Fairmont Hotel Macdonald

The Fairmont is a standout in the city and, I think, along with the JW make up the only 4/5 star hotels. Having visiting both, the Fairmont was much more relaxing and a nice place to spend a few days. The grounds are immaculate and the feel of the hotel is very old world castle with a laid back atmosphere. There is nice dining and bar options on site and there is a pub or two about 3 blocks away. Edmonton downtown seemed much quieter than we were expecting, but there were a few places nearby and a walk to the hockey game was easy. The deluxe river view room was a nice layout and had everything you'd expect for the price point. The service was incredible, leave for 5 minutes and the room was made up and clean. Just super attention to detail and timing. Only issue is there is construction starting around 9am on the facade and grounds outside of the river view rooms portion so it does get a little loud. I imagine much louder on the lower floors. May want a city view room for the time being, which doesn't face the noise.

I come to the fairmont frequently for the spa and occasionally order tea and a snack in the confederation lounge. A small order of fries is $14.00 !! The worst part is how greasy and burnt such a simple thing can be hesitate to order anything else. It’s so incredibly hard to understand! And nobody cares! Where is the restaurant manager?

We were only in Edmonton one night to see a hockey game but this hotel was really as comfortable and accommodating as you would come to expect from the Fairmont brand. It is conveniently located, very clean, and our room was quite comfortable and well appointed. The best part though was getting to spend time with the wonderful hotel doggie in the lobby! As good as everything else at the Macdonald was, we would return just to see him!

My family of five stayed in room 238 for a weekend and had one of the worst hotel experiences we've encountered. We were completely blindsided by a DJ event taking place directly below our suite. From evening until 1 AM, our room was filled with pounding bass and DJ announcements. None of us could sleep. This is a historic building with no soundproofing, and it felt like the event was happening in our room. What makes this experience even more frustrating is that when we raised this issue with hotel management, we learned these DJ events happen *weekly*. Yet at no point during booking or check-in were we informed that our room would be directly above a late-night event venue. When I asked why guests aren't notified of these events at check-in, I was told "these are business decisions." That response shows a complete disregard for guest experience. A simple heads-up would have allowed us to either choose a different room or make an informed decision about staying elsewhere. Instead, we paid premium prices for a sleepless night with our children. The Fairmont brand is known for luxury hospitality, but this location prioritizes event revenue over guest comfort without even the courtesy of disclosure. I cannot recommend staying here, especially with children, and would strongly advise future guests to specifically ask about events before booking. **Rating: 1/5 stars**

Everyone at this hotel was so kind and helpful--especially aiding me to print out our boarding passes. We had a spectacular view of the North Saskatchewan River from our room. It was a perfect spot to explore downtown Edmonton or to catch the LRT to explore the other neighborhoods. Our room was well appointed!