If you are searching for the best Victoria luxury hotel to celebrate your next milestone, big birthday, anniversary or even just a treat yourself moment, look no further. The Hotel Fairmont Empress is the ultimate vacation destination for your next getaway. The Fairmont Empress is Canada’s Castle on the Coast. This award-winning Victoria hotel and National Historic Site is the perfect blend of classic and contemporary. The Fairmont Empress is the ideal retreat for you to create your next unforgettable memories.
Hotel Fairmont Empress – Fairmont Gold Experience
Elevate your next stay by booking Fairmont Gold. It is known as a hotel within a hotel, as your Fairmont Gold experience starts from the moment you arrive. Guests can enjoy exclusive perks like a private first floor reception and concierge to enjoying a private guest lounge with stunning views of Victoria’s Inner Harbour. The Fairmont Gold Lounge offers a serene oasis to relax while enjoying a complimentary hot breakfast in the morning, afternoon snacks, cocktail canapés, sweet treats and more.
About The Fairmont Empress
The Fairmont Empress is located in the heart of Victoria, BC, steps away from the British Columbia Parliament Buildings. A few years ago, the Fairmont Empress underwent a $60 million restoration included renovations to the guest rooms and suites, spa, dining facilities and reception lobby.
The lobby features a stunning deconstructed “Twill Flower” custom-designed chandelier made of 250,000 crystals. The restoration celebrates the hotel’s proud history while moving the hotel into a new era of modern luxury.
The Empress offers 464 elegantly appointed guest rooms and suites, a spa, 2 restaurants, a bar, health club with indoor heated swimming pool, whirl pool and saunas and 24 hour Fitness Centre. In addition to the luxurious accommodations, you can snuggle up with Winston, the hotel’s canine ambassador, who is available for walks and snuggles!
Getting Here and Checking In
Address: 721 Government St, Victoria, BC V8W 1W5
Phone Number: 250-384-8111
Website: https://www.fairmont.com/empress-victoria/
Check-in Time: 4:00 PM
Check-out Time: 11:00 AM
The Fairmont Empress is easily accessible by plane, float plane, helicopter and the BC Ferry. I took the BC Ferry from Vancouver and it was a 2.5 hour trip. It took me about 1 hour to reach Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal. The ferry ride itself was about 1.5 hours to reach Swartz Bay terminal. From there it’s a 30 minute drive to the Fairmont Empress.
As mentioned before, check-in is at 4:00 PM. Early check-in or late check-out is not guaranteed, but you can always ask! If you stay with Fairmont Gold, you will have full access to the Fairmont Gold Lounge for the entirety of your stay, including any waiting period between your arrival and when the room is ready, as well as until 4:00 PM on the day of check out. With the beautiful lounge and variety of treats to nibble on, this is another great reason to book with Fairmont Gold.
Fairmont Empress – Fairmont Gold Experience
Known as a hotel within a hotel, the Fairmont Gold experience begins the moment you arrive at the front door. When you first arrive you can head immediately to the first floor reception to check in. Next to the reception desk is a stunning private guest lounge that offers unbeatable views of Victoria’s Inner Harbour.
The Fairmont Gold Lounge offers a complimentary hot breakfast, afternoon snacks, cocktail canapés and sweet treats, as well as a self-serve honour bar.
From the moment we checked in to even after check out, I had the most fantastic experience. The complimentary hot breakfast was divine and had so many lovely savoury and sweet options to choose from. The lounge was also a great spot to unwind after a long day of exploring Victoria.
There’s always something delicious available to nibble or indulge in at the Gold Lounge, so make sure you pop in every so often. Personally I was obsessed with their scones! They were so light and buttery and went amazingly with their delightful housemade strawberry jam and fresh Devonshire cream. The full schedule:
- Complimentary deluxe European buffet breakfast served between 7:00am – 10:30am daily
- Selection of house-made pastries and savory snacks served between 12:00pm – 5:00pm daily
- Complimentary selection of hot and cold canapés served between 5:00pm – 7:00pm daily
- Complimentary mineral water, soft drinks, coffee, espresso drinks and selection of teas
Fairmont Empress – Fairmont Gold One Bedroom Suite
The Fairmont Gold One Bedroom Suite at the Fairmont Empress features a king sized bed, with a separate living with cushy sofas and an entertainment center. The white marble bathrooms feature a glassed in rain-fall shower and contemporary fixtures.
Fairmont Gold One Bedroom Suite- Views, Amenities and more!
Upon arrival, we were greeted with the loveliest charcuterie platter and cocktails. The Gin and Tonic features Empress 1908 Gin and came in the most darling mini bottles. Empress 1908 Gin is handcrafted in small batch copper-pot stills by Victoria Distillers and is inspired by the legendary Fairmont Empress Hotel. It is a stunning indigo and it makes for such a lovely welcome cocktail.
The suite I chose features a King size bed decked out in the Fairmont’s signature bedding. When you stay with Fairmont Gold your bed will feature a Stearns & Foster pillow-top bed which makes for the ultimate luxury sleeping experience. You can also take advantage of the evening turndown service have your bed made ready for your to sleep in. The room has air conditioning with individual climate control, which is perfect for those extra hot days we have been having.
