Subsequent to our week at Panorama Village, BC, Carolyn and I continued our Canadian adventure at Chateau Canmore (about a 1 1/2 hour...
Read more »
Subsequent to our week at Panorama Village,
BC, Carolyn and I continued our Canadian
adventure at Chateau Canmore (about a 1 1/2
hour drive from Calgary) during the
week of October 4, 2003..located within the
community of Canmore, BC this was NOT a
terrible resort, but it WAS the worst resort
that I have heretofore experienced
ie. my previous timeshare experience has been
pretty good.. our accommodation was relatively
clean and basically comfortable... a 1-bedroom
(a large room with a gas fireplace.. very nice),
1-bathroom, full kitchen unit which included a
washer/dryer combination.. the 'dining area'
was a table more like a tall, round end-table
rather than a dining-table.. the unit was
sparsely furnished with a single, modest sized
TV/VCR, no paper towels, 1 additional roll of
toilet paper, stingy amounts of laundry soap,
dishwasher detergent, and liquid detergent,
no hand soap (a liquid body soap dispenser
was on the shower wall).. both the
registration and maintenance
staff were friendly and competent.. fresh
towels were provided at mid-week..
A wine & cheese party was hosted by the
resort Sunday evening affording the activity
director the opportunity to promote the local
fee-oriented tourist activities.. unfortunately,
the wine, cheese and vegetable dips ran-out
before the presentation had finished..
The historic Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR)
rumbles just beyond the resort's property..
although the dishes rattle a little, the engines
growl and the freight cars rattle, I was
surprised that no whistles/horns were blown
and my sleep was not interrupted.. the resort
is adjacent to a Quality Motel.. previously the
resort and motel were co-owned and shared
amenities.. but that is no-longer so.. now
resort guests must travel about two miles to
an affiliated timeshare (Mountain Gate) to use
swimming pool, exercise and spa facilities..
while the resort nestles among spectacular
ranges of the Rocky Mountains, the units have
been constructed perpendicular to the
mountains such that, from inside the units,
there is no view of the surrounding majestic
peaks..
Canmore is a bustling, thriving community
replete with art galleries, grocery stores,
library (with free Internet service), restaurants
and sundry shops/services.. the town is well
located as a base from which to visit/explore
the Columbia Icefields (including the
Athabasca Glacier), Lake Louise with its
historic CPR hotel, Banff (don't miss the
gondola ride up Summit Mountain, the hot
springs, the historic hotel), the Bow Valley
Parkway, and the gravel road drive through
Kananaskis Country and Spray Lake.. Joe
Tragesser