Everyone should have a white Christmas once – this place has my vote
As enchanting as it is, this grand old dame is distinctly Canadian, a testament to the nation's rail history. Built in 1888 by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), it was part of a strategy to boost tourism in the Rockies by creating luxury hotels in scenic spots along the rail line.
'Christmas at the Castle' begins on December 5, with an advent calendar of themed events including everything from campfire experiences to making toffee popsicles in the snow, bedtime stories with Mrs Claus to a private good night visit from Santa.
Forget the Christmas card fantasy. This is a full-speed Polar Express into every storybook, Christmas movie and fairytale you've ever imagined, all wrapped in a bear hug only a Canadian can give.
I enjoy maple cream cocktails beside a fire pit on a rooftop terrace, dine on prime rib Alberta beef in The Vermillion Room restaurant (the resort has 13 places to eat and drink) and soak in a thermal spa amid the snow. I could easily stay cocooned here forever, but an ice walk through Johnston Canyon – one of the signature attractions of Banff National Park – calls.
It's minus 17 degrees. I have cleats strapped to my boots for grip and my new woollen thermal is making me itch like a bear in poison ivy. My progress is more awkward penguin shuffle than confident march. 'You need to show the cleats who's boss,' says our guide Neil Evans from Discover Banff Tours. We haven't even left the car park yet.
We trek for an hour – past rock walls draped with icicles, over snowy bridges, and through a cave-like tunnel – to the 30-metre-tall Upper Falls, frozen in time like a winter masterpiece. At any moment, I half expect a raven to arrive with news of Winterfell.
Back in Banff,the Christmas markets are filled with artisanal products and mulled wine, while the Hot Chocolate Trail leaves me buzzing from a sugar-rush. For this sweet-tooth, the winner is a toss between the toasted coconut hot chocolate served at Mountain Folk Coffee Co and the Bueno Smash at the Uprising Bake Shop. Across town, more than 30 restaurants and cafes are whipping up festive-themed hot chocolates.
The highs continue that evening as I ascend Sulphur Mountain, the Banff Gondola whisking me to the summit to witness 'Nightrise', a dazzling multi-media show of lights, projections and soundscapes. Dinner at Sky Bistro is the icing on top, err, the mountain.
It's under a cloud-free blue sky that I set off from Banff for the 50-minute drive to Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, the second palace-like railway hotel in the Rockies to be built by the Canadian Pacific Railway.
I've arrived early, but a Christmas miracle means not only is my room ready, but I've been upgraded to a junior lake-view suite. There's even a Christmas tree in my room. There are so many Christmas trees – standing tall in the lobby, sprouting along stairwells, forming festive forests in the hallways – each one dressed to the nines and sparkling like a Swarovski crystal.
I'm torn between spending time in my room, mesmerised by the view of frozen Lake Louise, hiding out in the hotel's antiquarian bookstore or enjoying live music in the ballroom. But it's the lure of high tea in the Fairview Restaurant, with its sweeping views of the saw-toothed Rockies, that wins me over.
Afterwards, I burn off the house-made scones and devilled egg sandwiches with a hike across the frozen lake, the sharp air filling my lungs as I crunch across the ice. Next, it's time for a snow-shoeing tour with a mountain guide, where we explore the hidden trails in the snowy slopes above the lake.
Later in the season, sections are cleared and groomed to create a rink for ice skating and hockey. Complete with an ice bar, it's about as cool as it gets. And then there's the annual Ice Magic festival (a five-day event in late January, complimentary for hotel guests) where blocks of ice are transformed into whimsical sculptures by professional ice carvers. It's almost impossible to reconcile this frozen expanse with the emerald blue lake I've seen on summer postcards.
On the way back from my snow-shoeing tour, I stop to watch a group of small children throwing snowballs – all ruddy cheeks and swaying pompoms – and for a moment, I feel the pull of my own grandchildren back home. I guess it's never too early to start planning the next festive escape.
