STAFF HOTEL REVIEWS

The Fairmont Empress Hotel
721 Government Street
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

- Dave Grossman, HotelMagician.com
September 2011

Victoria is one of those towns that you visit and think you could live there – it’s so idyllic that you can’t help but ponder it.

If you arrive by seaplane, as we did, you start right in the center of town – the Inner Harbour. And right away you will have your eyes fixed up the hill onto the Edwardian-era building that you either are staying in – or should be staying in. That’s the Fairmont Empress.

While known for their Afternoon High Tea, a tradition dating back to 1908, the real reason to stay here is the location and the ambiance. As you can see in the photos, it’s like staying in a wonderfully maintained (actually, resorted) piece of history.

Fairmont Empress bedroom

And you literally CAN NOT BE in a more central location from which to enjoy Victoria.  You can stroll the 3 minutes back down to the Inner Harbour, relax by the water, wait on line for lunch at the famous “Red Fish Blue Fish” fish and chips stand (it’s as good as the reviews say and the lines are even longer than they say!).

Or you can stroll around any of the nearby streets that make up Victoria’s downtown. If you need a car rental, there’s one right behind the hotel.

And honestly, there’s nobody in town that doesn’t know the Fairmont Empress.

The rooms are on the small side, especially the disappointingly small bathroom (which had virtually nowhere to put anything and had one of those slightly-too-thin bathtub/shower combos), but they are nicely appointed and have an updated flat panel TV as well as WiFi wireless Internet in all rooms.

*TIP* All Fairmont President’s Club members get free WiFi. Anyone can join for free and the WiFi is complimentary regardless of your level in the program. So be sure to join! Everyone else will have to pay up for the WiFi.

On the whole, just walking in and around the hotel adds to your trip and, while the Fairmont did cost a few bucks more than other options in town, it’s well worth it.

Fairmont Empress High Tea

What’s NOT worth it?  The food. Aside from the Afternoon Tea (if you’re so inclined), please do yourself a favor and skip breakfast unless it’s in your room rate. It was in ours, but if it hadn’t been the breakfasts for two would have clocked in at over $50 for what we both thought was pretty low quality food. We didn’t try dinner but heard it was not worth it either. There are many great options in town. A bit off the beaten path (and a good 20-25 minute walk from the Empress) was Cafe Brio – a wonderful Italian place not to be missed if you love food. All plates are available as whole or half orders, so you can easily try two dishes each.

Mineral Bath

What also is not worth it? In all likelihood, the spa. While it’s ranked as a top spa in Canada by Conde Nast, I had a tour of it and it didn’t look impressive at all. Aside from a small temptation to have a soak in the mineral bath (shown), the rest seemed worn out. Save that money for a spa day back home….

In short: If you will be in Victoria, B.C., stay at the Fairmont Empress. You’ll be glad you did.

-DG

Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel – A Thompson Hotel

Jr. Suite

7000 Hollywood Boulevard

Hollywood, CA 90028 US

By: Dave Grossman, HotelMagician.com

October 2008

If you are looking to stay in the heart of Hollywood, California – and by “in the heart” I mean across the street from Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and steps from The Guinness World of Records Museum and the Hollywood Wax Museum, The Hollywood Roosevelt hotel is one of your two best bets (you would be just as well situated in the Renaissance Marriot Hollywood, located inside the Grumann’s complex).

If you are looking to add to that a huge “hip” factor and stay where Marilyn Monroe used to stay, that will narrow your selection down to the Hollywood Roosevelt which despite its age, underwent a $15 Million renovation after being bought by the Thompson Hotel Group (also known for hotels like 60 Thompson and 6 Columbus in New York City and the Thompson Beverly Hills).

The Pool

If you want to stay there when it is really “sceney” you will want to do a weekend in the summertime. But even at the “off season”, you will find a very hip hotel, nicely decorated, with a pool (complete with pool bar and food/beverage service poolside), a nice area to relax in the pool area, a cute little “Library Bar” that provides that small, quieter, more historic feel, and two dining options: 25 Degrees (a boutique-diner style restaurant specializing in various combinations of burgers) and Dakota’s (a steakhouse).

On the advice of staff, asking which to try if I was to try only one, I

Great burgers

dined at 25 Degrees. It lived up to expectations and then some. Both my dining companion and myself were more than satisfied with the burgers which were both tasty and juicy and served in a variety of styles. As well, the sides of fries and onion rings were both well above average.  The prices were reasonable and I would definitely recommend 25 Degrees whether or not you are staying at the hotel.

Modern bathroom

The room itself was very nice – upgraded to a type of Jr Suite, I had an extra sitting area, nightly turndown including complimentary Voss water, and upgraded Kiel’s bath amenities.  Despite feeling that the rooms were extremely tastefully done, I was told they will soon be renovating them all again.  Note that you have a choice of a Tower Room or a Cabana room when booking. I might go for the cabana room if it’s mid-summer and I want to live in the party but otherwise, the Tower has the more modern and elegant feeling rooms.

The service was overall very friendly, from the front desk, to the concierge and into the bars and restaurant. Nice to see a “hip” hotel that isn’t too hip to be polite.

I did have two negative experiences. One was that I requested wake up calls on both nights of my stay and did not receive them either morning. I was told there must have been something wrong with the phone yet when the front desk called me, it was working – so I don’t know what the deal was on that. The other was more of a pet peeve of mine – Valet Only parking. I like to be able to lock up my car and not worry about leaving something hidden inside and I also don’t like having to wait on it being brought around (although I’ll admit during my stay the valet was very quick – but it was also far from busy). And as of Oct. 2008, this added $28 to the nightly tab.  There was a parking garage across the street but without an agreement with the hotel, you would only want to consider that if you won’t be taking your car out at all – as you lose in/out privileges.

A couple of nice touches: Free WiFi throughout the hotel and little “pill bottles” filled with M&M’s left in each room.

All in all, the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel is an excellent choice for those looking to stay in the core Hollywood Blvd area.

-DG

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