This past weekend was my sister’s last weekend with us in Alberta. We decided to make the most of it and took her to the mountains for a night. We stayed at Chateau Jasper, which is operated by Pursuit’s Banff Jasper Collection. Pursuit has many hotels and attractions in Jasper and Banff National Parks, including the Banff Gondola, which we rode on a few years back. Despite Covid-19 putting a wrench in so many of our plans for 2020 and altering the way the tourism and hospitality industry operates, our stay at Chateau Jasper was excellent.
I’d like to start with a brief comment about how seamless the booking process was. We booked online through Pursuit’s website and availed of their 20% discount for Alberta residents. For a modern, clean, and newly renovated hotel in the town of Jasper, it was incredibly affordable.
Our room was a standard hotel room with two queen beds. It was clean and comfortable. There were plenty of amenities including lots of coffee and tea, a microwave, and luxurious local toiletries. The hotel also has an indoor pool and hot tub which remains open during Covid-19, but you are required to book your time slot upon check-in. Sadly, we forgot our bathing suits.
From the hotel, it was a 10-minute walk to the quaint main street area where we shopped and enjoyed a meal and drinks at Jasper Brewing Company. Check out our post about Canadian breweries for more details about what we ate and drank in Jasper! Of course it’s pretty chilly in Alberta, especially in the Rockies, in November so dress warm!
The next morning, we enjoyed breakfast at the Silverwater Grill & Lounge located in the lobby of Chateau Jasper. Unfortunately, during Covid-19 the lounge is only open for breakfast– but they compensate for their minimal hours with delicious food and warm and friendly staff. I had the eggs benny. So good!
After checking out, we drove around Jasper for awhile, got some pictures, and let my sister soak in all the panoramic views she could lay her eyes on. It was also mine and Mack’s first time seeing the Rockies in the winter which was pretty special. The snowcapped mountains are mystical and breathtaking. We even got lucky enough to see some Big-Horn Mountain Sheep along the way.
Have you stayed at Chateau Jasper before? What is your favourite Jasper hotel? Where should we stay next? What are the best winter activities in the Canadian Rockies? Leave us a comment!
Happy exploring,
char
The next morning, we went downstairs at 8:30 am thinking we’d just be walking out to the street in front of the hotel to ride bikes for this guy’s video. Nope. There was a driver waiting for us in a very nice car. He got out and introduced himself as being a tour guide for the Sri Lankan Tourism Board. Turns out that we were about to be a part of a very legitimate ad campaign.
We were so grateful to have had this experience. We felt great because it was spontaneous and unique and a hell of a good story. We would have never gotten such an incredible view of Pidurangala and Sigiriya had we declined. We were treated like stars and got to meet some really friendly and talented locals. Then they asked if they could use us for more scenes because we ‘fit the image.’ We accepted, partly out of politeness and partly out of interest to see what else was in store.
After the coconut scene, we had been out filming with these people for more than three hours! We were pretty tired. They asked us to do one final scene. This time, we accepted purely to be polite. This final scene was so corny– and intense. We had lines to say, marks to hit, and two co-stars. It was hot and we were tired. But we did it, and they dropped us off safely at our hotel FIVE HOURS after they picked us up. What we expected to take 15 minutes took way longer than that. The crew understood that we were tired and that they had asked way more of us than was expected. Even though my friends and I were a little irritable by the end, it was so worth it. It was a really fun day and an experience that we could have never paid for or planned. Plus, we have this cool memento of our trip:
Day 1
Day 2
Day 4
