Travel Tales Podcast
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Banana skis.
No, it’s not the name of a new jam band far down the lineup at Coachella this year. It’s how Stephen Dodwell, General Manager at Kananaskis Mountain Lodge, told me was the handy way to remember how to spell the name of his property. And I’ll be darned if it doesn’t work.
What was easier to remember was the lovely night last autumn that I spent at Kananaskis (ka-na-NA-skis) Lodge, a sprawling, 405-room resort nestled in the Canadian Rockies an hour or so outside Calgary, Alberta.
I had just enjoyed two days taking in the amazing scenery from a seat on the luxurious Rocky Mountaineer train, capped off with a night of revelry and a Flintstone-sized buffalo steak in the mountain resort town of Banff. But I and my fellow media members were not quite ready to fly home and face reality just yet.
Luckily, halfway along the two-hour plus ride from Banff to Calgary Airport, lies Kananaskis Mountain Lodge.
Originally built as an Olympic Village for the 1988 Calgary winter games, Kananaskis Lodge has changed hands and expanded a few times since.
It recently underwent a $40 million renovation after being acquired by Pomeroy Lodging a few years ago (it’s also part of the Marriott Bonvoy hotel group.)
Kananaskis Lodge lies within a provincial park at the base of Kananaskis ski mountain. While naturally a hit with skiers, The Lodge is also known for its popular Christmas activities and decorations – an especially big hit with families. While it’s easy to assume the peak season for Kananaskis Lodge is winter, Dodwell says it’s in fact, summer.
“People come here to walk and hike and avoid the busy-ness and hustle-bustle of Banff and those sorts of places,” says Dodwell, an Englishman who’s been at Kananaskis Lodge for 2-1/2 years.
“You can walk for literally tens of miles and see nobody, which is harder to do in the federal parks. We’re a provincial park, built for Albertans, by Albertans. There are a lot of rules, but the whole thing is about conservation.”
“One of the cool things about ‘K-Country’ is there’s not a tourist shop to be seen here,” Dodwell added. “There’s not coach-loads of people being dropped off and having to fight your way to line up to get a photo opportunity. You go out of this place, you go to the village rim, and you can see the (Kananaskis) Golf Club, the mountains, and there’s not a soul around.”
As someone who had just spent that morning dodging throngs of selfie stick-wielding tourists at stunning, but uber-popular, Lake Louise in Banff National Park, I understood immediately where Dodwell was coming from.
I was in Kananaskis during shoulder season in early October, with a chill in the air, changing leaves, and the rumor of a first snow soon to come (four inches fell two days later.) While there was no skiing or golf during my one-night stay, I and my fellow bloggers had our sights set on one of Kananaskis Lodge’s other main attractions – the Nordic Spa.
One of the first things new arrivals notice is the abundance of guests walking around in slippers and thick, plush bathrobes.
These are the folks who have come to indulge in the spa, a large separate building a short walk from the main lobby and entrance. Multiple outdoor pools and jacuzzis of varying temperatures? Check. Massages, wraps, and other treatments? You betcha. Steam rooms and dry saunas? Naturally. The Nordic Spa has it covered.
Open just under two years, the Nordic Spa has proven to be an early hit with guests. “It’s one of the coolest assets we’ve got,” said Dodwell. “The winter is the best time to enjoy it. Snow is on the mountains, you’re in this valley of trees and mountains, and you go out there, enjoy it and forget the world.”
I figured after a few days of indulging in all manner of rich food, great wine and local spirits aboard Rocky Mountaineer (as well as in Banff, Kamloops and Vancouver), my body could use a little rehab.
To top it off, I had just taken part in Kananaskis Lodge’s nightly happy hour campfire on the patio, where guests are served complimentary s’mores, and where I had a glass or two of their signature S’mores Cocktail, a whiskey-based beauty that featured a toasted marshmallow hanging upside-down on a graham cracker over the glass. I had two.
Properly primed, I headed to the Nordic Spa before dinner. I donned my thick robe and went full Finland, alternating between the hot steam rooms and saunas with quick dunks in the cold pools (sorry, no cameras allowed.) I finished by joining my fellow media folk in the large jacuzzi/pool, admiring the stars in the cool, clear, mountain sky.
I felt like a new person, and could only imagine how good it would feel after a long day of skiing or hiking. The Nordic Spa is a separate charge at the Lodge, but hotel guests have separate complimentary indoor/outdoor pools, a kids area with waterslide, hot tubs, tennis courts, gym, and (this being Canada) outdoor ice hockey rink. It’s ideal for families, especially active ones.
Guests can purchase a full-day pass to use the Nordic Spa facilities for hours on end, which I would have gladly done had we not arrived late in the day.
I did, however, stay until the spa closed for the evening. They practically had to drag me out of there.
Besides, there were dinner reservations to meet. We stayed on the resort grounds and ate at Cedar, a beautiful steakhouse with a vast wine selection. We ate family style and the delicious plates kept coming, topped off by two massive cuts of Alberta beef that put the “tomahawk” in tomahawk steak. Unfortunately it was too late in the evening to reopen the Nordic Spa. I’m sure I could have sweat gravy at that point.
While a lot of Kananaskis Lodge’s business is Canadian, they are seeing an uptick in international tourists. Most are from the US of course, but also from Asia and Europe.
Kananaskis Lodge rates are not only less expensive as compared to popular resort towns like Banff and Jasper nearby, but also compared to many US resort towns in Colorado and the like (especially with today’s exchange rates.)
Kananaskis Lodge has a lot going for it: good facilities, polite service, easy access to both Calgary and Edmonton airports, activities for both outdoor and indoor lovers, etc. But the real attraction is what has brought visitors here for centuries – nature.
“We have bears wandering through the grounds,” said Dodwell. “We have our own resident family of deer, we get elk and cougars wandering through.”
“I come from England. There are days I drive in and think, ‘I live in a National Geographic documentary.’ This was stuff I only saw on television.”
“Little did I know I’d actually be living and working here.”
Or that he’d be saying things like “banana skis.”
For more info on Kananaskis Mountain Lodge or to make a reservation, go to their website here.