I had a chance to once again head to banff for business and some time with the family for 5 days and 4 nights. I chose a new place to stay (Fox Hotel and Suits) and booked a premium loft suit. The hotel was very accommodating to book the room and our late arrival.

Arriving in our room we noticed a few unclean items like the table , chairs, mirror and took a few minutes to wipe things down with dissenfecting wipes. Then, we went to use the sink and the tap was so loose it was almost falling off and it for a while wouldn't shut off until we positioned it just right.

Then, we went to open the pull out couch for the kids to sleep on...the stains on the grey couch were noticeable and the inside had dirt and debre from between the cushions.. could the kids sleep on the floor with a camping matress in the vehilce? No, that was dirty with plastic, dirt and stains...ok got the pull out matress wiped off, open and the sheets down and settled the kids in for just the night....we went upstairs...the taps to the shower just about fell off, but worked...standing in the shower the water in the tub started filling up about ankle depth in no time. The tub wasn't draining. A glob of hair and gue was creeping out of the drain. Gross. Ok we thought it's late, let's get some sleep and fix in the morning. Then into bed. What's that smell? It's the pillow. So stinky. Must have been sweat on or something else. Clean pillow case, but very smelly under pillow. Tossed it outside on the balcony. Got into bed with no pillow. Tired.

Got up in the morning itchy. Red dots on neck/skin. What the heck. My eyes were also so red and puffy. Not happy.

I went down to the desk and explained all the above and more to front desk. They said we would be refunded for the night and would get someone to clean the room. Very apologetic and said they would tell the manager and we would recieve a call.

Myslef and Family went for breakfast in the hotel at Chili's. Food was decent .

With still no contact back from the Fox we proceeded to find other accomodation and returned to our go to place at the Moose. We had to settle on a smaller room for the family, just to get out the Fox.

We checked out of the Fox. Lady checking us out was pleasant. She said they were willing to reduce our nites stay by 50% rather than the 100% previously expressed to me by the other front counter staff. By this time we were just happy to leave and paid the bill.

Please note that all we wanted was a clean healthy room for the family to stay in.

The moose was very clean and accomodating. At arrival they offered us to park the vehicle undrrground while our room was being prepared.

We remain to be at the moose for duration of the trip, hoping to hear about an available larger room.

With all the years staying in Banff at various hotels the experiences were always great until the Fox.

Please keep in mind the Fox lobby and restaurant were fine. The general architecture and layout was nice. The nite staff at the front desk allowed us to park at the front drive area while the underground parking was full.

We never had a chance to try the outdoor hot tub.

Staff were generally pleasant but inconsistent. We never did hear back from the manager on our concerns and issues left with the front desk staff.

The 4th floor premium loft suit was really dirty and the plumbing sink and tub were in disrepair. The pillow and glob of hair in the tub drain was the last straw.

The rooms at this hotel are very small. They all have room doors that open up to the outside. The rooms have no sound proofing so you hear you neighbors go to the washroom and hear others talking in adjacent rooms as well as others TV’s. You can also hear people all night long talking as they walk back and forth to their rooms. If you want a restful sleep, this is not the hotel for you. The rooms are outdated, my toilet handle was almost impossible to flush, tub does not drain properly, iron did not work, no smart TV’s, worn out carpets and rough towels. The couch was stained and the rooms needs updates. At $200 a night there are better options in Banff but you got to search because most hotels in Banff along the strip are old and outdated except the new Moose Hotel. The free breakfast was also terrible. Cold boiled eggs, poor quality fruit bowl, cheap bread, waffle makers that looked disgusting. Servers only attend to those paying for breakfast, the rest are seated and forgotten, waited 15 mins to get coffee and it was barely lukewarm. Would not stay here again.

Overall, the Fox Hotel is a pretty decent spot to stay in Banff. If you’re looking for casual ski lodge, this is definitely it. Not sure if it just was the weekend we stayed, but there seemed to be a lot of large parties (and by parties I mean also ). Good proximity to Banff Ave shops, though Moose would bring you closer and is definitely more upscale at first glance. Room was super clean and bed very comfortable. Also loved that they had an iron and a fan in the room.