Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge ~ Alberta, Canada – Many baby boomer luxury travelers enjoy taking a step back in time by vacationing at some of the grand hotels and resorts that were built in the early 20th century.

This was the time of the Roaring Twenties.  Economies were strong, new passenger rail systems and the automobile provided access to never before visited grand locations, and visionary entrepreneurs were happy to build remarkable lodges for them to spend the night and enjoy a high level of rustic pampering.

The historic Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge stands proudly in this category, and has been sharing the beauty of the Canadian Rockies with Hollywood stars, the world’s royalty, and lovers of majestic mountain scenery since 1922.

We arrived to the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge with scores of fellow travelers who had just spent the last two days with us aboard the luxury Rocky Mountaineer train.

The hotel was at 100% occupancy and bustling with people from all over the world who came to take in the lodge’s jaw-dropping location on Lac Beauvert with the Canadian Rockies providing a stunning backdrop.

Further adding to the allure of the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge is it’s proximity to Jasper National Park, the Athabasca Falls, the charming village of Jasper, the Columbia Icefields, the Icefields Parkway (rated one of the worlds most scenic drives), Maligne Canyon and Maligne Lake, and the Miette Hot Springs.

Unfortunately, our time in Jasper was assaulted with non-stop rain, fog, chilly temps, and far too infrequent views of the white-capped Canadian Rockies.  To say that we were disappointed is an understatement, but inclement weather is part of the equation when you travel.

With raincoats and umbrellas in tow, we spent our one day in the village of Jasper for lunch and then an afternoon drive to Maligne Canyon and Maligne Lake.

The rooms at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge vary from beautiful “cabins” with majestic lake-side settings to quite small 275 sq. ft. guestrooms with “cabin views”.

We heard quite a bit of mumbling from our new friends who were lodging in the smaller rooms, while others who had larger rooms with better settings were quite happy.  You’ll want to pay attention to room size and location at this property to make certain that your expectations are properly set.

Our room was a “fireplace suite” (425 sq. ft.) that looked down on Lac Beauvert and offered us a small sitting room with a wood-burning fireplace.  The room was paneled in knotty pine and the furnishings gave a rustic, country feel.

When the main lodge was built in 1922, it was touted as the largest single-story log structure in the world.  With major renovations completed over the years, the lodge is strikingly beautiful and offers a small subterranean shopping mall with boutiques and art galleries.

Dining options vary from the Moose’s Nook Steakhouse and Grill, to the newly opened Cavell’s Restaurant and Terrace, offering gourmet cuisine in a casual lake-side setting, to sushi at Oka Sushi.

We enjoyed healthy fish dinners at Moose’s Nook each night.  The Pan Seared Haida Gwaii Halibut (heirloom potato and manilla clam ragout, confit cherry tomato, spiced seafood broth, lemon shallot vinaigrette) was out of this world!

While this property doesn’t enjoy the AAA Four-Diamond rating of its sister Canadian Rocky properties, we feel that its stunning location, historic charm, and world-renown Fairmont service makes it certainly worthy of your consideration.

We can certainly say this, we want to come back and enjoy this beautiful property when it isn’t raining cats and dogs.

Disclosure:  a portion of our experience was provided by the kind folks at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge.  Thanks!

Photo Credit:  the top and bottom photographs (the ones with the sun shining), and the room view are from the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge’s digital photograph archives.

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