A $115-million investment into Rimrock Banff – roughly $360,000 per room – refreshes the Alberta hotel with wellness amenities, ways to soak in the natural beauty of the Rocky Mountains and a first-of-a-kind luxury branding.

Owner Oxford Properties revitalized the hotel with redesigned guestrooms, an almost 10,000-square-foot bathhouse and a 3,800-square-foot fitness centre. Guests can choose from dozens of activities in the Expeditions Centre, where hotel staff tailor outdoors experiences. Four dining options were added to the hotel, ranging from a flagship restaurant to a venue that operates as a coffee bar and biergarten.

Rimrock now sports a new brand, joining the Emblems Collection of the French hospitality company Accor, which manages the property. The hotel is the first in North America under the luxury branding.

Such features, particularly the emphasis on wellness, are “really more reflective of what people are looking for today” in luxury hotels, Robert Bruins, the vice-president of hotels at Oxford, said in an interview with RENX.

Oxford acquired the property in 2023

Perched on the side of Sulphur Mountain in Banff National Park, Rimrock was built in 1963, sited in an area famed for its hiking, hot springs and gondola rides, all a short drive from the resort town of Banff.

Oxford, a Toronto-based real estate investor, developer and manager, acquired the hotel in 2023 for $170 million, adding it to a portfolio of four Fairmont properties in Western Canada, the InterContinental Toronto Central and Park Hyatt Toronto.

When Oxford acquired Rimrock, the hotel had not seen a meaningful renovation since the one that took place after the 1988 Winter Olympics hosted in Calgary. Oxford saw “a major gap in terms of the quality of the underlying real estate and what the hotel was capable of becoming,” Bruins said.

The opportunity to revitalize Rimrock presented a blank canvas for Oxford, he said, and the chance to make a “transformation” that would alter how the hotel competes in Banff. The update to Rimrock commenced in 2025 and finished in early October. The hotel now occupies approximately 372,000 square feet.

The investment into Rimrock was aimed at driving demand to the hotel year-round, as opposed to being concentrated in the summer, Bruins said. Another goal is to attract a younger demographic and multigenerational families, expanding the market beyond its base of older and retired visitors.

Oxford is witnessing “huge demand for experiences” and absorbing the natural beauty of the Rockies, Bruins said. While the plan is to bring in younger guests, the luxuriousness of the hotel is to remain. The luxury side of hospitality is “exceptionally strong,” Bruins said, with the trends of the K-shaped economy persisting.

Space reallocation

The room configurations were tweaked to optimize the number of suites. Before the investment, Rimrock was oriented for volume, Bruins said, with 333 rooms. Now, the hotel holds 320 guestrooms, of which 57 are suites.

Guestrooms start from approximately 375 square feet, with one-bedroom suites averaging over 750 square feet. The largest accommodation in Rimrock is the Infinity two-bedroom suite, a 1,150-square-foot offering boasting a 1,262-square-foot balcony that unfurls a vista of Banff National Park.

Following the overhaul, entry-level room rates have climbed into the four figures for peak weekend stays, positioning Rimrock directly against the region's most expensive luxury lodges.

Amenities in the Rockies

A priority was put on the food and beverage program of Rimrock, with it being “way more energetic” than before, Bruins explained, turning the property into an all-in-one destination.

The hotel’s signature restaurant is Parker’s Table (named after a founding member of the Alpine Club of Canada), where bison filet, oysters and Pacific halibut are on the menu. Wine can be sipped in a speakeasy dubbed The Listening Room, while the lobby is home to a cocktail bar. Specialty coffee and beers are served at Rimrock Market, which is also a pet-friendly environment.

Wellness is central to the redesign of Rimrock. The fitness centre includes Technogym and Peloton equipment, guided movement classes and walls for climbing and bouldering.

The former pool area was converted to a 9,600-square-foot bathhouse, where guests can swim in the infinity pool, steam in sauna rooms and relax in a meditative room. The bathhouse runs under a program that changes throughout the day to incentivize repeat visits.

Guests can be guided through the national park with the help of staff in the lobby level, who curate seasonal activities such as privately guided hiking, forest bathing, alpine yoga, canyon ice walks and Indigenous cultural encounters.

Oxford will remain on the hunt for opportunities in hospitality with durable income and long-term value, Bruins said.