Dawn’s 5-star review:
4.5 stars rounded to 5 due to Gold Lounge
The hotel is old yet beautiful and an iconic landmark in Victoria, BC. The Empress looks like a castle and is famous for their afternoon English style tea experience. For an early 20th Anniversary celebration/get away we decided to treat ourselves and stay at the Empress for a few nights while in Victoria.
We booked our room through the Victoria Clipper Company and upgraded to a luxury room so we could stay in a newly renovated room. The room rates were more reasonable through the Clipper than booking directly with the hotel with the downside of paying in US dollars vs. Canadian. The room was nicely appointed and the bed was super comfortable and we had a beautiful view of the harbor, but the rooms are TINY. As of August 2016 only half of the hotel had been renovated, so the pool and hot tub were clean but looked like they were still circa 1980.
If staying at any Fairmont Hotel, upgrade for free to the President's Club and receive complimentary amenities and perks like WIFI and shoe shine at no additional charge, use of bicycles (theirs were made by BMW with great shock absorbers), etc.
When we checked into the hotel we additionally upgraded to Gold Level status so we could take advantage of their daily breakfast, evening hors d'oeuvres and daily use of the Gold lounge and private balcony. We were really glad we upgraded because the rooms are so small that the lounge gave us the space we needed to relax, put our feet up and unwind a bit after a long day of sightseeing and the balcony had stunning views of the harbor and city and was a great place to watch the sunset.
When walking into the Gold Lounge we were warmly greeted by the charming Lounge Manager, Sebastian. He gave us a brief tour and told us that he or any one of the Gold Lounge staff would be our personal concierge should we need to make local reservations, need sightseeing suggestions, etc. We really received great personalized service. We were wowed with the beautiful and newly renovated lounge which included two living rooms with fireplace and TV's, comfortable sofas and chairs. A gourmet kitchen in the center of the space was used to serve food. The lounge space opened out to a private balcony which had stunning views and overlooked the front of the property with great views of the Parliament building and harbor. The balcony was rather large complete with fire pits and heat lamps and comfortable seating.
Included in our Gold Lounge upgrade was a great selection of gourmet treats. We were packing in two full day of sightseeing so for us this made sense to make the most of our short visit. I am glad we made the upgrade. The food was prepared with the best of quality locally sourced ingredients and by hotel chefs. For breakfast we were served a gourmet breakfast which was an upgraded continental breakfast with about four hot entrees served buffet style in Staub cast iron pots and the eggs were served in individual ramekins. The selections were different each morning. Our breakfast favorites were the amazing mini croissants and local jams, individual ramekins with an egg omelette with tomato and asparagus, sweet potato hash, liege waffles with maple syrup, locally made sausage and bacon, European style yogurt, individual fruit smoothies and locally smoked salmon with condiments like capers, onion, tomato and bagels with cream cheese. Typically I am not a fan of hotel breakfast buffets, but this is nothing like the typical buffet breakfast you will find in a standard hotel, everything was so beautifully prepared and presented. For evening hors d'oeuvres the spread was equally delightful. Almost everything was served in individual ramekins or serving dishes, the presentation was really lovely. Each evening there was a selection of four hot items and a huge spread of cold items. Among our favorite warm bites were the scallops served over bacon, leeks and mushroom, arancini with pesto- I loved their version, smoked salmon with crème fraiche, chive and caviar, miso sea bass over seaweed salad, lamb loin with bruschetta, and quiche. During the evening hors d'oeuvres the kitchen counters were also full with a cold buffet of items like poached chicken, Spanish chorizo, Serrano ham, smoked salmon, real crab salad over seaweed salad, beets with goat cheese, heirloom tomatoes with olive oil, gourmet local aged and young cheeses, spiced nuts, dried fruit, crackers, freshly baked bread, olives, pickled onions, etc. Every evening after 8 p.m. there was a selection of a few desserts served and there were always drinks available like espresso, gourmet loose leaf hot tea with hotel china and individual little bottles of honey made from the bee hive on property. The beverage fridge had bottled sparkling and flat water, juices, and sodas. We definitely enjoyed our time in the Lounge and the service, staff and environment was pleasant. The Gold Lounge really made our stay at the Empress a 5 star.