 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi all
Well, I got permission to get our family to Banff next Easter  . We two have been 3x before but the last time was possibly not this millennium, so things may have changed there... We now have two daughters aged 7 and 10, who can both snow-plough and turn after a couple of weeks in Andorra. I've chosen this Easter as it's early, so we should get decent snow and temps, not the -30C that would happen at Feb half-term or the risk of slush at a later Easter. We will have to grin and bear any jet lag of the children. I can imagine us doing Louise one week and Sunshine the other, I hope it's the same that the tri-area pays for the bus?
I used the search, found a couple of threads from recent months (JohnFord's decision on multi-site Canada visit, and another), so took advice from there.
I've just reserved the same place we went to 3x - Irwin's Mountain Inn - as I know it, €1500 for 13 nights. They have a family room that has a connecting door; such things seem to be extremely difficult to find on standard hotel sites and package holidays, so I struggle to find alternatives. However, the reservation can be cancelled before March with no charge, so I'm open to suggestions!
I'm in Lisbon in Portugal so connections aren't always easy. Used skyscanner and found BA flights via LHR for €3200 for all of us, certainly not perfectly timed for a young family, but good enough for the moment. Haven't had the cojones to book them yet, I hope they don't disappear... Man-maths says we're paying the same for 13 nights as we would pay for 6-7 in Andorra (shh, nobody mention the plane tickets...) I do have some BA airmiles, but some of them are Iberia, and the more I read about how complicated it is to redeem them, the more I want to give up...
So the questions are:
1. Given my limitations (flights from LIS, wanting a "suite" and a hot tub within easy walk from town centre), have I done OK on the flights and hotels, or could you recommend better?
2. If I do take those, what are the best deals on the rest: transfers, lessons, ski hire, ski passes? Should I ask the hotel or do they have an interest in only recommending one package and there would be something better elsewhere?
3. If I don't take those, can anyone recommend a package (Inghams? Crystal?) who could be cheaper overall yet still cater for my odd little demands - and be able to handle us coming from Lisbon up to LHR?
4. Should I go to another resort and get a way better deal? Rather than the smaller resorts (never been to any others), I thought Banff was a nice place to look at in the evening - though I can imagine my children snoring away by 7pm...
Thanks in advance for all your advice!  
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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You should investigate Lake Louise plus cards and Sunshine/marmot cards as a cheaper means of lift tickets.
Lake louise will deliver internationally for sure, not sure about sunshine. I would consider a few nights elsewhere. Maybe Pano which is on the LL plus card or Kicking Horse. I think your kids would enjoy Pano, as they have tubing and other activities as well as the hot pools slopeside
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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If you are going to ski Lake Louise & Sunshine, there is always the little town of Canmore just a little bit further but no harder to travel from than Banff. Accommodation there is much cheaper and lots of condominiums which are great for families. Other costs there are better value than Banff, which is over rated in my view. I spent a season in the area a few years ago. As for flights, have you looked at some alternatives. Instead of traveling via London, look at some other European cities. Air Transat and Canadian Affair are both useful.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Thanks both!
Louise plus - now looking into it, trying to understand how the discounts work on a multi-day ticket, if at all... Sunshine has a blackout period of exactly when I'm going, so not sure it's worth it.
If I do get the Louise plus, doesn't that then mean that I have to pay for the bus ticket instead? Might be swings and roundabouts.
Off to the spreadsheet...
Canadian Affair say no flights around when I want, I guess others got there first , they were certainly cheaper. I did put in LIS-YYC into Skyscanner, and the BA deal was about the best (wasn't so happy with the Paris one, don't want to stop in USA, the others are pricier). As I'm coming from Lisbon and they want to attract business away from others, I effectively get LIS-LHR-LIS free. I may try Canmore next time though I'm concerned about daily trip time to Louise already - though I remember it's great for sleeping on the way back - and a TripAdvisor review noted there were less ski buses going there.
I don't think we'll try other places, though thanks for the suggestions. We're not good enough to get bored with Louise/Sunshine in that time, and I guess we'll take a day or two in the middle to rest and/or dog-sled. But also we rather like to strew our luggage all over the room and forget about it, rather than packing and unpacking more than required!
I also need to sort transfers - ISTR they're pretty organised - and a night by the airport on arrival and departure. Don't need to go into Calgary centre, just want a bed to collapse in...
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Sunshine card blackout dates only mean you don't get $25 off a day, you get $15; but you can still use your card for free days as well. Hill tickets rack rate is 99.95 this year; ski big 3 tickets are $105. Ski 7 days at sunshine and you will get 3 days free (2 really with the cost of the card)(so $200 each and $60 off ticket price. I would use the $260 x 2 to rent car giving you a bit more freedom. That way you can get to the Chateau etc in LL.
Discount cards also offer discounts in the stores, off cafes and off lessons
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Hi, we went to Banff a couple of Easters ago, decent weather and got good prices. We skiied this area for 8 days (pass was £220pp) and found it varied enough to keep us entertained, so I'd reckon you'd be fine for your two weeks.
I think it is worth looking around as there are a number of different deals available. One deal is a combined hotel and tri-area lift pass deal, that includes lift pass and buses for Louise, Sunshine and Norquay. We ended up booking through American ski classics, they beat even the hotel/tri-area pass deal I could find on the internet, and booked my BA flights with no mark up, so I only had one bill to pay for flights, accommodation and lift pass, in instalments.
Regarding the bus to lake louise, yes it takes 45 minutes, but it really isn't a bother. Have a nap, take in the amazing scenery, etc. The buses are regular enough, we didn't have any problems.
We stayed at Banff Aspen lodge, really liked it. Cost approx £500 for one king room, 9 nights. Large, tasty breakfast, outdoor hot tubs with a fire next to it. Good location, short walk into Banff centre, ski bus stop right outside,actually I think it is very close to the hotel you suggested. Not sure if they do the room combo you want, but worth asking. I think Banff has a good number of hotels that may meet your requirements.
Transfers from/to Calgary we arranged with Banff Airporter (via American ski classics). Would recommend, excellent customer service. Approx £35pp each way, 2 hrs.
Good luck with the planning. You'll have a great holiday.
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Thank you @carettam, I've just written to ASC with my "final demands" to see if they can offer me a better deal! And wrote to the SkiHub in Banff to see what combination of prices they could come up with.
It was difficult enough even understanding myself what I wanted - children lessons all day, me lessons all day for the first week but LL don't do my level so it has to be half days for two weeks, wife wants rental and pass but no lessons... I'm expecting a website to then have a pop-up which says "and do you want fries with that? Extra relish?" at which point I'll cower in a corner until I feel strong enough to come out again. It was never this difficult when I was single!
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Orange200,
We went to Banff last year & bought discount tri-area lift passes in advance on line through Liftopia, a US company. We then picked them up at the Skihub in Banff.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Ski hub have just offered me 30% off before the offer ends 30 November. ASC didn't quote but recommended to ask skisafari.com, whose site says kids passes and rentals are free, so I'm now waiting for a reply from them.
Of course, knowing how marketing works, and being out of this for years, I've no idea how many of these offers I should jump for, and how many will be recycled through the season just with different names and formats? 
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