The best family hotels in Banff
Written October 2026
Elk walk down the main street in Banff, and a day of gondola rides, Lake Minnewanka and Lake Louise ends in a pool. Most hotels here have an indoor pool, and the Moose Hotel and Suites has two rooftop hot pools that face Cascade Mountain.
The town is one main street, Banff Avenue, with the shops and restaurants at the south end by the river and the motels and lodges strung out to the north. Downtown you walk everywhere; up the avenue you drive or take the Roam bus. Both ends are a short drive to the gondola, the hot springs and Lake Minnewanka.
Downtown, on foot to everything
Banff Park Lodge Resort Hotel
Lynx Street, downtown
Big and plain, a block from Banff Avenue and two blocks from the river, with a hot tub beside the indoor pool and Central Park's playground a few minutes away. The suites give a family a second room.
- Cribs
- Yes
- Suites
- Yes
- Fridge
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes, indoor
Peaks Hotel and Suites
Lynx Street, downtown
A newer hotel across the road from the Banff Park Lodge, with a pool, and a kitchenette in the suites so breakfast happens upstairs. The restaurants, the river path and the bus are a walk.
- Cribs
- Yes
- Suites
- Yes
- Fridge
- Yes
- Kitchenette
- Yes
- Pool
- No
Moose Hotel and Suites
Banff Avenue, downtown
The rooftop hot pools face Cascade Mountain, with the indoor pool beside them. Suites come as one or two bedrooms, right on the main street.
- Cribs
- No
- Suites
- Yes
- Fridge
- Yes
- Kitchenette
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes, indoor
Banff Ptarmigan Inn
Banff Avenue, downtown
A straightforward downtown hotel, with a steam room beside the pool, a restaurant downstairs and the whole of Banff Avenue at the door.
- Cribs
- No
- Fridge
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes
Fox Hotel and Suites
Banff Avenue
The pool is a grotto (it's modeled on the Cave and Basin springs). Some suites have two bedrooms, the shops are a ten-minute walk down Banff Avenue and the bus stops outside.
- Cribs
- No
- Suites
- Yes
- Kitchenette
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes
Basecamp Suites Banff
Marten Street, downtown
Apartment-style, with in-suite laundry, on a quiet residential street near the river, and there's a pool. Good for a family of five downtown, or a week where you'd rather cook.
- Cribs
- No
- Suites
- Yes
- Fridge
- Yes
- Kitchenette
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes
Up Banff Avenue, with a kitchenette
More room, a drive or a bus from downtown.
Canalta Lodge
Banff Avenue, north
A modern lodge with a games room and a heated outdoor pool. Breakfast is free, the bus into town stops nearby, and we'd book it first on this stretch.
- Cribs
- Yes
- Fridge
- Yes
- Kitchenette
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes
- Free breakfast
- Yes
Rundlestone Lodge
Banff Avenue, north
Stone and timber, with a hot tub by the indoor pool and loft rooms that work for four. Downtown is about fifteen minutes on foot, or the bus.
- Suites
- Yes
- Fridge
- Yes
- Kitchenette
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes, indoor
Banff Rocky Mountain Resort
Banff Avenue, far north end
Condo-style suites with fireplaces, out at the edge of town, where elk wander through the grounds. There's a pool and a tennis court. You'll drive or ride the bus to dinner, and you get a whole condo for it.
- Cribs
- No
- Suites
- Yes
- Fridge
- Yes
- Kitchenette
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes, indoor
- Laundry
- Yes
Tunnel Mountain Resort
Tunnel Mountain
Chalets and suites on the Tunnel Mountain road, with a playground and trails that start at the door.
- Cribs
- No
- Suites
- Yes
- Fridge
- Yes
- Kitchenette
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes, indoor
The grand hotels up the hill
Fairmont Banff Springs
Spray Avenue, above the river
The castle has a bowling alley and pools indoors and out, and it's big enough to explore, with long corridors and the view of the Bow Falls from the terrace. Rooms in the castle are historic, and there are suites. Town is a twenty-minute walk or a short bus.
- Cribs
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes
Rimrock Resort Hotel
Sulphur Mountain
Up the mountain road at the top of town, beside the gondola and the hot springs, with a pool. Everything else is a bus or a drive down.
- Cribs
- Yes
- Suites
- Yes
- Fridge
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes, indoor
Photo credits
Banff Park Lodge Resort Hotel: Silver Dovelet (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Peaks Hotel and Suites: Silver Dovelet (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Banff Avenue, Banff: InSapphoWeTrust from Los Angeles, California, USA (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Banff Avenue and Cascade Mountain, Banff: InSapphoWeTrust from Los Angeles, California, USA (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Downtown Banff: Daniel from Glasgow, United Kingdom (CC BY 2.0) · Banff and the Bow Valley from above: Brandon Lam brandon_lam (CC0) · The Bow River at Banff: simpf (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Cascade Mountain, Banff: Jack Borno (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Hidden Ridge Resort: dom fellowes from UK (CC BY 2.0) · Mount Rundle from Tunnel Mountain, Banff: Adam Bishop (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Fairmont Banff Springs: Stephen Swift (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Rimrock Resort Hotel: randreu (CC BY 3.0)