An Alpine Environment
The Moose Hotel & Suites celebrates its local flavour
While The Moose Hotel & Suites in Banff, Alberta celebrates five years this June, its roots go back over two decades.
It took about 20 years, in fact, to accumulate the land lots and to navigate through Banff’s complicated process of securing commercial development allotments.
The physical build started in late 2014 after the removal of three smaller hotel properties and three houses on the site.
“We actually relocated the corner house into the courtyard of the new hotel where it is now the celebrated heritage attraction of the hotel,” shares Gord Lozeman, president & CEO, Banff Lodging Co. “We relocated and restored the corner house because it was the one with the most heritage significance. It was originally ordered from an Eaton’s catalogue back in the early 1900s and became a home in the old coalmining town of Bankhead. It was relocated to Banff in 1926 after the mine shut down. We found the history of the corner house to be interesting, so we wanted to celebrate it by working it into our design.”
The hotel was named The Moose mostly due to its location on Moose Street. The property itself sits on 10 lots and is located at the entry to downtown Banff and the corner of Banff Avenue’s first traffic light. There is a life-sized bronze sculpture of a bull moose that marks the spot, which Lozeman suspects has become the most photographed wildlife in Banff.
It has 174 rooms, half of which are typical hotel rooms while the other half are one-bedroom and two-bedroom suites.
The Moose offers two meeting rooms, one to accommodate larger events and one for more private gatherings. The latter, a hospitality room named the Darch Room is a tribute to Ted Darch, the architect of this crowning achievement in his long (and continuing) legacy of hotel design in Banff.
There is also the full-service Meadow Spa, which features treatment rooms with views and an exclusive outdoor hot pool.
“The feature element of the hotel is the two rooftop hot pools with incredible views. There is also a rooftop sauna, as well as an indoor pool and exercise room all with premium views. It was a key part of the design to allocate prime real estate with views to public amenity areas,” says Lozeman.
Guests are certainly drawn to The Moose for both its prime downtown location and its signature rooftop pools. But they also appreciate being able to enjoy the design elements of a high-end property without the high-end pretension that often goes along with a 5-star property.
Their guest demographic crosses all spectrums – young and old, couples and families, regional and international. If there’s a common theme it’s that their guests reflect the demographic of all visitors to Banff National Park. They have created a quality hotel environment that makes all guests feel comfortable and welcome.
Banff Lodging Co. has a strong do-it-yourself philosophy. They not only procure the land, they also design and build their hotels through their Contracting and Construction Division and then operate them through Banff Lodging Co., their Hospitality Division.
“That’s very evident in The Moose, where the design benefits from our years of hospitality experience in Banff. And where we’ve built for the long-term knowing that we’re the ones that will have to deal with any deficiencies over time. We’re very proud of it,” shares Lozeman.
The hotel is designed with interior corridors on the lower level, but with outdoor walkways to access the more open levels above it. The effect is a real village feel with views throughout.
There is significant investment and great attention to detail in all of the common areas – particularly the lobby, restaurant, spa and meeting rooms. All these areas feature extensive natural elements designed to bring outside inside to really celebrate their alpine environment.
“Overall, the hotel design has a deliberate local flavour to it. Everything from the extensive lobby millwork right down to the in-room artwork has been built and crafted by local artists and trades. It’s very Banff,” says Lozeman. “All of the rooms feature original artwork by Jason Carter, who also did the bear sculpture in the lobby and numerous paintings throughout the hotel.”
The exterior of The Moose is entirely natural stone with timber accents and the stone is layered in a way that gives it a unique dry-stack appearance. The major investment in the stone exterior will ensure that the building will still be there 100 years from now.
There is extensive landscaping both in the courtyard and around the perimeter, as well as in pods on the upper levels – all designed to bring natural elements into the property.
Like all other hotel properties in Banff, The Moose has been devastated by the impact of COVID-19 – particularly through periods of restaurant, spa and hot pool closures. The hotel itself has never closed and has had COVID-Safe protocols in place from the beginning.
“Our commitment right from the beginning has been to lead with hospitality practices that ensure the safety of our guests, our employees and our community,” says Lozeman.
Looking to the future The Moose just wants to welcome visitors back.
“While travel has looked different this past year what remains the same for Banff Lodging Co. is our friendly, welcoming staff who are committed to providing comfortable, safe and engaging visitor experiences.”
By Nicole Sherwood | Western Hotelier Magazine