Paw-sitively Romantic Getaway in Banff's Lake Louise
As an empty nester, I believed my toddler-traveling days had ended until Porkchop, the Traveling Corgi, trotted into our lives. I hate to leave him at home so what's a luxury loving gal to do when planning a couples getaway? Book a corgi-friendly getaway at Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. This iconic hotel built in 1911, overlooks Lake Louise in the heart of Banff National Park, Alberta. The stunning natural beauty of the area and the luxurious hotel draw visitors from all over the world.
Reasons why the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise is perfect for couples traveling with a pet
Luxury Accommodations – Pet friendly doesn't mean basic. Luxury rooms and suites perfect for a romantic getawayPet Amenities – Pet bed, bowls, treats, and doggie bagsRun of the House – Pets are welcome everywhere except for food service areas and the pool and fitness areasPet Sitters – Off duty Fairmont employees makes scheduling a breeze
I paid for our rooms and the hotel hosted us with an upgraded room, meals and experiences.
You've probably gazed upon a photo of the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise with the gorgeous turquoise lake and the Victoria Glacier in the background. It ranks as one of Canada's most photographed spots. Once I viewed it, I knew one day I would stay here. It lived up to all my expectations.
Interesting Facts About the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise
Famous visitors – Hollywood royalty Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, Alfred Hitchcock and many more.Movies filmed at Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise – Eternal Love (1929) and Doctor Zhivago (1965). It was a popular silent film location in the 1920s and considered "Hollywood North".UNESCO World Heritage Site – The hotel is located in Banff National ParkOne of the first hotels for outdoor adventurers – Mountain climbers have flocked to the area for over 100 years and it is considered the birthplace of Canadian mountaineering.
Are you ready to explore more destinations? Get inspired with our newsletter!
The accommodations at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise offer a luxurious neutral decor which doesn't distract from the gorgeous views of either Lake Louise or the surrounding mountains. The cozy room, elegant furnishings, plush bed with luxurious linens provide the perfect atmosphere for a couples getaway. Porkchop liked it too! He had his own comfy pet bed, food and water bowls, and a welcome gift with treats and waste bags.
Resort Experience Fee Inclusions – Highlights, too many to include all
Mountain Adventure Guide Program – Discounted rates on a variety of activities and excursions. Family, Recreational, and Cultural, Programs – A variety of mostly free activities including Lakeside Campfire, Live music, Movie night, Lake Louise History Presentation and many moreHigh Speed InternetSki Louise Shuttle Bus – SeasonalDaily Classes – Fitness, yoga, and meditationOutdoor Equipment Use – Ice cleats and hiking poles
SheBuysTravel Tip – Rooms vary from the photos on the website and many are unique. Once booked, call and see what your options are. We had a junior suite that had the cutest nook with a window seat with a view of Lake Louise.
This little note touched my heart. Elio, Aidan, and Anna took great care of Porkchop during our visit. Due to its isolated location the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise allows off duty employees to pet sit before or after their shifts to earn extra income. We loved the convenience and used the service throughout our stay. Typically guests must book at least 24 hours in advance. Porkchop went for long walks and hung out in "the Living Room" , an amenity area for guests staying at the hotel.
Toasty fires, sleigh rides, and cocktails, bring romance to the forefront at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. Gorgeous mountains and Lake Louise with Victoria Glacier in the background frame the views of the natural features of Banff National Park. Take time to explore together, relax with a couples massage at the serene spa, or try a new activity with the Mountain Adventure Guide Program.
Go for a Sleigh Ride
My husband and I climbed aboard the sleigh, and snuggled into a seat for two for a ride along the shores of Lake Lousie. The fresh snow covered trees added to the ambience. Our guide regaled us with history and anecdotes about the area while pointing out the sights along the way. In addition to the snow covered frozen Lake Louise, we had great views of the Victoria Glacier and a frozen waterfall with ice climbers. At the halfway point, guests disembarked the sleigh to take photos of the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise from the opposite end of the lake. It was a magical experience and one I highly recommend.
