Legendary Canadian lodge gets a $100 million revamp

The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge is one of those properties that attracts repeat guests, then the children and grandchildren of those repeat guests. The 283-hectare resort in the Canadian Rockies combines one of the country’s best golf courses with the yesteryear romance of log cabin accommodation, riverside and lakefront views and a spectacular World Heritage location.

Lush hanging baskets filled with flowers, perfectly placed adirondack chairs, picnic tables, and benches built for two dot the manicured lawns, contrasting against a rugged backdrop. Buggies whisk guests to and from the main lodge where a roaring fireplace invites sociability.

One of its more famous fans was the silky Hollywood Golden Age crooner, White Christmas star and golf nut, Bing Crosby. He adored the resort so much, they named a cabin after him.

Crosby died in 1977 but were he still alive, he could have returned in the recent past to find very little had changed. Even though a $100 million renovation has just been unveiled at the property, would Bing still recognise it? Moreover, would those repeat guests who have called it their happy place for years still find their bliss?

The renovation was designed to make the answer a resounding “yes”. After all, this kind of challenge has confronted the resort before.

The property traces its origins to Tent City, a humble collection of accommodations established on the shores of Lac Beauvert in 1915. Canadian National Railways acquired the site and opened Jasper Park Lodge in 1922, replacing the “tents” with log cabin accommodation spread through the forest, rather than concentrating guests in a single grand railway hotel as was the case with its other properties.

In 1952, the resort suffered its greatest setback when the original Main Lodge was destroyed by fire. A replacement lodge opened the following year. It stands today.

The fires that ravaged Jasper in 2024 came to the very doorstep of the resort but, thanks largely to the golf course sprinkler system, it was spared.

The resort did have a comprehensive restoration in the 1990s, the addition of the Fairmont Spa in 2010 and further guest room renovations completed during the following decade. None, however, approached the scale of the latest $100 million investment.

More than 330 guestrooms, suites and Signature Cabins have been refurbished, alongside the Main Lodge, restaurants, public spaces and arrival experience. There are also new wellness facilities, including the Glacial Plunge and Sauna Journey.

The design draws heavily on the surrounding landscape. Timber, stone, leather and natural fabrics feature throughout, while colours reference the forests, lakes and mountains beyond the windows.

The Main Lodge has a new restaurant, The Barbicon, created around the building’s Tyndall stone fireplace – a 1953 feature retained.

The same balance extends across the wider resort. Guest accommodation has been modernised, but the familiar pattern of cabins scattered among the lawns and pines remains unchanged. Some overlook the Athabasca River or Lac Beauvert.

Many returning visitors request the same cabin or the same part of the property each time they visit. That loyalty inevitably shaped the project. The result is a resort that feels contemporary without abandoning the qualities that made it one of Canada’s best-known mountain retreats.

As for the Crosby Cabin, with its views across the Athabasca River towards dramatic sunsets, the log walls remain, as does the wood-burning stove, front lattice windows and doors, and the simple outdoor furniture on the stone patio. New flooring, updated furnishings and contemporary fittings bring it into the realm of 21st-century luxury, without changing its personality.

Bing Crosby himself would no doubt approve.