Fairmont Waterfront

We had the sea to sky suite which had the most beautiful view but overall not worth the price. The balcony area was dirty with champagne corks and wire tops from popped bottles on the ground and weeds growing everywhere. The housekeeper even commented how dirty the balcony was on the first day and said she was going to ask that someone come back to clean it but that never happened in the 5 days we were there. The flower pots were empty other than soil. There was no shade on the balcony despite getting direct sun most of the day so was hard to enjoy it other than morning and after dark. We had 1 day of our trip we were able to sleep in (our last day) and had put the Do Not Disturb sign out and they actually called and woke us up at 8 am to ask if we needed housekeeping!!?? Why would they do that? We wanted to take a trip across town and called concierge to ask to have a car arranged and we were told there were taxis out front...no other option. Taxi drivers drive like idiots and I feel they often put my life in danger so J really preferred to pay for a private car but they would not help arrange this. When we first arrived in Canada I recieved an email from the government that said I needed to get COVID tested within 24 hours but could only be performed at specific places and I was very stressed out about this. While waiting for our room to get ready I asked one representative of the hotel about this and she told me I could have it done right at the hotel. I went to find this location and another hotel representative told me that was not the case that this testing had to be performed at specific locations only. Despite my being vaccinated and boosted I was really stressed at the prospect of being positive and having to spend my entire vacation quarantining in my hotel room and was almost in tears when I asked for this representatives help in locating a place to have this required testing done since I have never been in Canada before and have no idea where anywhere is and he rudely kept loudly saying..."Don't you have google!?" " You don't have Google on your phone!?" I was overall quite disappointed in the customer service recieved from such a high priced hotel and would have expected much more.

One night stay but everything about it (especially the helpfulness of staff) was top shelf!

When I arrived at the check-in desk at 4:55pm I was greeted by Bekie who within a few seconds asked if I'd like to upgrade my room for $85 a night. I told her no, I was happy with the room I reserved. She then said that housekeeping was not done and my room was not ready and repeated that I could get an upgraded room immediately for $85. Again I said no. She then said she could give it to me with a special deal for only $50 per night. One again, I told her no, explaining that I was on a budget. She repeated that my room was not ready. When I asked how long I'd need to wait for my room, she said she didn't know for sure but it could be hours. At this point I knew I was in an attempted scam. I don't know if the check-in staff gets bonuses for upgrading rooms, but it sure felt like it. At the least it all felt very unprofessional and very heavy handed. At this point I asked to speak to her manager. Bekie then looked at her computer and said "Oh, I can get you in a different room." This just seemed to confirm my suspicions. The whole thing left me in a very sour mood. I'd really been looking forward to a wonderful weekend at a Fairmont Hotel (I've enjoyed them in the past) and things were starting off on an extremely bad note. After the check-in experience, the hotel was great. Our lovely room had a fantastic view (which I didn't have to pay extra for) and we were able to easily rest and relax. Graeme at the concierge desk was a true delight to work with and got us a table at one of our favorite, but busy, restaurants.

The Waterfront never disappoints as a classy, relaxing getaway. Always welcomed back by staff, made to feel at home and great value.

Stayed for several nights on the concierge level. Service was outstanding and all employees went out to their way to make it a great experience. Food in the Concierge lounge was fantastic - especially the breakfast. Our room was serviced and cleaned every day. This reminded us of staying in a top notch hotel in the glory days before the pandemic. There were an extremely large number of guests coming and going onto the cruise ships yet the staff made it feel like a small hotel where each guest mattered.