Fairmont Hotel Vancouver

I attended a corporate event here, and spent a night in the hotel. The food was great, but service was a bit disjointed. They started removing food tables within an hour of service for the buffet.
The hotel room itself felt really old. I think perhaps the upper floor VIP suites would be better, but the floor that I was on felt almost like a 3-​star motel. The carpet and wallpaper were probably thirty years old. Picture the fading, garish, yellowing, stained hallways from American Horror Story: Hotel.
Wifi was not free but costed $ 15 a day. I understand that this is standard for most hotels these days, but it still seems a bit over the top and ridiculous.
The bed was more comfortable than I expected. View was great, overlooking the Vancouver Art Gallery. However, I would not stay here ever again.

This hotel reminds me of the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. They share the old style elegance from days gone by. The interior architecture and room design is very similar. The Biltmore was opened in 1924 and it was interesting to see that the Vancouver Hotel’s construction was initiated in 1928, but was held up by the depression. It was finally completed and opened with ceremonies officiated by King George VI in 1939.
Today, part of the Fairmont chain, the hotel is quietly elegant with all of the amenities you expect at a 4 star hotel hotel. Our room was elegantly comfortable, with in room coffee and tea set hidden in the under TV cabinet. Bed was very comfortable with 4 pillows on it and extras in the closet. Desk and chair with a comfortable arm chair with good lighting for both completed the furnishings.
The original lobby and most of the ground floor are now shops. The new entrance and lobby are large and efficient, if lacking in old style charm. It is fairly breezy and lacking in cozy places to hang out. This becomes an issue if you chose to forgo paying the fee for in room Wifi. There is free Wifi available in the lobby and ground floor restaurant/​bar, Notch8. If you want to use your devices, but don’t feel like a drink, the lobby is your only choice.

The service is generally pretty great here but the rooms are in need of a serious upgrade! The bathrooms are dated and the rooms and décor are starting to look a little sad. The only reason I gave a 3 star here is the location is perfect, right in the middle of everything you need downtown, and the restaurant and lobby renos have made the property a little bit better.

As expected. Excellent service, nice gym and pool, and lavish bedding.
Front desk a bit slow on responding to requests for robes and towels.
Slow on room service, but only because of its well-​deserved popularity.
Overall: will happily come back next time.

This hotel was awesome. The lobby was beautiful and newly renovated. The check in experience was lovely and easy. The room was comfortable and clean and everyone was so friendly. They even brought up free champagne and chocolate covered strawberries to help us celebrate a weekend away from our kids!

This review is strictly for the High Tea.
They started by serving the Summer Berry Panna Cotta, which was delicious. The texture was a little bit too heavy for my taste but still forgivable. However, the sandwich and dessert selection of the high tea was disappointing.
With the exception of the smoked salmon and curry sandwiches, the rest are a little bit bland. For the dessert selection, their strawberry shortcake is too sweet while the rest, while good, did not have a wow factor. I would rather go Sweet Obsession or Ganache for my dessert fix.
The highlight and only saving grace of this experience is their scones. Definitely one of the best scones I ever tasted. Paired with their clotted cream, the scones were warm, flaky, buttery mouthful of goodness.
Their service was flawless but save yourself some $$$ and just ordered their scones to-​go, which you can apparently do. You get 6 scones for $ 20, which is such a steal in my opinion.

I went to the hotel for high tea. At the time I believe the dress code was quite clear about not allowing shorts. Now it seems to be «smart casual». Those terms generally exclude shorts, athletic shorts, compression leggings, basketball jerseys, tennis shoes and the like. Staff didn’t seem to care about enforcing the dress code. To me that’s a big negative. If you have a dress code enforce it. If you’re not willing or able to enforce your dress code drop it. That way everyone can show up smelling like a locker room when they went straight from the basketball court to the hotel. Everyone can look equally sloppy.
Complete inability to provide an elegant setting aside, this location is no Fairmont Empress or Reids Palace. Perhaps at night or if you’ve never been in a city the view is ok.
Service was good and the servers friendly. The offerings didn’t taste quite as good as what the Empress served. It wasn’t bad, it just didn’t live up to the standards I’d expect from a Fairmont property.

Good central location. We had a nice size room with two queen beds. The bathroom was a bit small, but our room was quite large.
The only thing worth mentioning is that concierge and front desk is super short staff or takes forever to do anything. Every time we needed something from front desk or concierge, there would be at least a 15 minute wait. That includes checking in and checking out. I’ve stayed at many hotels and checking in never ever takes more than five minutes. Another thing is that for a fancy resort, they provide really bad products in the bathroom. The provided shampoo had such a bad smell that I nearly threw up in the shower. The products were so bad that we didn’t even bother taking any when we left.