SheBuysTravel Tip: For those with no budget or a special occasion guests can book a sleigh ride with the Mountain Adventure Guide Program.
Sip Some Afternoon Tea
Famed afternoon tea at Fairmont Hotels offers a variety of teas from their tea program and a tiered tea tray with a sampling of savory tea sandwiches, flaky scones and other delicate pastries. Majestic mountain views and the snow covered lake create a peaceful setting for a romantic afternoon tea. Sitting by the grand windows, sipping champagne, and enjoying my husband's company, I savored the moment. The fine china and culinary delights just added to the overall experience.
Give a Gift
Guests can shop at more than 15 shops at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. I like to purchase a Christmas ornament to remember our travels. Each year our Christmas tree commemorates our life together and we love reminiscing as we decorate the tree. My husband knows my love language is books/ The Mountain Lights Bookstore, a local small business, immerses visitors with floor to ceiling shelves of antiquarian books, Canadian Pacific-Railway posters, and books of the area's history. Guests who want to step it up can visit the Stones Jewelry Store.
Have a Cocktail
I can't imagine a lovelier or more romantic place to sip cocktails than at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. Set against the breathtaking backdrop of the Canadian Rockies, Lake Louise, and the Victoria Glacier, guests will enjoy a diverse and memorable experience. Cocktail menus change seasonally and utilize regional ingredients. From cozy lounges to an exhilarating ice bar, cocktail aficionados will enjoy the variety of venus.
Lakeview Lounge – Cozy indoors and gorgeous patio in the warmer monthsAlpine Social – Fun, vibrant mountaineering themed bar and restaurantIce Bar – Seasonal, exhilarating, and unique bar made entirely of iceFairview Bar & Restaurant – Elegant space to sip a craft cocktail
Other Romantic Activities for Two
The area surrounding the hotel and Banff National Park provide a variety of options for romantic things to do. Options for both winter and summer seasons:
Canoe on Lake Louise – Working in tandem, explore the turquoise waters of the lake.Relax with a Couples Massage – Cliche for a reason, the ultimate romance activity, book at the spa.Ice Skate on Lake Louise – Participate or watch, ice skating just oozes romance.Book a Couples Getaway Package – The hotel offers a variety of themed packages and a romance itineraryGrab a Picnic – The Guides Pantry has to go picnics. Fill out a form and order 24 hours in advance. If the weather is too cold, enjoy at one of the hotel's beautiful common areas such as the Living Room.Take a Romantic Stroll – Enjoy a walk along the lake. In winter months you can walk out onto the ice.
The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise sits within Banff National Park, far from major cities. I live in Washington so I drove to the hotel. Major airports can be found in Vancouver, British Columbia and Calgary, Alberta. For an epic road trip rent a car and drive from Vancouver spending the night along the way. From Calgary, the drive is a little over two hours or visitors can book a shuttle to the hotel.
Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise
111 Lake Louise Dr, Lake Louise, AB T0L 1E0, Canada
+1 404-522-3511
To Book
All seasons are beautiful at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. Iconic bucklist hotels have high prices. In season even a basic room cost $1500-$2000 a night. I scored a great deal traveling at the end of March.
Using my American Express Platinum for the perks and discounts really helped cut my costs.
Book with Fine Hotels and Resorts – American Express Platinum benefit for special perks. Upgrade if available, $100 food and beverage credit per stay, breakfast a $90 value for two, early and late check out.$200 Hotel Credit – Each year American Express Platinum offers a $200 for Fine Hotels and ResortsLow Season – Booked a rate of $490 including resort feeAmerican Discount – During my trip $1 USD = $1.42 CAD. A sweet exchange rate.
16 Things to do in Banff National Park: Rejuvenate Your Mind & BodyWhen is the Best Time to Visit Banff? Any Time of the Year!Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel Review: Canadian Castle in the RockiesFairmont Palliser Calgary Review: Timeless Elegance Redefined
The post Paw-sitively Romantic Getaway in Banff's Lake Louise appeared first on She Buys Travel.
