Categories: History

Haunted Fairmont Banff Springs in Alberta Canada

Fairmont Banff Springs is an opulent hotel situated in the majestic Canadian Rockies. The magnificent hotel was styled after a Scottish baronial castle with stunning mountain views. The hotel, located in Alberta, Canada, was built over 100 years ago and has been updated with modern amenities for the comfort and enjoyment of its guests.

Ghost Stories

Sam the bellman supposedly haunts the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Alberta, Canada. Sam retired in 1967 but said he would be back. Sam passed away a few years later but some people think he has kept his word anyway. There have been guests who claimed that they spotted a bellman wearing a 1960’s style uniform. The helpful bellman has opened locked doors and helped with lighting. When people try to draw him into conversation he vanishes.

A tragic tale involves that of a bride on her elegant wedding day at the hotel. The bride was descending down the ornate marble staircase when her beautiful flowing white wedding gown train twisted into her path, causing her to stumble. the bride fell to her death on the marble floor below. There have been reports of a beautiful girl wearing a flowing white dress dancing in the ballroom or descending the staircase.

History of The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Alberta, Canada

The regal resort is a castle like historic landmark, built in 1886. William Cornelius Van Home, the General manager of the Canadian Pacific Railroad built the hotel and oversaw the challenge of driving the historic railroad through the Canadian Rockies.

William Cornelius Van Horne has been credited with recognizing the tourism potential of the Canadian West. As the General Manager of Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) he maintained that tourism was an important ingredient in getting people to ride the railway.

Canadian Pacific Railway began developing three hotels in 1886. The three Swiss Chalet hotels, located in British Colombia, were: The Mount Stephen House at Field, The Fraser Canyon Hotel at the North Bend and the Glacier house at Rogers Pass. These modest hotels quickly became very popular.

Van Horne commissioned blueprints for an more impressive chateau style Hotel at the convergence of the Bow and Spray Rivers in the Rocky Mountain Park. The impressive castle like hotel opened in 1888. The Banff Springs Hotel developed into one of North America’s top three mountain getaways by the start of the twentieth century, drawing a rich and famous clientele.

The CPR began a program of enhancement and expansion that ran from 1900 to 1928.The original wooden structure burned down in 1926. A larger hotel was built in 1928. The process of improving and enhancing the hotel has been continuous.

Years of success and growth continued through the 1930’s. Members of high society, heads of state and actors visited the hotel for photo opportunities. Musician Benny Goodman was influential in the decision to obtain a landing strip. He wanted to stay at the hotel, but could only do so if there was a place to land his plane. Golf course designer Stanley Thompson constructed the world’s greatest mountain golf course.

World War Ii caused travel and monetary restrictions for North Americans. The hotel closed its doors in 1942 and reopened them in 1945.

Like many of the grand hotels of the era, the Banff Springs hotel struggled after the war. The 1950’s and 1960’s were a time of change in travel habits. By the 1960’s the hotel was providing service predominantly to business conferences, bus excursions and families with automobiles.

Throughout the years the Banff Springs Hotel changed and adapted to the changes in the travel market. In 1999 a $75 million restoration and expansion repositioned Banff Springs, in the magnificent Canadian Rockies, into one of the leading hotels in the world. The Fairmont Banff offers stunning mountain views, championship golf courses, skiing, classic cuisine and a European style spa. Fairmont Banff Springs is set in a world of timeless beauty in a pristine wilderness.