The Fairmont Empress

I have stayed at the Fairmont Empress a couple of times now. Each time has been a pleasant stay. 

Gold Lounge

Let’s start off with the gold lounge (offered through the Fairmont Gold) . Out of the 3 Fairmont's I have stayed at in British Columbia (Chateau Whistler, Hotel Vancouver and the Empress), I would have to say the Empress’s gold lounge has been my favourite. It’s a great area to relax for a moment. The view from the balcony is quite beautiful. The staff is amazing; they are very attentive and ready to assist with anything you may need. The selection of food from continental breakfast to snacks throughout the day has always been delicious. Each meal time has a good selection and there is something for everyone. My personal favourite is the fresh baked afternoon scones with my afternoon Imperial Breakfast tea. — The imperial breakfast is famous at the Empress. It was also the Queen’s choice when she visited. 

Speaking of tea, let’s talk about the afternoon tea…

Afternoon tea

I would say it’s definitely worth trying. With the grand interior design and beautiful tea sets it was like I time travelled back to London. If you haven’t been to London for tea, I think this might be the closest you’ll get to it in British Columbia (maybe even Canada!).

Each person gets their own 3 tiered cake stand filled with scones, finger sandwiches, and treats like macrons, financier, shortbread and cakes. They also have children's options. Each child gets their own 3 tiered stand with a smaller selection of sandwiches and treats. 

It’s $89 (CDN) per person.

Childrens is $45 per child.

There is also an option to add champagne which ranges from $122-129

The Q Bar. 

Both times I stayed at the Empress, I have eaten at the Q bar. I found the bar had great  dishes that could be shared. We ordered a bunch of different dishes and tried a bit of Everything. My personal favourite was the  baked brie. They also serve this charcoal popcorn which has a smokey barbecue type of flavour; it’s interesting and it’s definitely an acquired taste. The service the first time I went was good. However, the second time around they seemed to be short staffed. We waited quite a while to get top ups on our beverages and to get the glasses cleared. But towards the end of our dining experience the waiter was more on top of things and very accommodating. 

The empress is a special hotel. The royals have stayed at this hotel and you’ll feel like a royal the moment valet greets you!