The grand Prince of Wales Hotel (406/892-2525 or 403/236-3400, www.glacierparkinc.com, 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 and Jasper, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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.