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    Review: Fairmont Hotel Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada

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    • The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver is a historic hotel in Canada designed to look like a castle.
    • The property has been featured in many films and shows, like “50 Shades of Grey” and “The X-Files.”
    • I spent one night in a standard room at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver for $320.

    From 2005 to 2008, Disney Channel’s “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody” was my favorite TV show on air. So you can imagine my excitement when I found myself standing in front of the Tipton Hotel 20 years later.

    Except it wasn’t the Tipton Hotel — the fictional hotel’s exterior is actually the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, in British Columbia, Canada.

    Commonly known as “the Castle in the City,” the landmark hotel has a Châteauesque architectural style reminiscent of the French Renaissance — a stark contrast to the surrounding glass skyscrapers and modern cars on the streets below.

    Dozens of movies and TV shows have shot scenes at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, including “50 Shades of Grey” and “The X-Files,” among others.

    In May, I spent a night in a standard room at the famed hotel for $320. While my room was quite ordinary, I thought it was worth the price to sleep in a castle with stunning communal spaces.

    The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver is in the Canadian city’s downtown area.


    A map of Vancouver with an arrow pointing to the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver

    The hotel is in Downtown Vancouver.


    Google Maps

    The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver is on a busy street, just a block from a Microsoft campus and an Apple store.

    Several restaurants, shops, and public transportation stations are within walking distance of the hotel.

    The hotel opened in 1939.


    The exterior of the castle-like Fairmont Hotel Vancouver with trees on either side

    The exterior of the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.


    Joey Hadden/Business Insider

    The Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian National Railway opened the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver (then called Hotel Vancouver) in 1939 as part of a greater project to build luxurious lodgings on train routes across the country.

    Hotel Vancouver became a Fairmont hotel in 2001.

    It has a rich history, from hosting King George VI and Queen Elizabeth on opening night to transforming into a hospital during World War II.

    Inside, the decor was elegant, blending history and modern luxury.


    Lufurious furniture, potted plants, and a spiky chandelier in the lobby at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver

    Inside the lobby.


    Joey Hadden/Business Insider

    The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver has gone through several renovations and restorations.

    In 2017, the design firm B+H restored historic elements and added new luxury details to the hotel.

    In the lobby, I noticed Victorian furniture and gates acting as wall panels. According to B+H, these gates protected the Queen’s and King’s suites in 1939.

    I also spotted signs of modern luxury, like new marble flooring and bold chandeliers with funky shapes.

    There were several luxury retail stores in the lobby.


    Inside the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, there are modern chandeliers and white walls

    Luxury boutiques in the hotel.


    Joey Hadden/Business Insider

    Geometric chandeliers continued into the shopping strip, matching the glamorous aesthetic of the window displays for high-end retailers like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Dior, among others.

    The lobby also housed the hotel’s restaurant, Notch8.


    A restaurant inside the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver with large chandeliers and a bar at the back

    Inside Notch8, the hotel’s restaurant.


    Joey Hadden/Business Insider

    The lobby restaurant blended modern glam with inspiration from the building’s history as a railway hotel. The restaurant’s name, Notch8, refers to the maximum speed setting on a train.

    The design was eclectic. Some chairs rocked a zebra print, while vintage leather cushions were strapped to booths like belts. Gates similar to those in the lobby divided the dining room into rectangular sections that reminded me of train cars.

    Notch8 serves North American cuisine for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

    Up a grand staircase, the event spaces looked regal with gold moldings decorating the walls.


    A staircase with a chandelier above it leads to boardrooms with white walls and gold trimmings

    A staircase leads to meeting spaces.


    Joey Hadden/Business Insider

    I corrected my posture as I climbed up to the second floor. It was a natural reaction to the tall pillars with intricate gold moldings around me. Above me, I marveled at a chandelier that screamed old-world luxury with dangling beads.

    Up here — and on the 15th floor — there were boardrooms and ballrooms that made me feel like royalty as I stepped into empty ones.

    Meanwhile, the 24-hour fitness center was as modern as it gets.


    Inside an empty hotel gym with treadmills on the right and strength training equipment on the left

    Inside the hotel’s gym.


    Joey Hadden/Business Insider

    When I visited, the gym was spacious and empty.

    Cardio machines, treadmills, ellipticals, and spin bikes lined the walls. Around the room, I also spotted strength training machines and various free weights.

    I thought the most beautiful space in the hotel was the indoor pool.


    An empty hotel pool with floor-to-ceiling windows in the background and a skylight above

    The hotel’s indoor pool.


    Joey Hadden/Business Insider

    Stepping into the pool area instantly calmed me. The long, rectangular pool was empty when I visited. Sunlight flooded into the space through floor-to-ceiling windows and a skylight above.

    While I didn’t get a chance to swim, just being in the room felt serene.

    I stayed in a 300-square-foot room with a queen-sized bed and a city view.


    Inside a hotel room with a bed between two nightstands and a window on the left

    Inside the reporter’s room.


    Joey Hadden/Business Insider

    The room had an art deco design style with a muted, neutral color palette. Aside from four small photos framed above the desk, I didn’t see much decor.

    The bathroom had a walk-in shower, but no tub.


    A composite image of a hotel bathroom seen from two different angles

    Inside the reporter’s bathroom.


    Joey Hadden/Business Insider

    I noticed art deco details in the mirror’s design.

    Out my room window, I could see the modern skyscrapers on the surrounding blocks.


    A composite image of downtown Vancouver views seen from a hotel window

    Views from the reporter’s window.


    Joey Hadden/Business Insider

    A peek out the window reminded me of the hotel’s unique and historic architecture amid a 21st-century metropolis.

    The room may have been typical — but the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver was anything but. I’m glad I booked it.

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