Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth

We booked through Amex preferred hotels. We were with 2 other couples, one of whom does not have Amex. They were upgraded to suites. We were not. After we complained we were upgraded but that was after the desk agent said none were available. The other couples got welcome gifts and turn down service while we got neither. Our original key cards didn’t work so we had to go back down with all of our luggage. This was not our best experience. We informed Amex.

DO NOT STAY HERE!!! BEWARE!! TL; DR: This hotel cares nothing about your safety during an emergency. The first night of our stay, the fire alarm went off. This was at around 4:30 am. We got out of bed (bleary-eyed), and headed toward the nearest stairwell to begin our descent from the top floor. Guests were peeking out of their doorways in pyjamas, wondering if it was a false alarm or if they, too, should begin exiting. Some just closed their doors and stayed in their rooms. Guests tried to use the elevators. My father is a retired fire captain; we knew what to do. We headed to the nearest stairwell, and it was crammed full of guests, but no one was actually descending the stairs, everyone was just standing there waiting for instructions or prompting from staff that never came. There was a woman with crutches in that stairwell who looked genuinely terrified as to how she was going to make her way down 11 flights of stairs. We realized it would be very difficult to get down that way. My husband and I made it to another stairwell (less crowded, but nonetheless, people were not moving or not moving as though this were an emergency) and we pushed our way down to the 8th floor. As we stopped at the landing, a couple with three young children came into view. She was carrying an infant in a stroller on her own, as was he. Their youngest, who couldn't have been more than 4 or 5, was descending the stairs on her own. I grabbed the young girl's hand, and we assisted those parents down the remaining 8 flights - with strollers in tow - pushing through throngs of guests before we finally made it to the lobby. No one on staff took any initiative to shepherd guests to safety (we walked down from the very top floor, so I can assure you there was NO ONE). I had hoped that once we got to the lobby there would be staff in safety vests or someone in management to tell us what was happening, someone to direct us to a safe area, or tell us to make way for the firefighters that eventually came and went, but again there was almost no one. I saw one gentleman who was still working the guest services desk but there was a massive line of grumpy guests in front of him and he looked like he was going to have a panic attack - I don't blame him. People were camped out in the lobby and in the street waiting for instructions that never came. Firefighters came and went. Rumors flitted through the lobby like a game of telephone. Some said it was a kitchen fire, some said people had been smoking and set it off. Some said they heard a homeless person walked in from off of the street, pulled the alarm and walked out (with no staff or security presence around, and the fire alarm visible within the vestibule area from the street, I would not doubt it). One person said that they had heard that the alarm had gone off a few weeks earlier from staff and that the new system was "sensitive". If this is true, and it had happened just weeks earlier, I would have hoped that that incident would have prompted a more cohesive, better coordinated response, but I suppose not... Some people went to the gym to try to find water and a place to sit and we couldn't all just hang out in the lobby (as unsafe as that is). I'm not a firefighter, I'll admit that, but what you don't want people to do is go down to the (windowless) basement when there's a potential fire. That's even more dangerous... The doors were not locked. They could have used the gym equipment if they wanted. They could have used the pool... We were able to wave down someone, who I believe was prepping the buffet area, (no name tag) who told us that it was probably safe to head back upstairs and offered us some boxes of water, but no one would make an announcement or tell us it was actually safe to proceed back up to our rooms. This went on for about an hour and a half. Around 6:30 am, finally, someone got on the loudspeaker and said that we could proceed back up to our rooms. No explanation was given. By this time, some of the morning crew had begun their shift and were waving people toward the elevator bay. Obviously, the hotel did not burn down, but were this a genuine emergency, I want to assure you that many, many lives could have been lost due to a callous disregard for the safety of guests. Fire safety regulations exist for a reason, and I've seen better organized elementary school fire drills. Staff should be directing guests out of harm's way by the nearest emergency exits on each floor and throughout the evacuation process. Management (regardless of the hour) should be communicative and understanding. I haven't even gotten into the other multiple issues we experienced during our stay, but this was the icing on the cake. And no one from management ever responded to my email.

We stayed for 1 night in a King room, 1308. The location is excellent if you are using the train. Unfortunately that was about the only good part, check in was awful, the queue was horrendous with only one person on the desk. The room was very small, we struggled with two suitcases so I’d definitely recommend upgrading if you’ve the same, pillows not comfortable at all and annoyingly the curtain had broken so was woken early as it did not fully close. I’d look at other options in the area.

The concierge suggested us upgrading to concierge level to accommodate our early dinner needs and early departure needs. We did and the decision was the right one for us!

My family (2 adults and one teenager) is currently staying here, and we are deeply disappointed, especially given the Fairmont brand's reputation. Our primary issue is with the room size. It is shockingly small and utterly unsuitable for three people. There is simply no room to navigate, store luggage, or have any personal space. The biggest problem was the bed size. We were provided with two double beds, not a queens. (I assumed a hotel of this calibre wouldn’t even have double beds.) This forced my teenager and I to share, and we did not get a single good night's sleep. The bed is far too small for two people; you cannot even roll over without disturbing the other person. Furthermore, the mattresses are very hard and uncomfortable. For a luxury hotel, this standard of bedding is unacceptable. The bathroom is equally cramped. The sink design is poor and splashes water all over the countertop with every use, creating a constant mess. There is not enough space for one person to get ready comfortably, let alone three. While the hotel's public spaces are beautiful and the staff is professional, the room itself feels like a budget hotel, not a Fairmont. We would not recommend this hotel for families or anyone requiring more than the most basic, compact room.