Victoria’s most iconic hotel has just been ranked #1 ‘City Hotel’ in Canada

The Fairmont Empress has just been ranked as the #1 best City Hotel in Canada in the 2025 edition of Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards. 

Furthermore, the storied Empress property has been named to the prestigious Travel + Leisure top 500 list of best hotels in the world. 

The Travel + Leisure awards are decided by popular vote, with readers casting their votes for best in travel and hospitality throughout the year.

The latest results showed that nearly 180,000 people participated, casting over 657,000 votes, to rate the hotels they’ve stayed in. 

The criteria in these surveys includes: rooms, facilities, location, service, restaurants and value. 

The Fairmont Empress has been referred to as ‘Canada’s castle on the coast’ since it opened in 1908, and is one of the county’s oldest standing and still-operating hotels. 

Originally owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway, The Empress was designed by Francis Rattenbury, who was also lead architect on the current BC parliament buildings and the original provincial courthouse, located in Vancouver and now occupied by the Vancouver Art Gallery. 

In 1999, the prefix was added to The Empress, as Canadian Pacific spun off Canadian Pacific Hotels, along with all its properties. 

They created the new company, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts in an effort to reflect their growing global presence and ambitions. 

Though the hotel is now owned  by Bosa Developments, it is still managed by Fairmont. 

“We are incredibly honoured to be recognized as the #1 City Hotel in Canada with Travel + Leisure’s readers. It is beyond rewarding to know that so many of our valued guests voted us as their hotel of choice in the World’s Best Awards,” said Dan McGowan, General Manager of Fairmont Empress.

“This achievement is a testament to the dedication of our staff and our visionary owner, Nat Bosa, whose passion and continual investment ensure Fairmont Empress remains a source of pride for our community and beacon for travelers worldwide. We are deeply grateful to our loyal guests, our supporters, our team, and Mr. Bosa for making this recognition possible.”

The hotel underwent a transformative $60 million renovation in 2017 under Bosa. According to the Empress, these upgrades preserved the hotel’s historic charm while introducing a sense of modern luxury.

The Fairmont Empress received a total score of 94.44, and placed above The Ritz-Carlton, Montreal (93.78), the Four Seasons Hotel Montreal (93.66), The St. Regis Toronto (93.50) and the Four Seasons Hotel Toronto (92.70), among others. 

To view the full list of Canada’s top 15 hotels, click here.