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Hotel Review of the Fairmont Empress Hotel Victoria
Mar 2, 2011
We enjoyed our stay! The hotel is beautiful with amazing architecture and well
located for sightseeing and shopping. The staff is knowledgeable, friendly and
quite happy to help with local information. We asked for some shoe polish to
tidy up a pair of boots and the concierge took the boots and did an amazing job
of polishing them himself! We were quite impressed. The only thing they could
improve on is the rod for the shower curtain. If they would simply put in a
curved rod the shower would seem much larger and the curtain wouldn't stick to
you when you shower. We had a great time and would recommend this hotel to
others!
Area recommendations
The harbour area is beautiful and designed for tourism
Hotel Review of the Fairmont Empress Hotel Victoria
Feb 25, 2011
We booked this hotel for a two night stay after finding a great deal online for
$99/night. We were travelling with our two young children and had drove to
Victoria from Winnipeg. Naturally after travelling in a vehicle as opposed to
flying you are going to have a lot more stuff to haul especially with kids. We
found this to be a bit of a pain as you have to park in the parkade which does
not provide easy access to the hotel itself when requiring a luggage cart. The
parking was more expensive than what we had expected to pay as well. I think
this hotel would be great to stay at if you fly to Victoria. It was a lot
fancier than what we would typically stay at, especially with kids and did not
expect it to be very family friendly, and it wasn't. The pool and hottub were
good. Our room was very basic (probably as a result of what we paid) and the
only big complaint that I have is that because there is no air conditioning the
cleaning staff had left the window wide open. We did not notice this as there
was no breeze coming in and I was shocked to discover after returning to our
room later that evening that it had been left wide open and we were quite high
up. One of the kids could have easily fallen out as the windows are very close
to the floor and there are no screens or bars. Overall, the hotel was beautiful,
the location was great (walking distance to everything) and it would have been
perfect for just my husband and I but I would not recommend it for a family with
small children or if you have a lot of stuff to carry.
Hotel Review of the Fairmont Empress Hotel Victoria
Feb 23, 2011
We did enjoy our stay at the Empress for three nights. Our room was large and
very comfortable with excellent beds. Bathroom rather small by modern standards,
but everything worked well and we adapted. We splurged on afternoon tea,
expensive but worth it for us as it's a meal we always enjoy. Front desk staff
were extremely helpful and professional, and booked some tickets for us, could
not have been nicer, and the porter who showed us to our room was very helpful.
However, the hotel was hosting a conference, and we were staying on a breakfast
included package, a good deal. This meant breakfast in the tiny cramped room
overlooking the harbour, and a 20 minute wait one morning, a good 5 minutes
another morning. They just could not cope. Our third morning they moved
breakfast to the dining room, and it worked a good deal better. The breakfast
was woefully understaffed and thus the menu is limited both in variety and by
how much work it saves in presentation, leading to strange things like already
buttered toast rather than a dish of butter, and set dishes rather than a larger
a la carte menu. Not what we expected at this hotel, and they have got rid of
the buffets we had last time which were very good. We had the Indian buffet one
evening, very good and quick and easy, if rather noisy. Got the feeling the
hotel is in many ways resting on its laurels from the glory days instead of
being the best it can be for the 21st century, especially in the matter of
employing enough staff.
Hotel Review of the Fairmont Empress Hotel Victoria
Feb 22, 2011
We stay at the Fairmont Empress in Victoria every February. We enjoy the service
on the Gold Floor---the staff (Duane, Dillon, Salam, Stephanie and Taylor) goes
the extra mile to make your visit special. We feel like we are returning to see
old friends. Dinner in the Dining Room is an experience in itself. Out the
Empress Door is the beautiful inner harbour and the staff have many suggestions
on what to do while you are in Victoria. The Empress is a grand lady and we look
forward to our visit every year.
Hotel Review of the Fairmont Empress Hotel Victoria
Feb 22, 2011
If you are heading to the Empress, spring for a room on the Gold Floor. The
staff and level of service are second to none. Snacks mid-day, cocktails in the
evening, breakfast in the morning, all good reasons to stay on Gold. The staff
are willing to solve problems, find perfect dining arrangements, suggest
night-life, help you check in online for airline tickets, arrange
transportation, and generally make your stay seamless. It's a gorgeous hotel and
worth every penny to stay on the Gold Floor.
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