THE DETAILS
STAY
Fairmont Banff Springs is a landmark hotel in the heart of the Banff National Park. A Fairmont Mountain View King room starts from $C829 ($916) during December.
Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise has 539 rooms and suites, with a Fairmont Mountain View King room starting from $C499 ($551) during December. The hotel is currently undergoing renovations, including a new lakeshore wellness centre due to open mid-September, 2025.
See fairmont.com/banff-springs
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TOUR
Discover Banff Tours offers a four-hour Johnston Canyon ice walk, from $C99 an adult/$C62 a child ($109/68). See banfftours.com
FLY
Air Canada offers direct flights between Sydney and Brisbane to Vancouver with connections to Calgary. See aircanada.com
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"Building traditionally on a site like this, all of the pollution and toxicity and noise and rubbish, all of those impacts of construction were taken away from the site and put into a purpose built factory in Brisbane that was designed to handle those things," said Burnett. A cabin built on stilts amongst gum trees, Sawmill Treehouse in Victoria by designer Robbie Walker, was named best New House Under 200 Square Metres. A vine-wrapped suburban Melbourne home, Hedge and Arbour House by Studio Bright, won New House Over 200 Square Metres. A prefabricated house ferried to its island location by barge in the middle of the night has won a national architecture award. The Australian House of the Year in the 2025 Houses Awards has gone to a project that's actually three homes in one, a design named Blok Three Sisters, on North Stradbroke Island, off the coast of Brisbane. The development had to accommodate three sisters in their 60s, as well as their children and grandchildren after their much-loved 1970s holiday house was infested with mycelium and became uninhabitable. The designers had to avoid the possibility of sibling rivalry over which residence was closest to the beach and settled on a terrace with a central courtyard area, so the three houses are able to function as one big holiday home at Christmas and Easter. Building on the island is expensive due to a lack of local tradies and the cost of transporting materials from the mainland, so the project was constructed in a Brisbane factory over six months and delivered to the island in six modules via ferry. The builders hired an island car barge over two nights from midnight till 4am and had to be finished in time for the barge to resume its usual daily duties at 6am. The hours weren't great but it was enough time for two semi-trailers carrying giant sections of the building (the biggest measuring 15 metres long) to make three trips across each night. The sections were then put in place on the site near Home Beach over two days, with prefabrication offsite making the building process about 50 per cent faster than a traditional build. The architecture is an example of "stealth density" according to Blok Modular director Daniel Burnett: seen from the front, the three homes are the same height and width as the old house, while each part of the building opens out to its surroundings. "You've got this sense that you're just sitting in a little bathing shack on the dunes," he said. "You're completely immersed in this environment." The project was an emotional one for the three sisters, whose parents built the original house and have since passed away. The siblings are more than pleased with the finished product, while prefabricating the house on the mainland also meant the construction process was easier on the coastal ecosystem, including the nearby wetlands. "Building traditionally on a site like this, all of the pollution and toxicity and noise and rubbish, all of those impacts of construction were taken away from the site and put into a purpose built factory in Brisbane that was designed to handle those things," said Burnett. A cabin built on stilts amongst gum trees, Sawmill Treehouse in Victoria by designer Robbie Walker, was named best New House Under 200 Square Metres. A vine-wrapped suburban Melbourne home, Hedge and Arbour House by Studio Bright, won New House Over 200 Square Metres. A prefabricated house ferried to its island location by barge in the middle of the night has won a national architecture award. The Australian House of the Year in the 2025 Houses Awards has gone to a project that's actually three homes in one, a design named Blok Three Sisters, on North Stradbroke Island, off the coast of Brisbane. The development had to accommodate three sisters in their 60s, as well as their children and grandchildren after their much-loved 1970s holiday house was infested with mycelium and became uninhabitable. The designers had to avoid the possibility of sibling rivalry over which residence was closest to the beach and settled on a terrace with a central courtyard area, so the three houses are