The Lodge at Panther River

WEDDING This backcountry is five stars, the mountains and rivers are incredible. This resort is nestled in the mountains surrounded by forest. It is a beautiful resort. But as for the company running the resort, I will give three starts due to the poor communication for weddings. On a bridal page multiple brides had the same experience and wished someone would have written a review. We all had the same experience with poor communication with the same coordinator. When we tried to book to view the venue, we had a very hard time getting ahold of the coordinator. The coordinator wasn't flexible with booking on the weekend, my husband and I both worked full time and only had weekends available to come up on the weekend to book an appointment. We finally booked a date, long after the first email. When we showed up for the viewing, she forgot we were coming. So we drove over three hours to be quickly rushed through the appointment. We had to make another appointment and drive out a second time, to sort out the details and go through the paperwork. Through this time it was almost impossible to get ahold of our coordinator, we tried phone calls emails...but it always seemed like we had to chase her down. She forgot about our appointment to help me pick out decor in Reddeer, I ended up just doing it myself. At this point we were disappointed and wondering if we made a mistake booking with this venue. The day before the wedding she had another engagement and left us with a new coordinator which was probably the best thing she could have done for us. Tiffany and Sasha were absolutely wonderful and communicated throughout the full event. They should be in charge of coordinating events, they work so well together. They understand this can be a stressful situation, so they checked in frequently and handle everything on their in so we didn't have to worry about it. I didn't have to chase them down for answer. The guests raved about how helpful sasha was, if anyone needed anything he was right there. We didn't hear from our original coordinator again. The other issue we came across was the venue. When we walked in there was a horrible echo in the venue, the coordinator swore up and down if we got drapes the echo would disappear. We spent over $800.00 on forty foot drapes. Even with the tables and drapes it was impossible to hear the speeches. It got so bad the staff tried to jump in and help, they opened the big door. That helped a little bit but then it was freezing, so the staff cranked the heater and then we couldn't hear the speeches again. Other than that the staff at the cafe was amazingly sweet, the facility was clean and a beautiful place to stay.

My wife and I enjoyed an overnight trip on horseback to Dormer Lake last week. Everything about this adventure was great! Our guide, Andre, met us at the Lodge, introduced us to the horses they had selected and we were off in a minimum of time. Andre is an experienced guide and he paid attention to any anxieties about crossing the river (4 times each way), steep uphills and other obstacles along the way. He is an excellent conversationalist and has a lot of very entertaining stories from his guiding experience. The camp at Dormer Lake was comfortable enough (although not a lot of soft spots to rest one's behind after the ride). Andre helped us get settled in, then took us to the lake and we got right after the fishing for the plentiful brook trout. There is a small aluminum fishing boat so you can try all areas of the lake. The fishing was absolutely fantastic - we tried all kinds of lures and the fish loved every one of them. Did I mention we were the only people there? We caught and released more fish than I could have ever imagined. After fishing, Andre set us up with deck chairs and a chilled bottle of chardonnay, followed by excellent (huge) steaks from the grill. He gave us an after dinner demonstration of his fly fishing skills as the sun set over the lake. The next morning featured fishing before breakfast, then expertly prepared breakfast of bacon, eggs and coffee and more fishing, before heading back around noon. Can't say enough good things about all aspects of this trip. I highly recommend.

Stayed there for a weekend in one of the cabins. I am very glad I packed my air mattress as the beds were not very comfortable. The bathroom was very large, almost the size of the bedroom part. There is only a TV inside the cabins, no fridge and the power is hidden behind the beds. Coffee is provided in the mornings with the cabins, you must go to the lodge to get it, so if you are an early riser (6 am for me most days) you might have to wait a bit. Make sure you bring a cooler and food or you will be going back to Sundre to get supplies. Make sure you bring headphones as Music is not allowed. There is a big berm between you and the river so you can't really hear or see the river from the cabins. The lodge is OK, it is far from luxury. If you book a meal there, it is at a set time and there are no options. The food was good.It also had a bar where you could order drinks (typical bar prices) There is a common firepit area with a roof over it and a BBQ for use. It is not "camping" and not "luxury", mainly felt like a motel in a gravel pit a little ways from the river.

Beautiful location. Staff at the Lodge were fantastic. Very friendly and helpful. There are cabins and big tents for rent. Lots of RV sites. Fire wood is 10.00 for however much you can get in a wheelbarrel. We were there 2 nights and it was so peaceful listening to the river in the evening

We stayed here over May long weekend and had a wonderful time. The staff is friendly and campground is clean and quiet. The wood is cheap and the views are great! I'll be back for sure!

What a gem! The view from our cabin window would almost make the entire getaway worth it alone. Our Cedar Suite was sweet indeed with its little fridge, coffee maker and bathroom. We arose each morning, popped over the lodge for the signature breakfast (homemade muffins or biscuits, fruit, yogurt with granola, coffee, juice, water) after our first coffee by the natural wood burning fire. Thanks to our hostess sharing local knowledge we found walks to Kline Lake and nearby Bighorn Falls were awesome - saw wild horses, elk and mountain sheep. Worth every penny.

We booked 6 cabins for a group Thanksgiving Weekend. The property is beautiful and the cabins were nice but a bit on the small size. The first night it was windy and cool, the group spent most of the time in the cook house area cause there was a fire ban. It was nice, but wish there were so kind of way to close it in to block the wind. Morning breakfast that was included with the rooms was amazing, with yogurt and fresh baked goods. The only small issue we had was the garbage, we understand with wild animals around it needs to be secured. But the need to take the garbage with you needs to be announced at the time of booked. We had a Thanksgiving dinner for 17 people and after a 3 hr drive, I will have to take the truck in for a detailing to remove the odours. The Star of the property is JESSICA!!! I do a lot of travelling, and have had outstanding service. But Jessica is a special lady that made this trip one to remember. To the owners of Panther River Lodge, you have someone that is giving her all to making your place the best please reward her for her outstanding job!

This was the second time we are camping at Panther river lodge. We drove almost 4 hours from Fort Saskatchewan. We had a stay for 2 nights and we build our tents there. Day 1 the power supply didn't work as it was tripping off very often. Day 2 as it was raining we never used the power supply as it did the same thing. Just to mention we wanted to put our heater on so we needed it only during the night time. We were not bothered to you it during day time. We were charged for the power supply that we used. This came to our attention late coz 1 of my other friend had already paid everything and we left. The staff to be specific a gentlemen(Also takes care of the horses) who works there we found him extremely rude to us. Me and all my friends are from hospitality background so we know how to treat the customers and what attitude to carry. In short he was commanding us which we mentioned to him that he can be a little polite but nope that's what he is I guess. Well just a small suggestion to you guys keep a better staff who are not rude to others and can be welcoming. We are definitely not coming back to this place again just because of this man and also not recommending it anyone. Thanks for your lovely stay!!!