Comments on: Rocky Mountain R ‘n’ R

By: Only Here for the Food » Blog Archive » For the Love of Sandwiches: Wild Flour Bakery and Valbella Gourmet Foods

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 02:30:26 +0000

[...] brief escape to the Rockies last October also involved less extravagant meals than The Bison. First up: Wild Flour Bakery, a casual café [...]

By: Only Here for the Food » Blog Archive » Upscale Comfort: The Bison

Only Here for the Food » Blog Archive » Upscale Comfort: The Bison — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 05:47:00 +0000

[...] with good intentions to post about eating experiences soon after they happen, sometimes I fail. Our weekend getaway to the mountains last October was one such instance. So – mostly to help maintain my own food memory, here are a [...]

By: Sharon

Sharon — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 06:07:03 +0000

Cheryl – I’d always heard that Banff had “gone commercial” in all the years I hadn’t been, so I think I was expecting much more development. I’m sure if I compared it to Jasper (which I also haven’t been to in years), it would be worse. And yeah, I love Bison!

Dajana – it’s coming!

Angel – I’m so jealous! Sounds like you had an amazing experience. Thanks for the tip on their loyalty program!

By: Angel

Angel — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 06:18:22 +0000

Long time reader, first time commenter. Could be second. Maybe third? I can’t be certain. Anyway…have to relate an experience!

My husband and I head to the Fairmont when we want a weekend away, but we found a nice way around the overpriced rooms. We signed up for their loyalty program (it’s free) and we get mails when they have specials. Every few months they have dates where you can get rooms for insanely low prices (a few years back they had this promo where they’d throw in a convertible rental from Calgary so you could drive there in style).

One memorable weekend we snagged one of the tower rooms for just over a hundred bucks a night PLUS the card got us treated like royalty. When we drove up a guy directing traffic with a clipboard asked us our name and mentioned that they had been expecting us and jogged alongside our car to point us to use a different road than everyone else to check in. Totally not expecting that, we were like “Okay….thanks crazy guy”.

The small road led around to the back, which is this super swank VIP private entrance! We were met by two bellhops* who wouldn’t let us touch our bags and a greeter who walked out to our car to welcome us and lead us into the hotel and explain the services (directions on how to use a superspecial number to contact them instead of the regular hotel staff) while a third bellhop drove the car off to parking.

Seriously. We were like rockstars driving a Ford Focus and wearing sweats. And if we hadn’t signed up for their little club, we would have had to wait in the lines like the rest of the plebs.

If I sound like I’m gushing, I totally am. It has ruined all other hotels for me. I should be getting paid for this.

*One bellhop for each door. I was too much in awe of the whole presentation to notice that there was one guy walking up to my side of the car, so when he opened the door that I had been leaning against, I tumbled out and nearly ate gravel with my face (the bellhop caught me). That’s totally okay though. I figure that if this is where they meet royalty and rockstars, they are used to dealing with drunks.

By: chris

chris — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 02:42:43 +0000

BEauTIful.

By: Dajana Fabjanovich

Dajana Fabjanovich — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 23:01:44 +0000

Hiya Sharon! I want to hear abour your noshing adventures in Banff too (and I bet I’m not the only one!)

By: Amanda

Amanda — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:27:07 +0000

nice pictures! the gondola looks so fun

By: Cheryl

Cheryl — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:05:41 +0000

You didn’t think it was that commercial? That’s the one thing that makes me cringe when we go. But Bison (the restaurant) will always bring me back.

By: Mack D. Male

Mack D. Male — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:26:58 +0000

Thank you for getting me to ignore my BlackBerry, computer, etc., for a change It was indeed a great weekend!