Fairmont Pacific Rim

I stayed at 5 Fairmont hotels in Canada over 2 weeks and this hotel was the best of them. Lovely corner suite overlooking the waterfront harbor in a more pleasant part of town than other hotels in central downtown just a ten-minute walk away. Could see cruise ships at port right in front of us from our terrace. The lobby is a bit of a zoo with people constantly checking in and out, but there is often some kind of live entertainment in the evenings to liven it up. Our spacious suite had two full bathrooms; we had to ask for cotton rounds and shower caps which we thought would be in the room. AC and showers were fine and spacious. Spa is nice and the gym is large and pretty good especially compared to the others. Well-heated swimming pool and hot tub outdoors open till 10pm were fine and there is a spin-dryer and shower in the nearby washroom. Restaurant for breakfast and dinner are excellent; they have a good pastry chef at dinner. Management was very nice to us when our room was not ready at 5pm for check-in and gave us some F&B credit and arranged a better situation for us at breakfast in case we needed it. Here are the areas that need improvement: Breakfast buffet is limited and never changes from day to day; over a 4 day stay that is repetitive. The smoked salmon is excellent. We had trouble getting a breakfast table on our first morning and complained and were given priority after that although the crowds were lower after that first day; the Fairmont Gold lounge also has waiting lines. Concierges didn't seem to have pull with top restaurants, but we had dinner instead at the Fairmont Vancouver which turned out to be excellent. When I asked for a Saturday chiropractor appointment the concierge just went to the internet and started looking and didn't find anything. I found one with a Google search in 1 minute but at a good hotel the concierge should have people to call 24/7 to do house calls or see a patient. A problem with Fairmont is that each hotel falls somewhere along the spectrum of quality and you don't know which ones are where. There is also a lack of competition as there are 5 Fairmonts in this city and no other luxury chain is in the market yet I'm aware of other than Rosewood, and Park Hyatt which is coming. This hotel is at the top of the chain.

We were in Canada touring for three weeks staying in some very nice hotels, and the Fairmont Pacific Rim was the finest of them all. We had booked a gold suite with an adjoining room for our children and both rooms were first class - spacious and quiet, with well-appointed bathrooms in both. I don't know what the rooms on the other floors are like but certainly the gold floor rooms we had were, I felt, good value for money. Check-in was incredibly efficient - we drove up to the hotel after a long flight and the valet immediately took the keys and gave us the access card for the gold floor where we were able to check-in very quickly. The gold lounge is a major benefit at this Fairmont - having stayed in quite a few different Fairmonts, the facilities in the lounge do seem to vary quite a bit but the one here is excellent. The breakfast is particularly good with a menu from which you can order from as well as an extensive buffet. In the evening, the selection of wines was very good with some very good offerings by the glass. The lobby is very grand and has a Fazioli piano which appears to be used for entertainment most evenings. It is very rare to find a hotel lobby with a piano that is even in tune let alone have a top class instrument like a Fazioli. They could have saved a lot of money by buying the easy choice like a Steinway and the fact they did not shows the level they are striving for at this hotel. Eating in the lobby was very enjoyable - it has a great atmosphere with the live music and the the food was well presented. If I am nit-picking there were a couple of housekeeping lapses during our stay such as the milk frother in the coffee machine not being cleaned but I guess these things can happen. Overall, I would definitely stay here again when I am next in Vancouver. I have not stayed in any other hotel in Vancouver so I can't compare it but I would be very surprised if there was anywhere better.

Sadly, our worst stay at the Fairmont Pacific Rim. As loyal guest members the only places we stay in Vancouver with highest end presence is the Fairmont Pacific Rim or Rosewood Georgia. During the summer season I would not book here unless you want an unorganized overcrowded family experience and you may need the patience to wait for the specific room you booked 2 hours after the policy check in time after your long travels. We paid more for a balcony that was unusable. Unlike the terrace shown in their marketing expect kids screaming from open to close in the pool as if it was a splashdown waterpark including inflatables, cannonballs, and sporting equipment. Our morning breakfast view was of a dirty diaper change on their premium loungers advertised as luxurious and sophisticated on Instagram. Advice would be to implement adult terrace hours as this is not a place for a couple to enjoy food in a cabana or an evening hot tub the way that it is portrayed. However if you do stay you can overcome this by booking an additional spa treatment as those facilities are stunning. Our stay we saved by their courtesy sparkling wine amenity and a few star staff members Tina RMT in the spa and Annique in lobby lounge dinning showing the Fairmont spirit and work ethic of the getaway that I wanted to have and kept me from unraveling. Of course the resort itself is still beautiful in the ways we came to love it previous visits such as their beds, bathrooms, restaurants, and spa but this stay our expected luxury was lost to summer crowds.

This was our first stay at a Fairmont and we booked an executive level room with access to the lounge. The hotel is FINE. Lovely location, great views, many amenities. I also really liked the warmth of the decor. A welcome change from anonymous white hotels. But when it comes to luxury, the small things count and these were the things that got the stars knocked down: On its face, the lounge is a wonderful convenience: easy breakfast, substantial snacks served all day long, a private concierge. But the food was consistently terrible and the breakfast setup is a mess. Don't set it up as a buffet and then have servers stuck navigating what is not a buffet. Room: The bed was comfortable! Terrible water pressure. Even the jets in tub were weak. We booked our specific room because it promised great views of the harbor. We could only see the harbor properly from our bathroom. The bedroom view was blocked by the gigantic tv. A lot of the tech in the room just didn't work. Battery on the fancy toilet had run down. Television could not be successfully controlled with either the ipad or the remote so we had to literally unplug it to turn it off. When I mentioned that to staff they said, "Oh yes, that room can be challenging." The welcome amenity was three pieces of fruit. Not a big deal, but the small things add up! The staff are doing their best but they're all very young and inexperienced and they frequently seemed overwhelmed. When I asked if the salon offered manicures, the lounge concierge said yes—but they don't. When we checked in we said we didn't want to go up to the executive lounge, we just wanted to check in. Utter confusion followed. When we tried to get a table at the downstairs bar, the hosts were visibly panicked by the line. (And for some reason they've been placed directly next to the stage so you can barely hear a word they're saying. and they can't hear you.) Again, they're trying, but you'd think they just opened. Again, none of these are dealbreakers and it's possible my standards are too high. But we travel a great deal and when luxury is promised, we're looking for substance over style. I'll hesitate before choosing Fairmont again.

Another fantastic stay at the Pac Rim! This hotel has become a family favourite for its fabulous service and location. We stayed in a gold room, our concierge Elena was amazing, so helpful! Room was excellent, the amenities at the hotel are great. The Gold room has lovely appetizers and tea options but even better was the breakfast - amazing! We were here for only one night pre-cruise and it was an easy walk to the sky train. The hotel drivers offered us a ride to the cruise port the next day which was very helpful! Great service, great food, great location …. hotels don’t get better than this. Hope to visit again soon!