point bonita lighthouse

In my stays at different Fairmont hotels I have found some of their hotels extraordinary with large tall ceilinged classical rooms and suites with stunning views. I would put in this category the Montreux Palace, the Banff Springs Hotel, Chateau Lake Louise, the Savoy, The Plaza

Then there are others while nice --I would subjectively put in totally different tiers.
An intermediate tier the Orchid in Hawaii (the weakness of the rooms), the Sonoma Mission Inn, San Francisco, Seattle, etc.
And finally a third tier where I would include such hotels as Newport Beach, etc.

I am extremely interested in what hotels in the Fairmont group other members feel combine extraordinary architecture, beauty and views well worth the trip?


This is an update on this thread to summarize the input from members as well as input from some veteran Fairmont President’s Club representatives. I have restricted it to a top 10 destination/hotel list and will continue to update this list as additional members input comes in. One of the attractive features of the hotels that are proximate by car is that they are conducive to a unique travel experience. In the three that have mentioned below I have anchored the group with what is perceived as the most extraordinary of the hotels. This of course is a very subjective first cut list but I would appreciate commentary on whether the hotels on this list really deserve to be on this list and in what order.

1) Banff Springs with side trip to Chateau Lake Louise and/or Jasper Park

2) London- Savoy Hotel

3) New York- The Plaza

4) Le Chateau Frontenac with side trip to Le Manoir Richelieu

5) The Montreux Palace

6) Vancouver - Pacific Rim and/or Waterfront

7) San Francisco Fairmont (tower) with side trip to Sonoma Mission Inn

8) Seattle - The Olympic

9) Shanghai - Peace Hotel

10) Hawaii - the Orchid

tcook052

Fairmont Le Château Frontenac. Do I really need say more?

Ancien Maestro

Banff Springs is one of my favorite. The New Savoy is nice as well. The Orchid used to be a Ritz Carlton.. I personally would rate Orchid and Kea Lani in the first tier.. IMHO. Orchid, Kea Lani, and Seattle (used to be a Four Seasons) while not as architecturally old world refined, are world class hotels.

point bonita lighthouse

Thanks tcook,
Are there particular times in the year that you would travel? e.g. Fall when the leaves turn, an annual event in the area?

tcook052

I'd say the area is so photogenic year round but Autumn/Fall even slightly moreso when the colours are so vibrant as well as winter with the Quebec Winter Carnival with the ever popular mascot Monsieur Bonhomme.

PS The historic district of Quebec City is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Jasper2009

The top Fairmont hotels IMO are Banff Springs, Lake Louise, JPL, Fairmont Seattle and the Pacific Rim.

The problem with most historic Fairmont hotels (SFO, Edmonton, Vancouver downtown, Boston Copley Sq.) is that they offer great views and a fantastic location, but the rooms are not that fantastic, to be fair it´s hard to update the bathroom iif the architect allocated 50sq.ft. for it, also some properties are just too large to offer 5* personalized service. The Gold Floors are these properties are fantastic, however.

tcook052

FWIW IMHO I didn't find the room I was in at the Fairmont Olympic Seattle all that fantastic as the sofa was on the old & worn side and needed updating. And this wasn't some run of the mill Fairmont room it was an executive king suite.

The other two proerties I could nominate but sorry as much as I like the Olympic to me it really belongs in the list of historic hotels you mentioned as having room issues. And I hope that doesn't sidetrack from OP's intent with this thread, just adding my two cents.

Ancien Maestro

CLL doesn't have the amenities that BSH offers.. when it comes to rooms, BSH definitely has the repertoire compared to other properties such as Le Chateau Frontenac, CLL, JPL, Hotel MacDonald, Paliser, Empress, etc. I like the Mac, Empress, Whistler (should be on the elite list, not to extent of BSH).. once you've tasted BSH, nothing else compares to it, except a different type of scenary i.e. ORC, or KEA. Turnberry is actually pretty nice, and I've heard that the new Mayakoba is a force to contend with as well.

Let's not forget the Fairmont Vancouver Airport, in the shadows of the Pacific Rim.

Shenanigans

That would be one mighty big shadow, AM.

Did you mean the Hotel Vancouver?

MSPeconomist

Clearly Lake Louise, Quebec City, Olympic Seattle, but what's missing from the list is the Peace Hotel in Shanghai, although it has it's problems with small rooms and service.

mars1982

I stayed at the Savoy recently and it was truly stunning after the major renovation.

Ancien Maestro

I meant the Pacific Rim.. If you like the Pac Rim, you'll like Vancouver Airport, as the rooms are fully automated, in a contemporary feel. Vancouver Airport was one of Fairmont's premier leading edge technology hotels before Pac Rim came along.. Vancouver Airport is available for a fraction of the price too.^

CdnFlier

The Peace Hotel is quite a nice property - I'd have to agree that the service needs work though! Otherwise, it's a beautiful non-North American property to have on this list..

Ancien Maestro

While on the topic, we've got a few gems from Africa as well..

http://www.fairmont.com/EN_FA/Articl...gworldbest.htm

Notably.. #3 resort total in the world.. will have to put my reading glasses on a bit later.



Top Golf Resorts..

http://www.fairmont.com/EN_FA/Articl...deNast2010.htm



Top Fairmont Resorts..

http://www.fairmont.com/en_fa/articl...orldselite.htm


My beloved Fairmont Orchid I guess has won many accolades..

http://www.fairmontmeetings.com/orchid/property_03.html


My beloved Fairmont Kea Lani.. list of accolades

http://www.fairmontmeetings.com/keal...operty_03.html


More articles can be found in the Fairmont website..

tcook052

Unsurprisingly however OP asked for our input about what we feel are top Fairmont hotels, not the Fairmont marketing department's input.