The Fairmont Empress - Victoria, BC Canada
N 48° 25.301 W 123° 22.089
10U E 472762 N 5363235
The 100 year old Empress Hotel.
Waymark Code: WM2XVE
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 01/06/2008
Views: 142
The Empress hotel from its beginnings was tourist oriented. In the 1880’s the general manager of the Canadian Pacific Railway, W. Van Horne, was looking for a way to entice travelers onto the CPR routes both water and rail. He came up with the idea of a chain of luxury hotels from coast to coast. The Empress would become the West coast anchour for that chain.
In 1903, Francis Rattenbury, a Victoria architect and the designer of the nearby Parliament Buildings, was hired to draw up plans. He took his inspiration from The Chateau Frontenac but the resulting design was his own interpretation of a Elizabethan, Jacobean and Gothic take on the CPR’s Franco-Scottish theme.
Construction started in 1904. The hotel opened January 20th, 1908 and will celebrate its’ 100th year of operation in 2008. The hotel was an instant hit and had many years of prosperity. That growth suffered during WW1 but picked up again in 1920. A new wing was added in 1929 and during these years, American tourists were starting to add to the clientele of the CPR’s wealthy world travelers that were still coming to Victoria. WW2 really affected the hotel and the CPR lost interest in maintaining the hotel in its grand style. Over the next 40 years, the hotel slid into disrepair and in 1965 there was discussions to raze the hotel to the ground and build a ‘modern’ hotel tower. The public debate was loud and strong against that plan. It was abandoned and replaced with a minor $4 million spruce up.
In 1988, the hotel closed for extensive restoration of the hotel and its’ rooms at a cost of $45 million. A health club, indoor swimming pool and a guest reception area were added at this time too. In 2001 an 8,000 sq ft spa was added at a cost of $7 million.
Today the 477 room hotel is as much a tourist attraction as a 4 star luxury place to stay. It’s believed to be one of the most photographed buildings in Victoria with the nearby Parliament Buildings a close second. The hotel is world renown for its Afternoon tea. On average, 130,000 people per year partake in the experience. Reservations are required at least a week beforehand and it’s not cheap, about $50 CND per person.
The room rates run from about $200 to a whopping $1500 per night for a 2 bedroom suite. One of their 4 restaurants, The Empress dining room has a 4 diamond rating.
As far as ‘strange’ things happening at the hotel, this is taken from the ‘History’ page of the hotels’ web site:
“The walls of the hotel contain stories of unusual guests and employees. In 1987, a woman wrote about her wonderful stay at The Fairmont Empress and asked if other guests had received a similar late night visitor: a little girl who had watched over her bed and then floated across the room. There are also the stories of an early 20th century maid, who shows up now and again on the sixth floor to help with the cleaning.”
This is a Canadian National Historic Site with 6 more located within 2 kilometers of the hotel