Canada Guide
Vancouver Island
The Empress Hotel
A town is usually desperate when one of its key attractions is a hotel, but in the case of Victoria the Empress Hotel is so physically overbearing and plays such a part in the town's tourist appeal that it demands some sort of attention. You may be unlikely to stay here – rooms are expensive – but it's worth wandering through the huge lobbies and palatial dining areas for a glimpse of well-restored colonial splendour. In a couple of lounges there's a fairly limp "Smart Casual" dress code – no dirty jeans, running shoes, short shorts or backpacks – but elsewhere you can wander freely. If you want to take tea, which is why most casual visitors come, enter the Tea Lounge by the hotel's side entrance (the right, or south side); there you can enjoy scones, biscuits, cakes and, of course, tea over six courses but you have to abide by the dress code and be prepared for an enormous outlay. In other lounges like the Bengal you can ask for just tea and scones. There's also an upscale place for dining, The Empress Dining Room.