge of the lake with a backdrop of soaring peaks and tumbling glaciers. The village is so small it barely qualifies as such. The ski area, three miles away by free shuttle bus, has sufficient variety to suit all standards. The most challenging runs are to be found here and on Goat’s Eye Mountain at Sunshine Village. Mount Norquay, the closest ski area to Banff, is best suited to beginners and lower intermediates. Most visitors to the region stay in Banff and commute to the different ski areas. Lake Louise makes a quieter and much more scenic base from which to do the same.

For anyone wanting to sample five-star living at three-star prices, and skiers of all standards.

Not for night owls, or families in midwinter when temperatures fall to as low as -40C.

Nightlife Après-ski is Canadian Club on-the-rocks in front of a roaring fire. Banff has a considerably larger choice of bars.

Where to stay.

Apart from the Château, there is a choice of less cavernous and more homely hostelries, including the five-star Post Hotel and three-star Deer Lodge.

Best tour operator.

Ski the American Dream. Others: Elegant Resorts, Airtours, First Choice, Thomson, Inghams, Crystal, Neilson, Ski Safari.

Best Buy Post Hotel is my favourite in this part of Canada, an extremely comfortable and informal hotel with an atmosphere of understated European elegance. Ski the American Dream: £765.

Château Lake Louise is enormous – 497 bedrooms. Although it functions efficiently and is more of a separate resort than a hotel, one regular criticism is that its size makes a stay here impersonal. Thomson: £605.