This hotel, like most of the former Canadian Pacific hotels, is a taste of old elegance with all the modern conveniences. Right on the water with gorgeous views, updated rooms, elegant dining and terrific meeting facilities, this is the be-all, end-all, particularly at the "low" time of year when it is also affordable.

I wish the room had a fridge/minibar.
Also, everything was great. Except that you should never ever forget to hang the DO NOT DISTURB sign on your doorknob. Housekeeping walked in on us TWICE. First time she thought we were out, she opened the door to leave the day's paper inside. Second time, she thought we had checked out.

Stayed at The Empress for one night on Saturday January 28, 2012 with my 4 girlfriends. We had all always wanted to stay there and have high tea so we did!
The hotel is a classic beauty. High ceilings, lots of wood finishes, old Victorian furniture, wide hallways with lots of historic paintings throughout. All of the common areas are beautiful to look at.
Rooms are just ok. Certainly nothing fancy or modern about them except the TV. Beds were very comfortable. Coffee maker with lots of tea and coffee choices. Robes for all 5 of us was a nice touch. Nice deep bathtub that was a terrible yellow colour.
Tea was fabulous! You get to pick your choice of 5 different house blends of tea. You get 5 different finger sandwiches, a scone with cream and jam and 4 different little desserts for each person. They will bring you additional sandwiches if you ask but it is quite filling when you add in the fact you end up drinking a whole pot of tea. You also get to take a sampler pack of the house teas home with you that costs $7.95 in the gift shop. Worth $48 per person not so sure, wouldn't rush back but am glad to be able to say yes I have done that. Service was excellent as you would expect.
Pool was fabulous, heated! Nice size hot tub and the best part is they are open until 1:00 am.
Went to the Bengal bar for a few cocktails. Nice...and expensive. Will Patton was sitting behind us which was fun for the girls.
Had dinner across the street on the water at Milestones. Beautiful views and less than a block away.
Glad we stayed and happy to get tea at The Empress off the bucket list. Would I stay there again, yes. Location for walking around downtown is excellent. Be prepared to pay more for the name of "The Empress" than for what you might have gotten in other hotels for the same price.

First off let me start by this was a FREE night. This was my first stay at the hotel after getting over the sticker shock of a $30 parking fee per night. (Parking is privatly owned by a different company) I entered my room which was very tiny but extremely clean as was the bath room. I had 1 King bed. The wireless internet worked excellent (But at $16 a day I was glad I am a Presidents club memeber as for me it was free) I looked over the pool area etc and it looked inviting but I never used . On a Sunday night Dining choices are very limited in this property As there was a curry buffet or exspensive pub fare both in the lounge no dining room open on Sundays after lunch. Never did room service. I had a large flat screen TV in the room but the remote was VERY spotty working at best. No A/C if needed in room for summer time use but there was a fan in the closet. The inroom tea and coffee service was great but I found odd that the seperate kettle was plugged in (Kettle is a great touch) when I went to use the coffee maker I had to move the table it was on as well as the curtains in order to find and plug in the coffee maker. The room was Very quiet no noise from anywhere. I did recieve an odd voice mail on my inroom phone that was an advert. for the spa? Never heard of this before. once in bed I was up every hour try to find a comfy possition to sleep in. I think the bed was way to soft for my comfort. Nothing wrong with the bed if you like them soft. I found the small in room fridge and it did not seem very cold if infact cold at all. The shower had great pressure and temp. But later on when running the hot water in the sink it took almost 20 min of continuous running for the water to become warm??
All in all a very pricey place to stay if it was not for the free room I may have stayed elseware.
But I will add that ALL staff that I encountered were very friendly and proffesional and when on the phone even called me by name.