The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise sits on the shore of Lake Louise in Banff National Park, at the foot of the Victoria Glacier; whose meltwater feeds the lake and ultimately the Bow River. The hotel is an intersection of geological grandeur and human tenacity; from a single-story log cabin in 1890 to a sprawling luxury resort with over 500 rooms, shaped by fire, war, and changing travel.

Origins. The lake was known to the Stoney Nakoda as Ho-run-num-nay (Lake of Little Fishes). Early scientific visitors included Mary Vaux Walcott, who documented the Victoria Glacier and painted alpine flora; she called Lake Louise her “Rocky Mountain garden.” Tom Wilson was guided there in 1882 by Edwin Hunter (Goldseeker), a Stoney Nakoda guide; Wilson named it Emerald Lake for its colour, and it was renamed Lake Louise in 1884 to honour Princess Louise. William Cornelius Van Horne of the Canadian Pacific Railway commissioned the first chalet in 1890; a single-storey log cabin (kitchen, central area, two bedrooms) for day visitors from the Banff Springs Hotel. Van Horne famously said: “If we can’t export the scenery, we’ll have to import the tourists.” The original chalet burned in 1893; a clapboard replacement was built in 1894. T.C. Sorby added a second storey in 1896, increasing capacity by 15 rooms and marking the transition from rustic camp to formal hotel.

Architectural expansion. Francis Rattenbury; architect of the British Columbia Parliament Buildings; added a three-storey Tudor Revival wing (1900–1912), eventually providing ~500 accommodations. Walter S. Painter began the concrete Painter Wing (1912–1913), Italianate in style with a cream-coloured façade; it remains the oldest existing part of the hotel. The wooden Rattenbury wing was later destroyed by fire.

1924 fire and Barott wing. The death of Philip Stanley Abbot on Mount Lefroy in 1896 prompted the CPR to hire Swiss guides, who established alpine trails and huts such as the Abbot Pass Hut and the tea houses at Lake Agnes and Plain of Six Glaciers. On 3 July 1924 a fire destroyed the Rattenbury wing; the Painter wing, separated by metal fire doors, survived. Barott & Blackader designed a 400-bed Renaissance Revival extension (1924–1926), unifying the hotel’s aesthetic with colonnades, low-pitched roofs, and a grand central staircase. A 110 × 40 ft outdoor pool (1926) became a social hub. The core of the current hotel; the Painter and Barott wings; dates from 1913–1926.

Hollywood and royalty. Between the wars the Chateau became a favoured film location: Eternal Love (1929), Springtime in the Rockies (1942), Son of Lassie (1945), and later Dr. Zhivago (1965). King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother) visited in 1939; the first reigning British monarchs to visit Canada; solidifying the hotel’s royal cachet. During WWII the hotel closed to the public; Lake Louise served as a testing site for Project Habbakuk, the secret plan to build aircraft carriers from Pykrete (ice and wood pulp). Scientists used the frozen lake for experiments; the project was eventually shelved.

Winter and expansion. The hotel remained summer-only until 1982, when a major winterization; insulation, heating, plumbing upgrades; enabled year-round operation and aligned with the growth of the Lake Louise ski area. The Glacier Wing (1987) added 140 rooms; the Mount Temple Wing (2004) added conference facilities. Ownership passed from CPR to CP Hotels, then to Fairmont Hotels & Resorts (1999), and in 2006 to Oxford Properties, with Fairmont (later Accor) retaining management. Basin Glacial Waters, a thermal wellness facility designed by Matteo Thun, is now open.

The Chateau sits at the heart of Lake Louise village and is the starting point for trails to Lake Agnes Tea House, the Plain of Six Glaciers Tea House, and the ski area. The building is a National Historic Site.