Rimrock Banff Becomes Accor's First Emblems Collection Hotel in North America

Rimrock Banff, Emblems Collection is now officially open in Banff National Park, the North American debut of Accor's newest ultra-luxury brand. The announcement on October 7 caps a $115 million transformation of the longtime Rimrock Resort Hotel on Mountain Avenue, above the Banff townsite near the Upper Hot Springs.

The hotel closed on October 1, 2025 for a nine-month, property-wide renovation and welcomed its first guests back on July 3. Owner Oxford Properties Group, which bought Rimrock in 2022, kept the original terraced structure but redesigned every room, restaurant and public space. Emblems Collection launched at Lucknam Park in the English countryside, and Rimrock is its second hotel anywhere.

What are the rooms like?

There are 320 rooms, including 57 suites, with beds and seating turned toward the windows and the Bow Valley beyond. The palette leans on warm wood, natural stone and soft textiles. The top suite, the Infinity Two-Bedroom Suite, has a wraparound terrace of more than 1,260 square feet with a barrel sauna and a fire table. Wellness Studio suites add recovery gear, a wellness minibar and sleep-focused touches.

What is the Bathhouse?

The 9,600-square-foot Bathhouse is the resort's biggest new draw and what the hotel calls Banff's first luxury hydrothermal wellness experience. It has indoor and outdoor hot and vitality pools, a mountain-facing infinity pool, a salt sauna, an aromatic steam room and glacial cold plunges, plus a suspended meditation room and a sensory room called Aurora. A 3,800-square-foot Active Centre adds Technogym and Peloton equipment and climbing and bouldering walls.

The Bathhouse was not finished when the hotel reopened in July, which drew complaints from some summer guests. Staff told local outlet Bow Valley Insider at the time that the wellness areas would open in early to mid-September.

Where do you eat?

Four new venues replace the old lineup. Parker's Table is the signature restaurant, cooking seasonal food from Canadian farmers, fishers and foragers. Rimrock Social is the all-day gathering spot, The Listening Room pairs rare spirits and wine with vinyl, and Rimrock Market handles coffee and provisions with an après feel. Alpine honey from Highland Farm Honey, a family producer in Alberta, is the hotel's signature ingredient, served in a welcome spritz and in a pine needle travel cake.

How does it compare with Banff's other icons?

Banff's classic luxury address is Fairmont Banff Springs, a much larger castle hotel that is also part of Accor. Rimrock is the more modern, wellness-first choice, with team members called Pathfinders who plan more than 50 seasonal activities, from private hikes and canyon ice walks to Indigenous cultural experiences and day trips to the Athabasca Glacier. For a lakeside stay, Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise is about 45 minutes' drive away.

Prices have moved up with the new look. In a July check, Bow Valley Insider found standard rooms for early October at about $1,425 a night after taxes and fees, and the Infinity suite at more than $8,600. Rooms on floors four to seven with peak views cost more than the same room lower down, so it is worth asking which floor you are booked on.