Copyright © 2025 SheBuysTravel · All Rights Reserved
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Canadian road trips to US drop 38 percent year-on-year
The number of Canadians returning from road trips to the United States fell sharply in May compared to the same period in 2024. Canadian-resident return trips by car totaled 1.3 million, a 38.1 percent drop from May 2024 — marking the fifth consecutive month of year-over-year declines. Canadian-resident return trips from the U.S. by air also fell — by 24.2 percent — compared to May 2024. The decline in Canadian-resident air travel from the U.S. accounts for the overall dip in return air travel. While Canadians' return travel by air declined by 3.7 percent overall, return air travel increased by 9.8 percent among Canadians returning from overseas countries compared to last May. U.S. residents, meanwhile, traveled to Canada at a lower rate than they did last year but saw a more modest decline than their Canadian counterparts. U.S.-resident arrivals to Canada by car fell by 8.4 percent and, by air, fell by 0.3 percent, compared to last May. The decline in Canadian road trips to the U.S. continued a trend seen in prior months. In April 2025, Canadian-resident return trips by car from the U.S. totaled 1.2 million — a 35.2 percent decline from April 2024. Canadian-resident return trips by air fell by 19.9 percent, compared to the prior month. The overall tourism decline threatens to wipe out $12.5 billion from the American economy this year, NewsNation reported. The decline in tourism comes as tensions between the U.S. and Canada have cooled under the Trump administration, as President Trump continues to muse publicly about making Canada a 51st state of America, which Prime Minister Mark Carney has repeatedly rejected as a nonstarter. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Why these actors and ‘SmartLess' podcast hosts want to help you pay less for cell service
The latest celebrity start-up trend is no longer tequila. It's telecom. Actors Sean Hayes, Will Arnett and Jason Bateman — who host the popular 'SmartLess' podcast — are launching a wireless service as an alternative to pricier unlimited data plans from major carriers like Verizon, T-Mobile or AT&T. The decision to start the company, called SmartLess Mobile, came from a simple realization: while industry giants generally push unlimited plans, most people don't actually use that much data. Even if they're glued to their phones. 'Most Americans spend almost 90% of their time under Wi-Fi. Their mobile device very seldom actually uses the actual wireless network,' said SmartLess CEO Paul McAleese, a telecom industry veteran who co-founded the company with the actors. Research published last year by the consultancy group OpenSignal found that most mobile customers spend between 77% and 88% of their on-screen time connected to a Wi-Fi network. SmartLess Mobile offers wireless plans starting at $15 per month for 5 gigabytes of high-speed data, going up to $30 monthly for 30 gigabytes. By contrast, starter unlimited plans from the major carriers range from around $35 to $65 per month. McAleese said he and Arnett started discussing the idea after the actor bought a new phone for his teenage son and was sold an unlimited plan that cost around $70 monthly. (Arnett previously served as a spokesperson for Canadian telecom giant Shaw Communications; McAleese is the company's former president.) 'And (Arnett) goes, 'Geez, it's awfully expensive,'' McAleese said in an interview with CNN. 'And I said, 'Your boy spends almost his entire life under Wi-Fi. He's at home, he's at school … he's never going to be on the network. Why would you buy all that?'' SmartLess Mobile joins a growing slate of celebrity-backed wireless carriers, including Consumer Cellular, with longtime spokesperson Ted Danson, and Ryan Reynolds' Mint Mobile, which was acquired by T-Mobile in 2023. These providers, known as mobile virtual network operators (or MVNOs), lease access to a major telecom provider's spectrum — SmartLess plans will run on T-Mobile's 5G network — and can often charge lower prices because they don't have to manage the physical infrastructure. The services have gained popularity as cell phone technology has advanced. Most phones now have digital SIM cards, making it easier for consumers to switch carriers without having to visit a retail store. And the proliferation of Wi-Fi infrastructure everywhere from subways to restaurants means many people have lesser data needs. If their partner network goes down, MVNOs do risk being the ones customers blame for losing missing service. And limited data plans aren't necessarily for everyone — ride-share drivers and delivery couriers likely use a lot more data than people who work from home or from an office with a Wi-Fi network. But the primary 'uphill battle for any MVNO is to stand out in the space,' said Jeffrey Moore, principal at wireless industry research firm Wave7, because the industry giants have much more name recognition. Major carriers also entice customers with deals on new phones, which they practically give away for free if consumers join their network. Smaller carriers 'have to stand out either in terms of offerings or in terms of marketing,' Moore said. That's where celebrity endorsements come in. SmartLess already has a significant built-in audience; the podcast ranks among the top 20 most popular shows on Apple Podcasts. And Arnett, Hayes and the SmartLess podcast have more than 2 million combined Instagram followers. 