Right at the heart of perhaps Canada’s most beautiful city sits one of the country’s most storied places to stay: The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, with its mint-coloured copper roof and gargoyles that have earned it the moniker ‘Castle in the City’, has been home to royalty, celebrities, and – maybe more extraordinarily still – Vancouver’s first-ever, unofficial ‘gay bar’.
If there’s one defining quality to Vancouver’s most historic hotel, it’s the architectural ambition that’s gone into creating it. The idea, back in the 1930s, was to build upon an already existing landmark that would join the ranks of other stately grand dames built by the Canadian Pacific Railway along the region’s quickly expanding railway network. Architects John S. Archibald and John Schofield were tasked with the job, and, when the hotel was opened by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1939 (the fourteenth floor, conveniently, had been designed especially for their stay), it was royally well received, indeed.
The hotel’s history continues to play a role in a stay here, and no five minutes had passed since we’d arrived, before the reception staff pointed out a daily tour of the property, and offered to show us the fourteenth floor’s original interiors and design features, which remain almost entirely untouched. As you might expect, there’s no shortage of fascinating stories at Fairmont Hotel Vancouver: In a previous iteration, the hotel had played host to a physically exhausted Mark Twain’s bedridden series of interviews in 1895 and later, in 1944, local socialite Jennie Pearl Cox died in a car accident upon departing the hotel (her ghost allegedly appears near the lifts every now and then, remaining noticeably shy, however, during our stay).
Around the same time, following prohibition, the hotel opened one of the city’s first beer parlours, and, only allowed to serve men at first, inadvertently gave gay men the chance to gather without suspicion, creating Vancouver’s first queer safe space, ‘The Men’s Tavern’. Those days are of course long gone, but – although different in nature – a decidedly fabulous air continues to waft through the hotel’s common areas, most noticeably the ground floor, where boutiques by Dior, Louis Vuitton and others rub shoulders: If ever you’ve dreamt of spending the night at your favourite luxury department store, and the idea of ‘Breakfast at Gucci’ appeals, this might just be the closest you’ll get.
The hotel is home to a whopping 557 rooms and suites with varying styles. Some lean heavily into the storytelling of a glamorous past, while others strike a modern balance. We stayed in a 51 sqm (549 sqft) Junior Suite, which benefitted from a sumptuous seating area including a well-equipped work station, and windows offering views of a cityscape that seemed perpetually cloaked in a blue sky. Amenities like tea and coffee makers come as a standard, and so do full-sized Le Labo toiletries, as well as, of course, some rather handsome details like oval mirrors and elegantly patterned carpets. Our room, forming part of the hotel’s accessible portfolio of guest accommodations, also featured a very generous closet and bathroom, though due to the size and position of the bed, we wondered whether a guest in a wheelchair would actually be able to access said wardrobe – or, for that matter, the bedroom window on the other side.
The hotel’s restaurant, Notch8, offers an eclectic mix of Canadian and international flavours. As vegans, we really struggled here, finding no plant-based starters on the menu, and just a single main that suited our dietary requirements, yet didn’t speak to us at all. Luckily, our kind waiter (a Jamie Dornan lookalike, if you must know) wasted no time in checking with the kitchen what else they might be able to conjure up, and we ultimately settled for a combination of side dishes that, while far from a dining experience that felt like a dedicated effort has been made to create as imaginative and nutritionally balanced a meal as guests around us were enjoying, was certainly very tasty. As to why the hotel doesn’t take a more progressive stance on showcasing what it’s capable of offering on the plant-forward front, adding a few options to its menu, we’re not quite sure.
There’s also a bar of the same name, which was consistently busy throughout our stay, and we’ve been made aware, is a popular choice for a nightcap among Vancouverites. Expect an impressive selection of wines, with many bottles decked in golden emblems attesting to their award-winning quality, alongside a take on mixology inspired by the city’s illustrious past. Having enjoyed a drink or two here one night, we gravitated to the 560 sqm (6,000 sqft) Spa Soleá the following day, where an enviable selection of treatments that include classic massages and facials as well as more elaborate rituals is available. Those looking to work up a sweat instead will appreciate a sauna and the hotel’s indoor pool, which sit alongside a 24-hour gym.
What struck us as the single-most noticeable feat of Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, however, had little to do with its amenities. Instead, it was the hotel’s team and the heartfelt service provided. From check-in to check-out, there wasn’t a question or enquiry we had that wasn’t met with a sense of duty underpinned by a genuine smile (or, in the case of the property’s two canine ambassadors, Elly and Ella, a wagging tail). This, we don’t doubt for a second, had little to do with rehearsed etiquette and was instead thanks to the generally kind and wonderful locals staffing the hotel. It’s how self-evident it is to them to make visitors feel welcome in a city kissed on all sides by the spectacle of outstanding natural beauty, that keeps the spirit and grandeur of this storied address alive.
Photography courtesy of Fairmont Hotels and Resorts
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While you’re OutThere
You can’t miss the popular Vancouver Art Gallery just across the street from Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, with an ever-changing roster of exhibitions luring visitors into its gorgeous, neoclassical building. If you’re looking for something a little greener, head out to the VanDusen Botanical Garden and the nearby Queen Elizabeth Park, both in the leafier neighbourhoods south of the city centre. And because there’s a lot more to experience around town, a deep dive into the Destination Vancouver website before your visit is a must.
