Over C$100

The grand Prince of Wales Hotel (406/892-2525 or 403/236-3400, www.glacierparkinc.com [1], mid-June–mid-Sept., C$265–799), built by the Great Northern Railway in 1926 as a stopover for tour buses shuttling between Glacier National Park [2] and Jasper [3], Alberta, is perched on a bluff over town. It’s run as part of the Glacier Park Inc. hotel system and has a British Isles theme overlaid on the Glacier Park hotel chassis. Big wingback chairs look out from the lobby over Upper Waterton Lake [4], and the Garden Court dining room looks out onto neither a garden nor a court. Top-end rooms here have an awe-inspiring view onto the lake; many other rooms are cramped.

A congenial alternative to the Prince of Wales is the Kilmorey Lodge (403/859-2334, www.thekilmoreylodge.com [5], C$129–252), situated at the base of the hill, just on the edge of town. It’s like an overgrown log-cabin B&B, with a homey lounge complete with an oversized atlas of Canada on the coffee table, a tiny bar, and a dining room.

Just across from the Kilmorey, Crandell Mountain Lodge (102 Mountview Rd., 403/859-2288 or 866/859-2288, www.crandellmountainlodge.com [6], open year-round, C$129–209) has 13 country inn–style rooms, including a couple of suites with kitchens.

Waterton Lakes National Park Resort (101 Clematis Ave., 403/859-2150 or 888/985-6343, www.watertonlakeslodge.com [7], May–Oct., $174–219) offers Waterton’s most comfortable accommodations in separate lodges that cluster around a central courtyard. Hotel guests are free to use the health club next door, and there’s a good restaurant in the lobby. Some rooms have kitchenettes.