Thought I'd start w/ this one to amuse Altaflyer. Also, I was there last weekend, so it's freshest in my head.
A very very cute hotel. A classic "railway castle" style, but much smaller than Banff Springs or the Empress. When I asked for a map of the hotel, the woman at reception looked at me wryly and said (nicely), "OK, that's the lobby bar there (pointing), and the (fancier restaurant) there (pointing) and downstairs is the health club which has a very nice pool."
Great location downtown, next to the convention center and theatres. Best of all, there's a terrace off the lobby bar that flows nicely into a small parklike setting overlooking the river. Lots of places to sit and chill out in front of the view -- and a great shaded fountain area off to the side. The lobby bar itself is great -- I'm a big fan of lobby bars, so that counts extra with me.
I had a standard Fairmont room on the 4th floor. I was only staying one night, so saw no point in using coupons to upgrade. I suspect that if I had, I would have gotten a view of the river. As it was, however, I was very pleased with the size and furnishings of the room. A desk setup AND a sitting area (in some other Fairmont rooms, I've stayed at, you get one but not the other). Plus, the room was just plain big, for the category. The bathroom was also spacious, with the usual Fairmont toiletries. Very comfortable bed, as always.
A particularly thoughtful touch that I have *not* seen at other Fairmonts (not that I recall, anyway) was a very comprehensive list of what was going on in Edmonton -- I don't mean just the tourist magazines, but a custom made-up printout of what plays were on and which singers were in town. On a down note, I had my usual trouble with the TV remote (either it's my bad luck, or just the state of things, but no matter the hotel, my TV remote usually works only about once every third trip).
I ordered a room service breakfast and it was actually almost reasonably priced for once.
I also appreciated the breadth of offerings -- instead of just the standard options, I had Banana Bread French Toast with potatoes and eggs. Great food, great service.
My first trip to Edmonton and the hotel was definitely one of the highlights. A very cozy welcoming place. It almost made me wish I had an excuse to come back more often.