HImom, Banff is 34 miles from Lake Louise.
OK, that sounds like a nice short, easily driveable distance between the two. Will look into this in a bit. When I was searching websites, it looks like the month of May is somewhat their slow season, so one of the hotels had a special through the end of May 2015. Hope prices in May 2016 will also be on special!
Banff and Lake Louise are lovely – but expect it to be chilly, even in May! It snowed at our campground there on Aug. 15th. There are beautiful walks, drives up the Icefields Parkway, white water rafting on the Kicking Horse River, and plenty of places to just sit on a bench and enjoy the incredible views.
My sil and bil celebrated their 25th anniversary at Banff. They split their time between the two Fairmonts. They loved it and want to return. They told the hotels that it was their anniversary and were upgraded to club level. They went in the off season. I had a friend go in August and she said never again, very crowded.