The reason to come to the Emerald Lake Lodge is the peace, quiet, tranquility and outstanding natural beauty of its surroundings. On these attributes alone the lodge deserves a 5 star rating. If this is what you are seeking then this place is for you. If you want easy access to your vehicle (you leave your car down the road and are shuttled to the lodge), free accessible wi-fi (not available in your room), to kick back in your room and watch some tv (no tv's in the lodge rooms at least), cell phone reception (I couldn't get any) then you might have some issues with this. Fortunately we just wanted peace and quiet so this was perfect.

Nice touches included an open log fire pre-prepared in your room, huge outdoor hot tub, balconies with great views, a shop for snowshoe and nordic ski hire and good customer service.

My only disappointment was the food. With a captive audience in a remote location you are likely to eat in the main lodge. I personally found it overpriced and the dishes fell way way short of their billing. A two course meal for two and couple of drinks in the restaurant came to over $150. A small fridge in your room might have also come in handy to keep snacks and drinks cool.

My family and I stayed at Emerald Lake Lodge in August of this past year. It was thoroughly enjoyable, with a natural setting that can't be beat. With clean air, hiking and high quality lodging, this was a good combination. The breakfast buffet was especially enjoyable, with fresh fruit and tasty treats. We did light hiking around the lake, enjoyed the available canoes and enjoyed Emerald Lake Lodge as a good home base for seeing the other natural wonders of Yoho National Park. It was a quieter alternative to some of the larger hotels in Banff and even Jasper.

The lodge has many cabins and a main lodge house, where you can have breakfast, lunch or dinner. The food is first class. However, the big attraction is the scenery and nature all around you. This was the best place we stayed on our trip.

We came here for a weekend getaway and had a great experience. The cabin was cozy and overlooked the lake. The staff were very pleasent and engaging and the restaurant on site was amazing.

We recently stayed at Emerald Lake Lodge for their New Year's Eve celebrations, and I was delighted! I agree with some of the other comments that the rooms are outdated (they are), but I've come to understand that this is all part of staying at a lodge in a relatively remote location - it's not like staying in a hotel in an urban centre where renovations are easy because there are materials available everywhere. Every luxury lodge I've stayed at so far (and I've stayed at quite a few), have been pretty outdated in terms of decor - I chalk this up to location.

My favourite things about the lodge were:
- The fireplace in our room (and I believe there is one in every room). It was already loaded with wood and kindling, waiting for a match strike and voila! They make it as easy as possible to have a fire, and this is something new I've encountered compared to other lodges.
- The food - fantastic!
- The view - breathtaking!
- The service - I have never encountered a group of friendlier, more accommodating staff in all my travels - this is so rare these days, and should be noted.

There are a few things to keep in mind if you go:
- First, if driving, you will have to park in guest parking and take a shuttle to the lodge (a bellman will take your bags to your room). This is a little inconvenient at first, but you get used to it. You will also need to call a bellman to take you back down to your care when you venture out (it would be quite a walk in the winter).
- Second, the rooms are pretty chilly in the winter. This is probably why they make it so easy to start a fire, as it warms up the room right away.
- Third, while they have wi-fi in the main lodge, I couldn't get cell phone service on the property - their land lines work great, but this is something to keep in mind (I kind of enjoyed the fact that no one could reach me)!
- Fourth, if you are driving to the lodge over a holiday season, make sure you fill up with gas prior to arriving to the lodge. For example, we intended to fill up in Field (the nearest town by a long shot) on New Year's Day, but were told that the only gas station would be closed (!) Luckily, we managed to fill up New Year's Eve, and encountered no problems, but I imagine this would be an unwelcome surprise for some people.

It really is a lovely place. I've stayed at Jasper Park Lodge a few times, and I have to say that Emerald Lake Lodge is my favourite, of the two, by far. Try it out, and enjoy your stay!!