able to function as one big holiday home at Christmas and Easter. Building on the island is expensive due to a lack of local tradies and the cost of transporting materials from the mainland, so the project was constructed in a Brisbane factory over six months and delivered to the island in six modules via ferry. The builders hired an island car barge over two nights from midnight till 4am and had to be finished in time for the barge to resume its usual daily duties at 6am. The hours weren't great but it was enough time for two semi-trailers carrying giant sections of the building (the biggest measuring 15 metres long) to make three trips across each night. The sections were then put in place on the site near Home Beach over two days, with prefabrication offsite making the building process about 50 per cent faster than a traditional build. The architecture is an example of "stealth density" according to Blok Modular director Daniel Burnett: seen from the front, the three homes are the same height and width as the old house, while each part of the building opens out to its surroundings. "You've got this sense that you're just sitting in a little bathing shack on the dunes," he said. "You're completely immersed in this environment." The project was an emotional one for the three sisters, whose parents built the original house and have since passed away. The siblings are more than pleased with the finished product, while prefabricating the house on the mainland also meant the construction process was easier on the coastal ecosystem, including the nearby wetlands. "Building traditionally on a site like this, all of the pollution and toxicity and noise and rubbish, all of those impacts of construction were taken away from the site and put into a purpose built factory in Brisbane that was designed to handle those things," said Burnett. A cabin built on stilts amongst gum trees, Sawmill Treehouse in Victoria by designer Robbie Walker, was named best New House Under 200 Square Metres. A vine-wrapped suburban Melbourne home, Hedge and Arbour House by Studio Bright, won New House Over 200 Square Metres. A prefabricated house ferried to its island location by barge in the middle of the night has won a national architecture award. The Australian House of the Year in the 2025 Houses Awards has gone to a project that's actually three homes in one, a design named Blok Three Sisters, on North Stradbroke Island, off the coast of Brisbane. The development had to accommodate three sisters in their 60s, as well as their children and grandchildren after their much-loved 1970s holiday house was infested with mycelium and became uninhabitable. The designers had to avoid the possibility of sibling rivalry over which residence was closest to the beach and settled on a terrace with a central courtyard area, so the three houses are able to function as one big holiday home at Christmas and Easter. Building on the island is expensive due to a lack of local tradies and the cost of transporting materials from the mainland, so the project was constructed in a Brisbane factory over six months and delivered to the island in six modules via ferry. The builders hired an island car barge over two nights from midnight till 4am and had to be finished in time for the barge to resume its usual daily duties at 6am. The hours weren't great but it was enough time for two semi-trailers carrying giant sections of the building (the biggest measuring 15 metres long) to make three trips across each night. The sections were then put in place on the site near Home Beach over two days, with prefabrication offsite making the building process about 50 per cent faster than a traditional build. The architecture is an example of "stealth density" according to Blok Modular director Daniel Burnett: seen from the front, the three homes are the same height and width as the old house, while each part of the building opens out to its surroundings. "You've got this sense that you're just sitting in a little bathing shack on the dunes," he said. "You're completely immersed in this environment." The project was an emotional one for the three sisters, whose parents built the original house and have since passed away. The siblings are more than pleased with the finished product, while prefabricating the house on the mainland also meant the construction process was easier on the coastal ecosystem, including the nearby wetlands. "Building traditionally on a site like this, all of the pollution and toxicity and noise and rubbish, all of those impacts of construction were taken away from the site and put into a purpose built factory in Brisbane that was designed to handle those things," said Burnett. A cabin built on stilts amongst gum trees, Sawmill Treehouse in Victoria by designer Robbie Walker, was named best New House Under 200 Square Metres. A vine-wrapped suburban Melbourne home, Hedge and Arbour House by Studio Bright, won New House Over 200 Square Metres.