The Fairmont Gold One Bedroom Suite features a separate living room with cushy sofas and additional seating by the window. It is an excellent spot to relax while enjoying your cocktail or even watch a movie at night on the 47″ Flat screen HD televisions with in room movies (at a charge). I also had the option to stream my favourite content onto the TV through Google Chromecast.
Fairmont hotels are known for their signature scent – Le Labo’s Rose 31. It’s a unique spicy and floral scent with woodsy notes. The bathroom is well stocked with all the toiletries you could possibly need and more including: shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, shower gel, body bar, shower cap, shoe polishing kit, etc.
The white marble bathrooms feature a glassed-in, rain-fall shower that makes it such a relaxing shower experience. The towels are made from 100% cotton and really lends itself to a luxurious spa like aesthetic.
Q at The Empress
Q at the Empress is a must visit experience in Victoria. The restaurant features Pacific Northwest cuisine made with local ingredients as well as the hotel chef’s very own herb and vegetable garden. The curated menu features sustainably sourced seafood and traditionally raised meats. The restaurant is a stunning space with luxury seating and beautiful portraits of Queen Victoria.
You can’t go to Q at The Empress without trying their stunning cocktails (they even have cocktails on tap!) featuring the beautiful Empress Gin.
To start our meal we went with:
- Empress 1908 Gin Honey Lavender Lemonade
- Q 1908
- Empress 75
The Empress 1908 Gin Honey Lavender Lemonade ($20.00) is one of their on tap cocktails which features Empress honey, roof top lavender, lemon and crushed ice. I love that this drink incorporates so many elements from the hotel’s own gardens and bees.
The Q 1908 ($25.00) features Empress 1908 indigo gin, lemon juice, simple syrup and egg white. This was a smooth drink and very refreshing.
The Empress 75 ($29.00) features Empress gin, St-Germain, lemon juice, sugar, prosecco and grapefruit pearls. The grapefruit pearls are such a unique touch. I love the citrus burst and the cocktail itself is light and bubbly.
Q at The Empress – Dinner Menu
To start our dinner we had Seared Hokkaido Scallops ($28.00) which features confit pork belly, miso-mustard glaze, broccoli, hakuurei turnip and furikake. This was divine. The pork belly just melts in your mouth and the dish was just so pretty!
For our mains we went with Haida Gwaii Halibut ($45.00) which features sweet corn and summer bean succotash, blistered cherry tomatoes and blueberry gastrique. The highlight of the dish for me was the succotash. It was like eating summer on a plate. The Halibut was on the drier side and quite salty so that was a bit disappointing but the other components definitely made up for it.
We also had AAA Sterling Silver Beef New York Striploin ($55.00) with crispy smashed fingerling, roasted local mushrooms, steak butter and red wine jus. The steak was a perfect medium rare as requested and so flavourful. This was the winning dish of the night.
Tea at the Empress
A quintessential must-do in Victoria is to have Tea at the Empress. Whilst I didn’t get to do so personally this time, it is definitely on my bucket list. Tea at the Empress is located in their beautiful and elegant Lobby Lounge. It really feels like you’ve stepped back in time to a bygone era. The airy space with light streaming through the floor to ceiling windows is such a site to behold.
When you have Afternoon Tea at the Empress you will be able to choose from a an exclusive selection of premium loose-leaf teas served in royal china – a gift from her Majesty in 1939. To go with the tea you will be treated to some delightful flaky scones with housemade strawberry jam, fluffy pastries and an assortment of finger sandwiches.
Lunch on the Lawn Drag Picnic
Lunch on the Lawn is a quintessential summer pastime in Victoria, at the Empress and it is back by popular demand for Summer 2022. It’s the ultimate al fresco dining experience on the hotel’s iconic front lawns, surrounded by beautiful gardens.
I was able to catch the last event of the season and it was such an exciting one! The Lunch on the Lawn Drag Picnic is a special event is in collaboration with House of Dubet sponsored by Chandon Sparkling Wine.
The Lunch on the Lawn picnic includes:
- Farro and flax bread with Empress honey whipped butter
- Farmhouse cheese & whole beast charcuterie served with apricot preserve, candied nuts, baby gherkins
- Edamame and green pea hummus with rosemary sea salt crostini
- Compressed watermelon with fresh basil, whipped feta
- Your choice of cold fried chicken or cold fried cauliflower
- Sparkling or still water
- Dark chocolate fudge brownies
This was definitely an experience! The show was so energetic and exciting and it really attracted a crowd. The highlights of the picnic for me were definitely the charcuterie and the brownies. It was such a great way to spend the early afternoon and I would highly recommend you keep an eye for when the Lunch on the Lawn comes back next year.
Additional Photos
Overall Thoughts
A truly stunning experience. This stay is everything I associate with the standard of a Fairmont hotel, but staying Fairmont Gold really took it to the next level. Every interaction feels so personalized and special. The views from the Fairmont Gold lounge were incredible and I could have just stayed by the fire on those comfy patio couches all day sipping a cocktail or two. It was such a wonderful quick weekend getaway and I felt totally relaxed and recharged.
All in all, if you’re not sure where to stay in Victoria or you’re simply looking to treat yourself I highly recommend a night (or two!) staying Fairmont Gold at The Fairmont Empress!
Check out my quick video recap of my Fairmont Empress experience.
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