Work resumes on revival of Fernie’s historic Royal Hotel

Work resumes on revival of Fernie’s historic Royal Hotel

Published 10:51 am Tuesday, May 5, 2026

Fernie’s historic hotel The Royal is being refurbished into a boutique overnight lodging for adventure tourists, after plans for the project were initially sidelined during the pandemic.

Mountain Riders Lodging and Castleavery Hospitality are resurrecting the iconic Fernie building, located downtown on 501 1 Ave., transforming it into a modern 24-room hotel.

The companies are in discussion with the City, seeking a Heritage Alternation Permit, with the goal of starting construction later this summer and opening in 2027.

Plans for the building envision a lounge and restaurant on the main floor, and a bar on the roof with a 360 degree view of the mountains. Down in the basement, there’d be storage for outdoor equipment, including ski lockers.

Plans for the revitalization of the Royal have been a decade in the making. Andrew Cockburn, president of Mountain Riders Lodging, said the project began to gain steam in 2019 but lost traction during Covid and struggled to regain footing due to lingering inflation. It wasn’t until last year the project kicked back into motion.

“It’s been a really long road. We bought it in April 2019. We ran it as a going concern until Covid hit. That was a really challenging time for everybody,” said Cockburn.

“Three years ago, interest rates really started to tick up. Once that started to settle, which was around this time last year, we said ‘ok let’s move forward,’” he added.

Cockburn, who currently lives in Calgary, was always interested in starting up a business in a mountain town, and he saw an opportunity to introduce boutique-style accommodation in Fernie.

Built in 1909, Cockburn said The Royal initially served as a hotel for railway travellers. The building that still stands today is actually the second Royal hotel, since the original burned down in Fernie’s big fire not long before.

Cockburn said the project team has sought expertise from a heritage consultant in order to preserve the historic facade of the building. They plan to keep the painted mural and the building’s original signage on the side of the hotel.

The new hotel will be a draw for adventure-seeking tourists year-round, with both regular rooms and suites for booking.

“Tourists can come and have a meeting place and really get to know each other and tell stories about their adventures of the day,” said Cockburn.