I have stayed at Patricia Lake and Beckers. At Patricia Lake, we stayed in cottages near the lake. They are very basic but very clean cottages with kitchens and lovely flowerboxes and picnic tables outside. We enjoyed being by the lake and having happy hour on the dock. We had great weather when we stayed here so we enjoyed being outside on the grounds. There is a more luxurious area there called the Grove with newer facilities. You drive beyond Jasper when driving up the Icefields Parkway but it is not far out of town. There was a black bear walking in the woods everyday that we drove this road.

We also stayed at Beckers and enjoyed being by the river. We stayed in a newer upstairs unit of a duplex (or maybe 4plex)with a large picture window that looked out over the grounds--I actually would have sited the units so that the picture window faced the wooded area behind it. There are cottages that are also along the river that I would be interested in staying in but did not check them out. We did not have as good of weather the time we stayed here. Beckers is located right before you reach Jasper when driving from the Parkway. We always saw elk on the road into Jasper--right by Alpine Village---and not to confuse you but I also really liked these cottages too. They used to require a 3 nt stay and we only have stayed in Jasper for 2 nt.

To confuse you even further, I would consider staying in Jasper at on of the private home accommodations. Some are really lovely and I like Jasper. I didn't look up any info on the Cottonwood Suite that you mentioned. On our last visit, we had 3 couples and I couldn't find any that could accommodate us.

So I think you would probably be happy no matter what you choose. Hopefully this won't be your only visit to the area and you can try one of the other accommodations next visit.

Have a wondeful time. We loved Jasper.

Thanks. Do you think if we like to see wildlife we would prefer Patricia Lake or Beckers rather than the home stay?

I have stayed several times at the HI Hostel which is near the north end of the Icefields Highway. http://www.hihostels.ca/westerncanada/1478/HI-Jasper.hostel
They do have a few private rooms in addition to the dorm beds.
For wildlife, look around the Maligne Canyon and Maligne Lake.

I don't think you can count on seeing more wildlife because of where you stay. We saw wildlife on the Icefields Parkway, on roads, at Parker Ridge. It's just luck.

Wildlife are often seen around town, especially deer and elk.

Linda, there are a few private home accommodations that have three bedrooms but these are not as common as they once were since the licensing rules changed; with a very few "grandfathered" exceptions, now home-owners are only allowed to offer a maximum of two bedrooms (like Cottonwood Suite). There are a few homes that can accommodate up to eight people (the maximum number allowed in home accommodation, since they are not built like hotels in regards to fire safety - exits, sprinklers and alarm systems etc.) - the search page at www.stayinjasper.com has a "number of guests" search. In a lot of cases, though, accommodation for six is in two bedrooms, with a hide-a-bed in the living room.... probably not ideal for three couples.

skiamoeba, Cottonwood Suite is a nice, and very popular, accommodation but only you can decide if you want to be in town or out of town. Have you checked availability there? They are getting quite booked up already for the coming summer: http://www.bbcanada.com/12520.html

Pat Lake doesn't have an onsite restaurant; Beckers does, however it is very expensive. If you are not planning to self-cater, you will need to drive into town for meals.

Take a look at Takara Lodge, right next to Beckers..Less $$!!! On the river, very quiet and rustic style cabins with decent kitchen setup. We had a very good time there 2 nights, 2 couples. they also have bedrooms in the lodge building..with private bathrooms.

We stayed at Becker's back in 2007. Lovely spot, wildlife on the lawn every evening/morning.