Fairmont Empress

This is a beautiful building, and the flower planting is outstanding in Spring. It is expensive and our room was small but well kept and quiet. All the staff we interacted with were helpful and friendly. We opted for afternoon tea, which was a tad disappointing, because it was noisy in that area- I am comparing it to the Ritz in London, though. The only thing that was odd was breakfast and asking us for a reservation, but I guess that is because people can book from outside.

It was an absolutely amazing experience for our family. The staff were extremely helpful, professional and attentive. A memorable vacation!

Great hotel and very nostalgic, I always stay on gold floor at Fairmont’s all over the world and the only issue I have with Canadian based Fairmonts is that even though you pay premium prices for the gold floor you still really don’t get anything for it , sure you get a nice room and separate check in on the gold floor which is nice but the gold floor lounge here in Victoria is not the best , staff are great but food is basically finger food from 5 to 7 and bar is a paid bar? And really high end paid bar? Nothing free. I e stayed in manila Fairmont it’s all free and other parts of Asia all free and rooms half the price. I probably won’t say here again which is sad but what am I getting for 800 a night? The restaurant here is great and I enjoyed my time a dinner as my server Michael was exceptional, also have to say the front door guy Zach was an awesome guy to deal with too took total care of me from the time arrived until I left. Great staff. Not sure why they can’t provide free alcohol for 2 hours in their lounge it’s pretty lame to be honest.

We absolutely loved our stay at the Empress. We splurged on the Gold Floor and found it to be worth the extra cost provided that you make use of the food and don’t eat out. We found the breakfast buffet had plenty of options. I enjoyed the fresh berries in my our meal. . The canapés and desserts in the evening were extravagant and fancy (picky eaters might have troubles). However I particularly enjoyed the scones during afternoon tea time. My only complaint would be that the rooms are very small.

It is not often that a hotel with a stellar reputation exceeds expectations, but our recent 3 night stay at The Empress did just that. All elements of our stay were fabulous. The room was a delight, with a fantastic view of the Inner Harbour. Beautifully appointed and decorated, with ample room we could not have asked for more. The staff were exceptional, with a particular call out to Russell who attended to us with our afternoon drinks at Q. Engaging and informative, he made our time there most enjoyable. Overall, the staff are to be commended on their exceptional customer service, all are friendly and approachable, importantly they are not aloof which is often the case with hotels of this calibre. A great experience and one that I would highly recommend.