Victoria is western Canada’s oldest city and British Columbia’s capital. The city’s British influences are clear in the architecture and nomenclature; thriving Chinatown reveals some of the city’s other influences. The Parliament Building overlooks the busy Inner Harbour; the Royal British Columbia Museum is across the street. The University of Victoria is 7.5 km (4.5 mi) northeast of downtown.

Guests at the Empress work out in a fitness center equipped with three treadmills, two elliptical trainers, two exercise bikes, strength-training machine, and free weights. The gym overlooks a 60-foot atrium pool located next to a children's wading pool and a hot tub. Fitness center changing rooms have showers, toiletries, towels, lockers, and saunas.

Bicycle and watercraft rentals are available across the street at Victoria's scenic Inner Harbour. Hotel staff can provide guests with running maps, water bottles, and towels. Flightseeing tours and whale-watching excursions depart from docks in the harbor.

The hotel is two blocks from Beacon Hill Park, an expansive facility with walking and running trails, a petting zoo, tennis courts, and magnificent views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the distant mountains of the Olympic Peninsula.

The recreational activities listed below are available either on-site or near this downtown Victoria hotel; fees may apply.

Willow Stream Spa has been ranked within the top 5 spas in Canada by Conde Nast and was the reader's choice for Black Press' Best of the City.
Willow Stream Spa has 11 treatment rooms, including couples treatment rooms. Offerings include massage, aromatherapy, body scrubs, body wraps, and hydrotherapy. Manicures and pedicures are also available.

The Empress Dining Room - Ornate tapestries, landscape art, a carved mahogany ceiling, and live harp music set an elegant mood in this fine-dining restaurant offering breakfast and dinner daily. Signature dishes include wild British Columbia sockeye salmon paired with root vegetable gratin, and garlic-rubbed rack of lamb with kalamata olive gnocchi. A spa menu with lighter fare is also featured. The wine list has 500 entries, and wine pairing is a specialty. Reservations required.

Bengal Lounge - Leather furnishings and a tiger skin set the mood in this colonial-style lounge famous for its curry buffet lunches and dinners, and its longtime status as one of the city's premier meeting spots. Live jazz on the weekends. Extensive martini list.

Afternoon Tea in the Lobby - A tradition in Victoria for almost a century, the Fairmont Empress's tea service features tea, pastries, sandwiches, strawberries, and clotted cream served in the hotel's original lobby complete with palm fronds, carved ceilings, antique furnishings, and views of the picturesque Inner Harbour.

A Green / Sustainable Property - Third Party Certified
This property participates in Green Key, a third-party certification program that has been independently certified. Third-party certification measures the property's impact on one or more of the following: environment, community, cultural-heritage, the local economy. An objective assessment of a company's sustainable tourism practices has been performed at this property by an auditor who is independent of the third-party certification program.

**These amenities may be available only in some rooms or units. Some amenities may incur additional fees.

Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on hotel policy.
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card or cash deposit are required at Check-In for incidental charges.
Special requests are subject to availability upon Check-In and may incur additional charges. Special requests cannot be guaranteed.

The following fees and deposits are charged by the property at time of service, Check-In, or Check-Out.

The above list may not be comprehensive. Fees and deposits may not include tax and are subject to change.

Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on hotel policy.
Photo identification and credit card or cash deposit are required at Check-In for incidental charges.
Special requests are subject to availability upon Check-In and may incur additional charges. Special requests cannot be guaranteed.