HI Maligne Canyon, Jasper National Park

Nice place

It was the first time I slept in a 28-bed-dorm and it was ok. As the lights go off automatically at 11pm there was not much disturbance during the night. Too far from town, everybody was in early. Nice community area to share stories, big book shelf.

In need of major renovations!

I stayed at this hostel three years ago and the place was quite rundown, and I'm sorry to say I didn't notice any improvements during my recent stay. The female dorm room has thirty beds and is crowded. I guess not a lot can be done about that. However, many improvements could be made in the common areas. The kitchen is old and not too clean. The furniture in the lounge is well worn. The smell of mould from the bathrooms is over bearing. It is unfortunate that Jasper doesn't offer a hostel on par with the quality of those offered at Banff and Lake Louise.

nice hostel and a good walk into town, but noisy as hell when twenty school kids arrive at 1 a.m. and this happened quite often. but i'd stay here again.

Remote but/and nice

i stayed in september there. perfect for hiking, biking (you can rent a bike from the hostel), young and very friendly staff. it can be a bit noisy in the morning but that helps you to get up and explore the beautiful nature around it. some people claim it's primitive -- what do you expect from a remote place in a national park? i thing it offers a lot for the good price ($21 to 23)! make a reservation as it will be fully booked during summer!

Great Canadian Wilderness Experience!

Anyone staying here has to remember what it is -- a wilderness hostel with no running water, so it's really basic. The place was kept hygienic, but being a wilderness hostel had an old and worn feel to it. In other words there may be some cobwebs, but no bedbugs or anything else infectious. The mattresses were the rubber kind with four or six beds per dorm. The hostel itself is arranged as a group of several buildings, with a couple of dorm cabins and a common kitchen cabin. There are outhouses and no flush toilets but there is a massive potable water tank for drinking and cooking purposes. We were there in the off-season and had the place to ourselves. The kitchen and dorms have heaters so I imagine this place is open year round. If you're looking for a rustic Canadian experience, then be sure to stay a night or two at this hostel.

Not the best hostel I've ever stayed at (and I've stayed at hundreds). I definitely recommend not staying here when there is a heat wave! It was so hot in the dorm that many of us did not sleep, you could just hear people tossing and turning and sighing all night long. It was absolutely stifling. There was noise outside the dorm room. But it wasn't the lights in the morning that woke me up, but rather the fact that they didn't turn the lights off until after eleven p.m., which is apparently a license to hang out and chat (ten-thirty, I think, would be more reasonable, and lights on at seven-thirty). That being said, the picnic tables outside were a wonderful place to have breakfast, and the common room was cozy. But don't expect a great night's sleep in the summer, even if you've driven twelve hours to get there and think you're exhausted.

This hostel has excellent common areas and kitchen and has a really good atmosophere. There is a huge bookshelf of ancient books to curl up and read -- it just has a really good vibe! Saying that, the mixed dorm is absolutely huge and lights are controlled centrally. The plastic-coated beds are not the best. But somehow you don't quite care how rubbish your bed is because the rest of it is so great!

Bring earplugs and an eye pillow if you are staying in the female dorm. It is NOISY the female dorm and the private rooms are right off the main area where people are talking, checking their e-mail, checking in and coming up from the showers. Worse yet, they run this place Army barracks style, meaning they blast the lights on at 7 a.m. in the dorm room, which is hell if you're sleeping in the top bunk. Also, they don't dim the lights in the main area at night, so each time someone enters or leaves the female dorm, the door squeaks and the light floods in.

Those points aside, this is a lovely place to stay. The hostel itself is beautiful and you couldn't ask for a more scenic setting. Hiking trails up the mountain leave right from the hostel door. There's plenty of parking, a friendly atmosphere and it's clean.

I stayed here for a week in the summer. After I bought earplugs (they sell them at the front desk) and the eye pillow it was fine. The male dorm area is downstairs by the laundry facilities and I imagine it is quieter there.