The Fairmont Empress

elegance from another time

The Empress Hotel as it is run today could have easily gone by the wayside, demolished in favor of something more modern and functional. True, by 1965 the grand old dame of the British Colombian Hotel world was showing more than wear and tear. Many cried that without The Empress the town would lose many of its faithful tourists so a $4 million campaign to refurbish it was undertaken. In the late 1980s, an additional $45 million was poured into it, adding an indoor pool, health center, and other modern guest services. In spite of all the changes, the goal was not to modernize it so much as restore to its original illustrious self.

Unique Quality: The decidedly high end hotel is part of The Fairmont Hotel & Resorts Group and caters to the well-heeled. There are 477 rooms with prices starting at C$ 200 off-season/ C$300 season. The largest suites can fetch up to C$ 2000. Rooms can be reserved with full breakfast or without.

• Opinion of Price: most expensive

The Fairmont Empress Photo: the very elegant Empress Hotel

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Cozy but not as fancy as other Fairmonts

Fairmonts are ratedto be one of the best hotels in the world, and in the one in Victoria I would not necessary call the best. It was nice and cozy but you can tell that the building is old and some of the things there were a bit run down for a four or five star hotel.

Other then that the service was great, everyone was super friendly and helpful. And it was fun walking in the hotel and window shopping.

This hotel is great to stay for the 1st visit, the location is perfect for all the sights and if something is away it's very easy to get on a tour bus or catch a taxi. But I don't think i would stay there again. Supposedly anywhere you stay in Victoria is nice, so it would be interesting to stay in a B&B.

Unique Quality: Location, Architecture, History of the Building, Great Customer service

• Opinion of Price: most expensive

The Fairmont Empress Photo: Empress up close

3 more images

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A birthday spent at The Empress

Wow! It's certainly not every day that you stay at the Empress Hotel, and what a surprise it was! For my 25th birthday, my significant other booked 2 nights at the Empress so that we could spend the weekend in Victoria. While I had never been to Victoria many times, he had not, so it was quite a luxury calling the Empress Hotel "home" while we toured the city.

During our time at the Empress, we stayed on the 2nd floor, room 267, which is the Gold Level floor. Being on the Gold Level means that you get access to a private consierge, a free breakfast, free evening appetizers, and use of the Gold Level lounge. Oh yes, there's also a fully stocked bar in the lounge, although you pay based on the honour system. Anyone can get Gold Level service at any Fairmont hotel - they just have to pay a little extra fee, but I think it's well worth it! At the Empress, the Gold Level lounge overlooks the Victoria habour and was quite a treat to sit there every morning.

While our room was old fashioned and small, it was cozy and efficient. We had lots of nice books, and a decorative fireplace. The bed was very comfortable. We had a huge closet (with ironing board), free shoe polishing service, free Globe & Mail newspaper in the morning, and quilted cotton bathrobes. We even ordered "in room dining" one night, which was fantastic for when we didn't feel like venturing into the city late at night. All in all, we felt very pampered there!

Unique Quality: There are so many unique qualities about the Empress, so I'll highlight a few here:

Location - Located across from the Inner Harbour in downtown Victoria, the Empress is essentially the heart of the city from which everything revolves around. It's within a short walking distance to all the attractions.

Afternoon Tea - For $60 a person, it's really overpriced, but the Empress started this tradition in Victoria. You're not paying for the quantity of food, but for the experience of this famous tradition. Overlooking the Inner Harbour in the tea room, you get fresh berries and cream, a selection of finger sandwiches and bite-sized desserts. We drank Empress tea while we were there.

In Room Dining - I've never, ever ordered room service before, but one late Saturday evening we didn't feel like looking around the city for restaurants open after 10pm. Since it was 11pm, and since Victoria's restaurants were mostly closed, I skimmed through the pages and pages of menus, and thought, "whoa, this looks good!". The Empress has a huge variety of food, whether it's their famous curry from the Bengal Lounge, to something simple like fish and chips. I decided to order a simple Caesar salad with grilled prawns. Josh ordered a piece of cheesecake, while I ordered the "merengue and sour cherry mound", which sounded weird, but good. It was delivered promptly by a young server who looked surprised to see such a young couple ordering room service from the Empress on a Saturday night!

• Opinion of Price: most expensive

The Fairmont Empress Photo: Relaxing Saturday night in my room at the Empress

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Canada's Crown Jewell

Very beautiful, historic hotel. I was impressed by the modern accomadations in such a historic old building.

Unique Quality: We were there in the Fall of 2003, and they had an antique boat show in the harbor, that is directly in front of the hotel. It was amazing to see some of the fine craftsmanship in some of the old boats.

Tea for Two?

Even if you don’t stay at this hotel you must stop for afternoon tea which is enjoyed by over 100,000 people every year. The Victoria Fairmount Empress Hotel serves its own special blend of tea in fine Royal Doultan china. Tea is had in the magnificent Victoria Fairmount Empress Tea Lobby surrounded by handcrafted tapestries, lovely mouldings and polished hard wood floors

Unique Quality: One of the worlds best hotels. It was built nearly 100 years ago and has had millions of Dollars spent on it five years ago in a major renovation. A little pricy during the summer months but very affordable for the rest of the year

• Opinion of Price: most expensive

The Fairmont Empress Photo: Empress Hotel

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Do People Stay Anywhere Else?

There are few hotels that give you a map when you check in so you can find your way around! A friend of mine left me chocolates through the Concierge, that went out and hand picked some choc -- wow, what service. Everyone is friendly and I just can't imagine staying anywhere else since the Empress is so much apart of the skyline of Victoria. I think the spa is a bit expensive but the bath included with most rooms is big enough that you can walk down to LUSH and buy a bath bomb and make your own seaweed treatment. ;)

Unique Quality: Rooms are often unique in design -- my two stays have been vastly different from each other due to the different rooms. The service is exceptional and amazingly the other hotels in the area were more expensive !? Eh?? The Empress has shopping, food, an excellent Indian Buffet in the Bengal lounge, amazing views... it just has it all. It supposedly even has a ghost. I never had the pleasure to meet him or her, though so I guess I can't comment on that. :)

They also have excellent coffee and tea unlike some other hotel chains (sorry I'm not happy when I see Starbucks being "proudly served!")... including their own Fairmont teas. Yum, yum.

The cream of the crop

The Empress is Victoria's century old jewel, accomodating five stars in most tourist books. For more information about the Empress, check out my Must See Activities page.

Unique Quality: The hotel serves British style Afternoon Tea for eager patrons. The rooms are also very luxurious and among the best hotel surroundings in the city.

• Opinion of Price: most expensive

The Fairmont Empress Photo: The Empress Hotel next to the Inner Harbour.

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CPR Group of Hotels

EMPRESS HOTEL: I didn't really stayed here, but it's a hotel belonging to the best chain CANADIAN PACIFIC HOTELS in Canada. So, it has to be good! Judging by the look of it, I passed by while walking around the harbor, I may not be able to afford it. But for those of you who'd like to explore Victoria, a one-night stay is recommended.

US$100-US$150.

• Opinion of Price: most expensive

The Fairmont Empress

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EMPRESS HOTEL

• Opinion of Price: most expensive

The Fairmont Empress

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