'Whether by luck or by design, they also have a brand name that has both 'smart' and 'less' in the name,' McAleese said, 'which, if you're going to be a challenger brand in this day and age, those are two pretty good head starts.' The team plans to start discussing SmartLess Mobile on the podcast in the coming weeks, he said. And the SmartLess hosts' involvement in the new carrier goes beyond typical celebrity endorsements, McAleese said. Hayes, Arnett and Bateman had already turned down the opportunity to lend their names to other types of products, and they've been involved in everything from financing to marketing the new company. 'They rely on the category for what is now one of their primary professional pursuits, which is the podcast, this is how people consume their product,' McAleese said. 'These guys are master storytellers, and they have the brand ethos of sort of an honest broker. I think it's just a perfect marriage.' Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trump's Trade War Plot Twist May Be a Hollywood That Looks for Even More Co-Productions
Donald Trump talked about slapping a 100 percent tariff on all foreign movies to make a 'troubled' Hollywood great again. But judging by the conversations at the Banff World Media Festival — both among content creators and acquisition execs and during panel and keynote speeches — global collaboration to create new partnerships and content across borders and tackle mutual financial challenges is the byword this week in the Canadian Rockies. Advertisement More from The Hollywood Reporter 'Collaboration is the one word that keeps coming up. I've never seen people all over the world — buyers, producers – more open to finding ways to get projects made and over the line,' Allison Wallach, head of unscripted programming at Fox Entertainment Studios, told a Banff fest panel on unscripted content. The discussion on the evolution of unscripted fare took place against the backdrop of Trump's talk of a foreign movie tariff quickly pivoting to a discussion of Americans possibly taking part in official international co-productions for the first time. And that plays directly into the wheelhouse of Canadian and other international producers that have been doing multi-passport films and TV series for decades. 'Deals I never thought I'd get away making, all of a sudden 50 percent of something is better than 100 percent of nothing,' Wallach added about recent dealmaking. Advertisement Sharon Scott, president, A+E Factual Studios, added during the unscripted content panel that global collaboration has moved from the sidelines to front and center for recent dealmaking. 'I love a coproduction. I didn't used to, but they definitely help on the financial side, and you make new friends and partners,' she said. Scott also touted the benefits of tapping film tax credits, including in Canada. 'Anything that can be done anywhere, should be done here,' she said of shooting content in Canada, whether TV shows or just expert interviews for an unscripted series. The result in Banff for an entertainment industry looking to cut content budgets and produce for and with the world was more deliberative conversations between potential partners. 'Everything is a conversation now. That's a really good thing. We just want to get the best content for our customers and we want to work with fantastic partners from all around the world to do that,' Anais Baker, head of international formats at Amazon MGM Studios, told the unscripted TV panel. Advertisement Michaela Di Mondo, executive vp of distribution, international at Fremantle Canada, at one point directly addressed producers in Banff and urged them to take advantage of American and other international producers looking to forge new partnerships. 'For you guys in the room, producers, this is your time. Here's an opportunity where the world is kind of saying, where else can we work? Where else can we do hub structures. Where else can we do co-productions? How can we cost save where it doesn't mean 'that's too Canadian,' versus look how amazing that was, and the cost was even better,' Di Mondo said. Best of The Hollywood Reporter Sign up for THR's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
