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Located on Victoria's Inner Harbour, it was named for Queen Victoria, Empress of India. Opened in 1908 and built by the Canadian Pacific Railway, it was designed by Francis Rattenbury. One of the charming attractions is afternoon tea, served in fine Royal Doultan China. Leave a Comment
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A long, long time ago, the manager of the CPR railway wanted to build a chain of luxury hotels stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The final stop on his grand tour would be the Empress Hotel. It was designed by Francis Rattenbury and constructed between 1904 and 1908. From the exterior, take note of the French Chateaux-style peaked roof, perched atop a building combining the best elements of English architecture. Inside, look around for the amazing stained glass dome in the Palm Court and the tiger-skin rug mounted on the wall in the Bengal Lounge.
As a tourist, you're welcome to wander through the hotel to check out the many stores and restaurants. The Empress is famous for its Afternoon Tea, featuring their signature tea blend, scones and bite-sized sandwiches. You're paying ($40 CAD or so) for the experience, not the food. Shopping is limited to expensive wool and cashmere sweaters, Native art and jewelry- all sold at a high premium. If you need some R&R, check out The Willow Stream Spa, one of Victoria's top destinations for pampering. The hotel is attached to the Victoria Conference Center, which sponsors a fantastic Christmas tree decorating contest for local businesses in December (admission by donation). Leave a Comment
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The Empress is Victoria's perfect example of a crown jewel hotel. Designed by the same man who built the nearby BC Parliament (Rattenbury) in 1908, this five star hotel has served kings, queens, prime ministers, presidents, actors, actresses, and anyone else you can imagine that's important. Today, the Empress is one of Canada's most famous hotels, as well as one of the symbols of the city it serves.
The hotel was originally built by the Canadian Pacific Railway for the purpose of serving travellers along the way as they went from one side of the country to the other. Other hotels, like the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa and the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City were also built for the same purpose (and therefor all sort of look like each other). Today, however, the Empress--and its sister hotels--are now in the hands of the Fairmont company.
The interior of the hotel is like entering a time warp, harping back to a time when British colonials would have walked up down the great corridors, ready for tea time. Extensive refurbishment in 1980s and '90s has helped restore much of the hotel's old look.
A ritual that is still held today in the Empress is Afternoon Tea, where for twenty dollars and sometimes with a reservation of more than two weeks ahead (all depending on the season) you can be served like a high ranking colonial of days past, having warm tea, biscuits and crumpets, completed with the surroundings fern plants, hard wood floors, and giant windows. Afternoon Tea is one of Victoria's cultural traditions: one of the last true living examples of the city's imperial past.
Even if you're staying at the Empress or not, it's great to have a look around the premises and inside the building. You won't be dissapointed. Leave a Comment Phone: 250-348-8111Directions: Along the southern end of Government St. near the BC Parliament and the Royal BC Museum.Website: http://www.fairmont.com/
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This beautiful hotel overlooks the Inner Harbour of Victoria and is a famous landmark of the city. It's definitely an experience to stay at the hotel or have a drink in the Bengal Lounge. You can just drop in for Afternoon Tea, a very English presentation of wee sandwiches, cakes, and scones.
The Empress Room is known for its fine West-Coast cuisine. There is also a dessert buffet, evenings in the Tea Lobby Lounge and a dozen of shops to browse for tartans, jewelry, gift wear. Leave a Comment Directions: You'll find the Fairmont Empress Hotel at the Inner Harbour of Victoria.
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Just like the Legislature Buildings, the Empress Hotel is such an important landmark in Victoria, it's hard to believe there were talks of tearing it down in the 1960s. The impressive building designed by Francis Rattenbury opened in 1908 as part of the CP Rail collection of grand Canadian hotels. Numerous celebrities have stayed at the Empress throughout the years, and the story goes that some guests who died while staying at the hotel have never truly left the place...!
The Empress Hotel is famous for its afternoon tea, for which a few hundred visitors come to the hotel everyday. At $49,95 per person, there's no doubt that you're paying a lot of money for the ambiance alone. Visitors are however welcome to walk around the main floor of the hotel and enjoy the rose gardens that surround the Empress free of charge. Leave a Comment Phone: 250-384-8111Directions: Downtown, across from Inner Harbour and the Legislature BuildingsWebsite: http://www.fairmont.com/empress/ Other Contact: theempress@fairmont.com
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The Empress Hotel is synonymous with Victoria. Located downtown overlooking the Inner Harbour, it's certainly Victoria's most beloved landmark.
I admit that it's not often that a hotel is a "must see" in a city, but the Empress is such an important part of Victoria's identity, if you're going to spend any amount of time in Victoria, it would not be complete without a quick look at the hotel. And from the masses of tourists that come into this hotel every day (most of whom do not even stay there), they'd probably agree!
The Empress Hotel was built in an Edwardian architectural style the early 1900's and was considered the most prestigious hotel in the city. Members of the British Royal family, the world's aristocracy, and even movie stars would choose to stay there. Even today there's still a feeling of old world high end elegance when you walk through its doors, reminiscent of the colonial Victorian era.
As a tourist, there are several things one can do at the Empress:
You can do a quick browse through their north lobby which has a lot of photographs of famous people that stayed in the Empress.
In the south lobby there's the famous "High Tea at the Empress" which is very expensive (about $60 per person) in which you enjoy fresh fruit with cream and a platter of tiny sandwiches and bite-sized desserts while sipping tea in fine china. It's hugely popular and you must reserve well in advance.
There's the Bengal Lounge with a giant Bengal Tiger skin mounted on the wall, reminiscent of English colonial India. They serve all kinds of meals there, but their curry is probably the most famous.
There's also the Fairmont store inside the south lobby where you can purchase Empress tea, china tea cups, and other elegant gifts.
Outside of the Empress on the south side, there's a beautiful rose garden. Generally the roses are in full bloom by June. Leave a Comment Phone: (250) 384-8111Directions: Downtown, across from the Inner harbour and the Legislature BuildingsWebsite: www.fairmont.com/empress
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Even if you are not staying here, you should still take a stroll through the Fairmont Empress Hotel, built in 1908 along Victoria's waterfront. Or if your wallet is weighing you down, stop in for the lavish and expensive afternoon tea or for a drink in the Bengal Lounge.
When I first saw the Fairmont Empress Hotel, I was reminded of the Chateau Frontenac hotel that we had just seen in Quebec City and the Royal York in Toronto. It turns out that all three of these hotels were built by the Canadian Pacific Railway to encourage tourism across Canada, the trains would bring the tourists and the tourists would stay at their hotels, a clever marketing ploy.
The Empress was designed by Francis Rattenbury, the same architect that designed the Legislative Building (Parliament), both of which dominate Victoria's inner harbor. Leave a Comment Phone: (250) 384-8111Directions: Downtown, across from the Inner harbour and the Legislature Buildings
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http://www.vancouverisland.com/attractions/?id=40 Leave a Comment Phone: (250) 384-8111Directions: Downtown, across from the Inner harbour and the Legislature Buildings
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It’s hard to imagine the inner harbor without the Empress Hotel but a couple of decades ago the hotel was run down and being considered for demolition. Now lovingly restored, the hotel is possibly the most recognizable icon of Victoria’s inner harbor. Adding to its popularity, the hotel is THE place to go for tea, serving as many as eight hundred patrons each day. Leave a Comment Phone: (250) 384-8111Directions: Downtown, across from the Inner harbour and the Legislature BuildingsWebsite: 721 Government Street
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Leave a Comment Phone: (250) 384-8111Directions: Downtown, across from the Inner harbour and the Legislature Buildings
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