I’ve stayed in about 15 – 5 star hotels and this one ranks up in my top 5. Everyone from the doorman, valet attendant, front desk clerk and restaurant host did what they were supposed to do. The one thing that I was really impressed with was the breakfast brunch on Sunday morning. The ingredients for everything layed out was top notch. The smoked salmon eggs benny was the best eggs benny I have ever eaten. And the breakfast sausage was perfectly cooked. I ate my 39.99 worth in no time. It didn’t matter what you wore or looked like. The staff treated everyone the same. They looked at me no different with my flip flops and ratty old sweat pants on when sat down for breakfast. Very classy and respectful staff all around.

Location, location, location. Right in the middle of downtown Vancouver, the Fairmont is pretty close to wherever you want to go in the city. Pretty central. It is a pretty cool building too. Has an older hotel feel, but is also seems historical. The ground floor has a lot of high end retail and a restaurant that is okay. The hotel staff is all very friendly. The concierges were very helpful in indicating where to eat, what areas were good for shopping and general neighborhoods to visit. Overall it was a good stay.
We did order room service one day and they sent us some pretty poor food. I would recommend not ordering room service.

Have to say I was a bit disappointed in the service provided. The front desk staff was nothing but rude when I arrived. After the issues subsided, we were given a dark corner room with a dirty bath. EW! You basically are paying for location. If you want a modern stay, go down the block to the pacific rim. Might be a little better.

For the price I paid, I would have expected more. The facilities are nice in general. The room accommodations are a different story. I understand that it is an old hotel, but to a high end hotel, I would imagine they would make more of an attempt to be a little more modern. Walking through the hallways feels like you are in the movie The Shining, an older hotel with some charm being to fade into something slightly creepy. The rooms, although clean, just have an outdated feel to them. At the very least, they could update the wallpaper, maybe make the lights a little brighter and get some new carpeting.
It was not a comfortable stay in general. The room temperature kept fluctuating from hot and cold, despite the comfortable bed, we were constantly waking during the night. The front desk last explained that it is one of the flaws with being an older hotel, it’s either just heating or cooling. She also explained that as part of energy efficiency, they have sensors that default the rooms to «room temperature» if it is dark and there is no movement. This is not very helpful if you are sleeping… She suggested that next time we request that maintenance overrides the default for our room.
This is not a place that I would not go stay at again, but if I have other options, I would explore those first.

Came here on sunday for high tea with my fiancée and another couple!
I love the renovations! It looks soooo much better !
The high tea was delicious. We came around 12pm and we could of chosen between two menus: The high tea menu or the lunch menu. We OBV chose the high tea menu.
I was overwhelmed with the 3 tier of the sandwiches and pastries!
It was soo good! Very classy. I will DEF be going back!
The server was very classy and friendly, the washroom is very tidy and clean as well.
Best part is that LV, GUCCI and DIOR are all right there so we went for a good shopping spree after!

Where do I start? Worst «high-​end» hotel I’ve ever stayed at in Vancouver. The newly renovated restaurant/​bar Notch 8 is amazing, so I’ll give them one star for that. The bartender was awesome, and while drinks are expensive, they were delicious.
Now onto the actual rooms. First when we checked in early at 2, normally checkin is at 3. We were upgraded to a supposedly «nicer» room, but the downfall was that it was wheelchair accessible. Now, I don’t mind that, except when we got there we had an issue with the washroom/​shower (it was all one piece, no separation for the shower to the rest of the washroom, meaning the floor would get wet). We asked if we could be moved to another room. Hotel was extremely reluctant to move us. They asked us to wait an hour and another room would be provided, but a standard one. Totally fine with me, no problem. Except now 2 hours go by. No call to inform us that our room is ready. We then proceed to call the front desk again. They tell us their manager will give us a call. It is now 2.5 hours. Still waiting. Finally… finally we get our room.
This hotel is terrible. The rooms are run down. The toilet in the washroom are the same ones used in public washrooms at the mall. The drapes, carpets, chairs all look like they were installed in the 1950s. Seriously, it’s time to renovate the rooms! Our downtown core prides itself on being trendy and modern. This isn’t England! I’ll take a pass on this hotel until some changes are made. If you’re old and like grandmas house… stay here.

