New hotels in Revelstoke

Revelstoke's accommodation grew for years one small property at a time, around the ski hill and the heritage downtown, and this guide tracks three of them. Two are open: The Explorers Society Hotel, nine rooms in a 1911 bank block since 2017, and Basecamp Suites Revelstoke, an apartment-style build that opened downtown in June 2024. The third changes the town's scale on its own: Cabot Revelstoke Mountain Lodge, 155 rooms at the base of Mount Mackenzie, due in early 2027 and the first international luxury operator to commit here.

A town built on mountains and rail

Revelstoke sits on the Columbia River in the Selkirk Mountains, roughly midway between Calgary and Vancouver on the Trans-Canada Highway. It grew up as a Canadian Pacific Railway town, and that history is still visible downtown, in the heritage-brick main street and the Revelstoke Railway Museum, alongside a newer identity as one of Canada's most serious mountain-sports towns.

The vertical drop that defines it

Revelstoke Mountain Resort has the greatest continuous vertical drop of any ski resort in North America: 5,620 feet (1,713 metres) from a 7,300-foot summit, ahead of Whistler Blackcomb's 5,283 feet. The resort also anchors one of the world's densest concentrations of heli-skiing and snowcat-skiing operators, who use the surrounding Selkirk and Monashee ranges for terrain the lift-served resort doesn't reach. In town, Nordic skiers head to the groomed trails at Mount Macpherson.

Where to stay

The choice here has always been the mountain base or the downtown grid, and the three hotels tracked fall on both sides of it.

Cabot Revelstoke Mountain Lodge is the base-area arrival, due early 2027 at the foot of Mount Mackenzie, steps from the gondola. Cabot built its name on remote links golf in Nova Scotia and Scotland, and this is its first mountain resort: 155 rooms, a spa with hot tubs and sauna, an event venue for up to 400, the Chop Steakhouse & Bar, and a check-in desk for golf and heli-skiing. Its 18-hole public course, laid out by Rod Whitman along the Columbia River, opens for limited preview play in autumn 2026: a season before there is anywhere on site to sleep. For a town whose hotels have been counted in dozens of rooms rather than hundreds, that is a step change.

Basecamp Suites Revelstoke opened in June 2024 at 112 2nd Street East, downtown. Its 31 apartment-style suites run from micro-studios to six-bedroom units sleeping sixteen, each with a full kitchen and laundry: built for groups renting a week for skiing, cat-skiing or summer riding. One warning when booking: this is not Basecamp Resorts Revelstoke, an earlier address from the same Canmore-based operator that this guide does not track. Two hotels, one brand, one town, different streets.

The Explorers Society Hotel is the opposite proposition, open since 2017 in the McKinnon Block, a 1911 building on First Street West that had never been a hotel. Nine rooms, a rooftop guest lounge with a hot tub, secure gear storage with a drying system, and two in-house venues: the Quartermaster Eatery and a concealed whisky room called the Boiler Room. It brought the boutique format here a decade before anyone was building luxury lodges, and it suits couples rather than groups.

Beyond the ski season

Revelstoke is a genuine year-round destination. Mount Revelstoke National Park, just outside town, has the Meadows in the Sky Parkway climbing through old-growth cedar forest to subalpine wildflower meadows, and connects to the more rugged terrain of Glacier National Park (Canada) further along the highway. Summer brings mountain biking on trails built into the same slopes used for skiing, whitewater paddling on the Columbia and Illecillewaet rivers, and hiking with a noticeably smaller crowd than better-known Rockies towns further east.

Getting there

Revelstoke doesn't have a major commercial airport; most visitors fly into Kelowna (about two hours by road) or Calgary (roughly four and a half hours), then drive in along the Trans-Canada Highway.

Frequently asked questions

Is a new hotel opening in Revelstoke?

Yes. Cabot Revelstoke Mountain Lodge, 155 rooms at the base of Mount Mackenzie, is due in early 2027: the first international luxury operator to build here. Basecamp Suites Revelstoke opened downtown more recently than that, in June 2024.

What is the difference between Basecamp Suites Revelstoke and Basecamp Resorts Revelstoke?

Two separate properties from the same operator in the same town. Basecamp Suites Revelstoke is the newer downtown building at 112 2nd Street East, opened June 2024, and it is the one tracked here. Basecamp Resorts Revelstoke is the group's earlier address. Check the street, not just the brand.

Should I stay downtown or at the mountain?

Downtown puts Revelstoke's restaurants and heritage main street on your doorstep and adds a ten-minute drive to the lifts: that is where Basecamp Suites and The Explorers Society are. The base area is closer to the gondola, and from early 2027 Cabot's lodge will be the substantial hotel there.

What is Revelstoke famous for?

The greatest continuous vertical ski drop in North America, 5,620 feet, plus one of the world's biggest concentrations of heli-skiing and cat-skiing operators.

Is Revelstoke good for non-skiers?

Yes. Summer brings mountain biking, hiking in Mount Revelstoke and Glacier national parks, and whitewater paddling on the Columbia, alongside a walkable historic downtown. From autumn 2026 there is also an 18-hole public golf course at the base of Mount Mackenzie.

How do I get to Revelstoke?

By road along the Trans-Canada Highway: about two hours from Kelowna Airport or four and a half hours from Calgary, since Revelstoke has no major airport of its own.

Is Revelstoke busy or quiet compared to other Canadian ski towns?

Quieter. Despite its record vertical drop, Revelstoke sees noticeably fewer visitors than Whistler or the Banff and Lake Louise area. Whether that holds once a 155-room luxury lodge opens at the base is an open question.