I have walked into a great many grand hotels in twenty-odd years of doing this, and I can count on one hand the ones that made me stop talking mid-sentence. Chateau Lake Louise did it before I had even reached the front desk — because the lobby is arranged so that your eye is pulled straight through the glass to the lake, and the lake, on the July morning I arrived, was the colour of a mineral you'd expect to find behind museum glass. Rock flour, they call the thing that turns it that impossible turquoise. I called it the finest opening line any hotel has ever written for itself.

Let me be clear about what you are booking here, because it matters. You are not really booking a room; you are booking a window and a doorstep. The château sits directly on the shore, glaciers stacked at the far end of the water, and from spring to autumn you can walk out, step into a canoe from the hotel's own dock, and be paddling in minutes. One recent guest said he woke to the turquoise lake outside the window and called it unforgettable; another put the canoeing at the very top of her trip. I did both, and I would not argue with either of them.

The building, and its old bones

As a heritage hotel it is a proper survivor — rebuilt and extended across more than a century into the rambling, log-and-stone grande dame you see today. That history is the charm and, occasionally, the catch. The public rooms are handsome and the lakeside dining is a genuine event, particularly the five o'clock afternoon tea, which more than one guest told me was a must-do and which I'd second without hesitation. But this is an old structure carrying an enormous number of visitors, and on a busy week the seams show.

You are not really booking a room here. You are booking a window, a doorstep, and one of the great views in the country.

Rooms are comfortable and, at their best, luxurious — but the layout can be quirky, and I'd echo the guest who found the bathroom design frankly awkward. A word to the wise on the Fairmont Gold floor, too: the lounge and concierge service are excellent, and one traveller credited the Gold team with securing every reservation and transfer she needed. What Gold does not always come with, however, is a lake view. If the water is the reason you are coming — and it should be — ask, in writing, exactly what you are looking at.

Service, spa and the honest caveats

The new Basin Glacial Waters spa is a lovely addition, and the indoor pool is a welcome place to thaw after a cold morning on the trails. The guided hikes and, in winter, the snowshoeing, skating and sleigh rides make this a rare hotel you never really need to leave. When the service is on, it is warm and quietly expert.

When it is off, though, it can wobble, and I won't pretend otherwise. On my stay a restaurant ran noticeably understaffed and slow, and I heard the same from others — along with the occasional housekeeping miss, a tiny gym, and, on one guest's visit, a concierge who simply wasn't there when needed. A few travellers flagged tired upkeep, from peeling wallpaper to loyalty service that ran hot and cold. In a hotel that carries this reputation, those are the details that decide whether a very expensive night feels earned.