In Victoria, one could not and should not miss the Victoria Fairmont Empress Hotel.
This beaux-arts masterpiece, also designed by Francis Rattenbury, was built between 1904 and 1908, and soon became one of the world’s most famous hotels. Formidably looking over the harbour, the grand hotel became a byword in Edwardian luxury. Incorporating elements of French Renaissance architecture, the design features an enormous entrance hall and a glass-roofed palm garden. Like most “chateau-esque” hotels, The Empress is characterized by stone and brick cladding, steep-pitched cooper roofs, ornate neo-Gothic dormers and gables, as well as polygonal turrets. However, it also deviates from the typical design by employing elements of Tudor architecture and Second Empire style.
Still today, The Empress is an exquisite throwback to the days when Great Britain ruled the waves and still evokes opulence and luxury. Afternoon Tea is still served at the sophisticated lobby lounge everyday. Cocktails are served at the picturesque veranda. The Crystal Ballroom, still very much bedecked with crystal from its chandeliers to its lamps, still plays host to a myriad of elegant parties and dances.
It was expensive and impractical for us to book a room there since we were just out and about for most of the day, but we could still explore inside. Aside from its restaurants, spa, and health club, there is a rarely-visited archive room in the basement containing old ledgers, menus, photographs, and cutlery. Most interesting is the press room archives that keeps newspaper clipping of old ladies’ obituaries with headlines like, “Mrs. So-and-So Dies. Prince of Wales Singled Her Out.” This referred to the young Prince of Wales’ visit in 1920 where he danced with the ladies at the Crystal Ballroom until the wee hours of the morning.
But apart from the romantic tales, this old hotel is also known for its share of ghost stories. Staff members and guests alike claim to have other-worldly encounters. Some say that the ghost of Rattenbury himself is often seen in the basement archive, walking the halls in his dapper Edwardian suit while smoking a cigar. It’s how he would have looked like on the ill-fated night that he met his lover (and their affair ended in their tragic deaths).
There was once a woman who sent a letter to the hotel thanking them for her wonderful stay and asking if other guests have also seen her late-night visitor in her room – a little girl who watched over her bed and then floated across the room. Hotel cleaners say that every now and then, there are sightings of a 20th-century maid helping with the cleaning on the 6th floor.
I am not surprised at all. With the age and rich history of this establishment, it is bound to have colourful stories, whether from this world or from beyond. After all, it has played hosts to royalty, foreign dignitaries, Hollywood celebrities, and other important figures, and has been the site of their real-life dramas.
I asked my husband if he was interested in an Afternoon Tea, but I already knew the answer even before he shook his head. I was fine with skipping it. I do not have a sweet tooth and I am more of a coffee drinker anyway, and that afternoon, I was actually craving a latte.
Before we left, we posed for a picture in front of its ivy-covered grand façade.
Photo Credits:
fairmont-empress.com, atlasobscura.com
Comments