Banff Park Lodge Resort Hotel

My partner and I went the Banff Park Lodge in February 2006, having skied in many resorts throughout Europe for the last 10 years but never having been the Canada.
What can I say - it is absolutely fantastic! The hotel is excellent, big, really up-market with lovely restaurants and bars, beautiful lobby area with open fire. The room was amazing - huge king size bed with the softest, most comfortable mattress I have ever slept in! We splashed out on a room with a Jacuzzi in it - worth every penny, it was fantastic at the end of a long day skiing to relax in a hot bubbly tub!
The hotel is described as being in "downtown Banff" although it is only a 2 or 3 minutes walk from the main street of restaurants and shops. On top of this, the ski bus to the 3 resorts stops directly outside the hotel and is the last pickup and first drop off of the bus, so you get straight on and off you go to the ski area, rather than trawl around Banff picking up from other hotels. The same on the return journey, Banff Park Lodge is first stop when you get back into town.
Banff has a small ski area called Norquay which is about 5 minutes bus ride away. Depending on your level of skiing, Norquay could be far too challenging for a beginner but excellent for an intermediate - I won't comment on expert as I'm not one! It is small and will only occupy you for day or two.
However, Sunshine Village (20 minutes bus ride away) and Lake Louise (45 minutes) are both out of this world. I have never seen powder like it, light and fine and so deep, it was paradise! My partner and I both preferred Lake Louise, but both resorts are excellent. The word 'crowded' does not seem to have a Canadian meaning - there were many times when my partner and I felt like the only people in the world, with huge runs all to yourself, nothing like being in Austria on a Saturday and queuing for a week for a lift.
In Banff you will never queue for a lift for more than 2 minutes and the queues themselves are something to behold - they are 'managed' by 3 or 4 members of the resort staff who organise each chair so not one goes unless it is full and the entire thing runs like clockwork. On top of that, there are really civilized things like tissues and piste maps in small wooden cabinets at every lift!
We cannot rate this town and area highly enough - Banff is fantastic, the Canadian people are great, so friendly and polite, and the skiing is perfect and the Banff Park Lodge was first class - get going!