The Best Vacation Rentals to Book in Canmore, Canada

Fancy a dip? This complex of 40 or so condo suites has Canmore’s largest outdoor heated swimming pool plus a hot tub. It’s in an area close to the Trans-Canada Highway, among several hotel complexes and restaurants, just five minutes by car and 20 minutes on foot to central Canmore. You’ll have a full kitchen, dining and living room (with cozy fireplace), plus two separate bedrooms, each with their own bathroom. Several are designated as pet-friendly and you can bring two pets per unit for a fee of $25 a day. Everyone’s tails will wag, even before you check out the puppy gift pack.

In the same area as Mystic Springs, this vacation rental has two- and three-bedroomed condos to rent. Units are bi-level, creating the feel of even more space. You’ll also have your own deck, complete with barbecue, so pick up some of that famous Alberta beef to grill. A gas fireplace, full kitchen, in-suite laundry and the lodge’s fitness center and outdoor hot tub might make it hard to get out and explore Canmore and Banff National Park. Fire Mountain has a pets-welcome policy.

The Lodges at Canmore make a real splash with three hot tubs and a year-round heated pool, sunk in a soothing gray-stone surround. The front desk is staffed 24/7 so there’s always someone to answer questions or make reservations for you. Choose your level of comfort: premium suites have granite counters, an MP3 docking station and higher-end contemporary furnishings, while in the deluxe condos the furnishings will be older and you’ll have a CD player. Both have gas fireplaces and DVD players. If you’ve overdone it on the slopes, an RMT – registered massage therapist – takes appointments.

Tucked between a residential neighborhood and a hotel zone is this under-development district of mostly condo buildings (it’s wise to check the current status of any construction next door). The stone and timber White Spruce Lodge was one of the first to be built and has easy access to trails along the creek. It’s a short walk to Canmore’s main street, shops and restaurants. Each of the high-end units is decorated according to the tastes of the owner, but count on a stone fireplace, hardwood floors, in-suite laundry and a fully-equipped kitchen. You’ll have higher ceilings in the penthouse suites; the three-bedroom premium has spectacular views from its corner windows.

Rundle Cliffs is in the currently-under-development Spring Creek neighborhood. This Canmore vacation rental has an impressive choice of properties – choose between one, two and three bedrooms. Individually owned, each is decorated differently. Relax by your stone fireplace, on your balcony or ground-level deck, or in the lodge’s outdoor hot tub. Daily housekeeping is available for an additional fee – but you’re expected to take out your garbage and recycling on departure.

This stone property offers you a choice: hotel rooms with kitchenettes or vacation rental condo suites. For the latter, you’ll have a full kitchen, in-suite laundry, a balcony and one or two bedrooms. Each suite also has a pull-out couch by the living-room’s electric fireplace. Unusually for a Canmore vacation rental, there’s an on-site restaurant and a spa: Wild Orchid Bistro serves gluten-free Asian fusion and Bodhi Tree Spa offers “mountain zen” treatments. It’s in a small hotel zone on the Banff side of Canmore near the highway, so you’re a 20-minute walk to Canmore’s main street – half that by car.

Vacation rentals come in all sizes here, from a micro studio for two guests (plus a dog, if you like) to three bedrooms; some units are combinable so you can sleep up to 16 people in six bedrooms plus pull-out couches with memory-foam mattresses. Your kitchen has full-sized appliances – and even a Bodum French press coffee maker (supplied with coffee). Admire the towering mountain views through the glass-walled deck while you soak in the shared rooftop hot tub. The building was constructed more environmentally than most and so minimises waste and energy use. You’re next to the railway, a couple of blocks from the hospital and close to several casual places to eat.

Under 15 minutes’ drive from Canmore (on the Calgary side), this cabin-style resort is part way up Pigeon Mountain, above the evocatively named hamlet of Dead Man’s Flats. The 46 two- and three-bedroom vacation rentals have a full kitchen and a bathroom per bedroom. You can sleep between six and eight people (some bedrooms have two single beds and there’s a Murphy bed or pull-out couch in the fireplaced living room). Maximize your time in the resort’s indoor pool, hot tub, sauna, tennis and basketball courts, rec room and two playgrounds. Count on a deep discount for stays of a week or more, but under non-refundable terms. Keep your eye out for wildlife wandering through the grounds.