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A prefabricated house ferried to its island location by barge in the middle of the night has won a national architecture award. The Australian House of the Year in the 2025 Houses Awards has gone to a project that's actually three homes in one, a design named Blok Three Sisters, on North Stradbroke Island, off the coast of Brisbane. The development had to accommodate three sisters in their 60s, as well as their children and grandchildren after their much-loved 1970s holiday house was infested with mycelium and became uninhabitable. The designers had to avoid the possibility of sibling rivalry over which residence was closest to the beach and settled on a terrace with a central courtyard area, so the three houses are able to function as one big holiday home at Christmas and Easter. Building on the island is expensive due to a lack of local tradies and the cost of transporting materials from the mainland, so the project was constructed in a Brisbane factory over six months and delivered to the island in six modules via ferry. The builders hired an island car barge over two nights from midnight till 4am and had to be finished in time for the barge to resume its usual daily duties at 6am. The hours weren't great but it was enough time for two semi-trailers carrying giant sections of the building (the biggest measuring 15 metres long) to make three trips across each night. The sections were then put in place on the site near Home Beach over two days, with prefabrication offsite making the building process about 50 per cent faster than a traditional build. The architecture is an example of "stealth density" according to Blok Modular director Daniel Burnett: seen from the front, the three homes are the same height and width as the old house, while each part of the building opens out to its surroundings. "You've got this sense that you're just sitting in a little bathing shack on the dunes," he said. "You're completely immersed in this environment." The project was an emotional one for the three sisters, whose parents built the original house and have since passed away. The siblings are more than pleased with the finished product, while prefabricating the house on the mainland also meant the construction process was easier on the coastal ecosystem, including the nearby wetlands. "Building traditionally on a site like this, all of the pollution and toxicity and noise and rubbish, all of those impacts of construction were taken away from the site and put into a purpose built factory in Brisbane that was designed to handle those things," said Burnett. A cabin built on stilts amongst gum trees, Sawmill Treehouse in Victoria by designer Robbie Walker, was named best New House Under 200 Square Metres. A vine-wrapped suburban Melbourne home, Hedge and Arbour House by Studio Bright, won New House Over 200 Square Metres.
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Prefab house ferried to island by night wins top award
A prefabricated house ferried to its island location by barge in the middle of the night has won a national architecture award. The Australian House of the Year in the 2025 Houses Awards has gone to a project that's actually three homes in one, a design named Blok Three Sisters, on North Stradbroke Island, off the coast of Brisbane. The development had to accommodate three sisters in their 60s, as well as their children and grandchildren after their much-loved 1970s holiday house was infested with mycelium and became uninhabitable. The designers had to avoid the possibility of sibling rivalry over which residence was closest to the beach and settled on a terrace with a central courtyard area, so the three houses are able to function as one big holiday home at Christmas and Easter. Building on the island is expensive due to a lack of local tradies and the cost of transporting materials from the mainland, so the project was constructed in a Brisbane factory over six months and delivered to the island in six modules via ferry. The builders hired an island car barge over two nights from midnight till 4am and had to be finished in time for the barge to resume its usual daily duties at 6am. The hours weren't great but it was enough time for two semi-trailers carrying giant sections of the building (the biggest measuring 15 metres long) to make three trips across each night. The sections were then put in place on the site near Home Beach over two days, with prefabrication offsite making the building process about 50 per cent faster than a traditional build. The architecture is an example of "stealth density" according to Blok Modular director Daniel Burnett: seen from the front, the three homes are the same height and width as the old house, while each part of the building opens out to its surroundings. "You've got this sense that you're just sitting in a little bathing shack on the dunes," he said. "You're completely immersed in this environment." The project was an emotional one for the three sisters, whose parents built the original house and have since passed away. The siblings are more than pleased with the finished product, while prefabricating the house on the mainland also meant the construction process was easier on the coastal ecosystem, including the nearby wetlands. "Building traditionally on a site like this, all of the pollution and toxicity and noise and rubbish, all of those impacts of construction were taken away from the site and put into a purpose built factory in Brisbane that was designed to handle those things," said Burnett. A cabin built on stilts amongst gum trees, Sawmill Treehouse in Victoria by designer Robbie Walker, was named best New House Under 200 Square Metres. A vine-wrapped suburban Melbourne home, Hedge and Arbour House by Studio Bright, won New House Over 200 Square Metres.