Beautiful hotel and the restaurant is very sumptuous. Design and décor is spot on and I could sit there for hours.
We arrived for breakfast and chose the buffet which was delicious with a wide variety of choice, hot and cold, and also offered me a personalized omelette. Coffee was fairly decent and our server took a lot of care to make sure we were happy and well looked after.
It was just a lovely experience with excellent quality food, presentation that showed care and attention to details, and service that was impeccable.
Can’t wait to go back.

There’s a lot to recommend the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver — certainly starting with the excellent location, close to so many attractions, restaurants, and even in walking distance to Stanley Park. The lobby level is beautiful and modern, and the entire place is spotlessly clean. Service is excellent, both fast and friendly. I arrived shortly after 9am and had no problem at all checking in, even though check-​in was at 3pm.
However, it’s still a very old hotel. If you’re looking for modern rooms, this isn’t the place. It looks like I imagine it looked in the 70’s. There’s lots of room, and the amenities are nice, but it lacks the feeling of being in a top-​tier hotel room that you get in the lobby.
The new Notch8 restaurant in the lobby is fantastic. I also tried ‘Absolute Spa’ in the lower lobby, which was good, but didn’t have the resort spa feel of other Fairmont spas — maybe because this one wasn’t run by Fairmont.
Overall a great place to stay in Vancouver, but not for those looking for a modern room.

I spent three nights at this sumptuously restored historic hotel during a recent business trip to Vancouver, and would highly recommend it to anyone planning a stay in this incredible city. Centrally located in the heart of downtown, the Fairmont is just a short walk from the waterfront, Granville Island, and Stanley Park. My room was spacious and comfortable, and the entire property clean and well-​maintained. Wi-​Fi was complimentary during my stay, and I had no trouble logging on or getting reliable service.
Bonus points for a very helpful concierge, speedy check-​in, and an adorable lobby dog.

Even though this hotel is under construction, which certainly detracts from its beauty, I am giving it five stars, because I really had an amazing stay. Every person working at the hotel was extremely friendly, efficient, and knowledgeable. The Fairmont Gold dining area featured great breakfast, and my room was very cozy, with a lovely view.
Maybe the best thing about the hotel, however, is the concierge desk. I spoke to several people working the desk and had positive experiences all around, but I have to say Neil was especially friendly and helpful. He went out of his way to help us find restaurants that met our very specific and eclectic demands and followed up with me the next day to see how our dinner outing went and to recommend more restaurants. If you are traveling to Vancouver and want a centrally located hotel where people will go the extra mile to help you find great attractions, shops, and restaurants, this is the hotel for you. I would recommend it for all travelers who might need guidance in a city they haven’t visited often.

The Hotel Vancouver lives up to its Fairmont name. The service was top notch, and everyone was extrememly friendly and helpful (minus the check-​in person). The only mishap was when checking in and the person couldn’t find my reservation, even though I booked directly off of their website. She didn’t seem too interested in trying to find it, so I had to pull out my phone, connect to their wi-​fi and find the reservation in my e-​mail. All of a sudden, she found it (weird). Additionally, the key cards didn’t work in the elevator, so I had to walk back around, wait in line, and get it fixed, which was very inconvenient.
We stayed here for two nights in a deluxe King room, on the 11^th floor which was HUGE. The bed was comfortable and the bathroom was decent. The valet parking is soo expensive ($ 50), BUT worth the extra cost, and is really fast. Overall, I did enjoy staying at this hotel. They need to upgrade their wi-​fi, since it was super spotty and inconsistent inside the room. Plus, they are almost done with their renovations, so you no longer need to walk around the building (IN THE RAIN) to get inside.
P. S. Their renovations are terrible, as it is a very modern and sterile feel, which takes away the old, royal charm of the place.

Nice Heritage hotel with old style elegance.
I went to a few high teas here at the lobby restaurant. lunch buffet at Griffins, and several balls in their ballrooms.
We really enjoy the Champagne Princess High Tea, we were treated like a princess and served tea in beautiful china tea cups.
My best memory was at the Roof Restaurant when we first came to Vancouver. They used to have dinner dance there with Dal Richards and his Swing Band and at the end of dinner, they have all the waiters line up with the parade of Baked Alaska. For a little kid, that was a great memory!

Ein wunderbares Hotel mit einem «typischen» Flair der «alten» amerikanischen /​kanadischen Hotels. — klasse Service und super, super Frühstück
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