The staff was accommodating and the room was nice. The pool was nothing to be exited about, but the room service left me and my daughter pretty upset. The food services manager said he would call to follow up and never did, nor did he reply to my 2 follow up emails. My daughter is going to UvIC in the fall, and we will not be staying here when we visit over the 4 years. Terrible follow up. Gross experience.

Upscale, elegant hotel. Outside is interesting architecturally, but inside feels a bit generic, though nice. We were given a stay at a gift, but when seeing the receipt I was shocked at the price. The cost far exceeds our opinion of the hotel; we have stayed at other upscale historic hotels in the PNW that are more interesting and unique for far less money. Not to say the Empress was a bad hotel, it was nice, just not at all special enough for the sky high price.

We were a bit confused by the "hotel within a hotel" aspect of Fairmont Gold which seemed to result in an extended checkin time, but that aside, we loved our stay and the Afternoon Tea was reminiscent of The Ritz in London, alas including the eye-watering price tag. Still worth it though ... and the Earl Grey tea in particular was so nice we bought some to bring back home! Going by the Clipper Ferry was fun too ... although looking at prices, I'd be tempted to take a seaplane up the next time to shave 2 hours off the travel-time for a price that is in a similar ball-park to comfort class. Customs clearance is a bit of a disaster though - there really has to be a more efficient way of doing this in 2024. There's no real excuse for the lack of WiFi on the ferry in this day and age ... the FAQ on the website is factually incorrect :-(

My wife and I had a grand time at the Empress. It has been beautifully and tastefully updated since my last visit. High Tea, a walk around town, and a day at Bouchard Gardens were fantastic. While at the Empress, the service was excellent, every need was met, the tea and the food were great.

We spent 3 night at the Empress, my first time back at the hotel since I was with my parents man decades ago. The recent renovation was impeccably done, maintaining all of the classic beauty of this grand hotel while introducing some nice modern touches (that chandelier in the new entry area - WOW!). Our room was on the second floor in the back. It looked out on the roof of the adjacent conference center but was otherwise a comfortable, decent-sized room. There were a few minor inconveniences - the hotel was apparently out of slippers, which made using the sauna a bit less enjoyable than we'd expected; the remote for the TV didn't work though thankfully we weren't there to watch TV anyway; and the Nespresso machine vibrated so much that your cup would vibrate right off the base and spill onto the table if not held while the Nespresso machine filled it. Someone came to look at the machine while we were out and just left a message for us saying that it worked fine. Fine, I suppose if they don't mind coffee stains on their newly renovated furniture and carpeting.