The Fairmont Pacific Rim, Vancouver
Jenahura 2010 Hotel of the Year
Possibly the finest hotel in any city that I have ever seen, the Fairmont Pacific Rim shows an extraordinary attention to design detail. It is also a testament to what must be some of the finest construction work in the world, exemplified by the 9 foot butterfly marble veneers that cover the bathroom walls in the lobby washrooms. Well, not exactly in the lobby, on the 2nd floor, tucked away in a corner where hardly anyone can see it for goodness sake! They ought to put a sign downstairs to encourage visitors to use the 2nd floor toilet.
Even the exterior of the hotel shows a ruthless disregard for the accountant, spending money on a glorious facade of stainless steel, pockmarked with circular holes. This financial recklessness continues on the sides of the hotel with a series of stainless steel letters which make up an art installation by the internationally-acclaimed artist Liam Gillick.
The hotel sits in the most idyllic location, directly across from the harbour and overlooking the meadow grass covered roof of the Vancouver Convention Centre. The rooms, all of them, are unique in that the bathrooms are very large and very stylish. Many have spacious double showers as well as large modern bathtubs. A unique feature in the rooms, and why hasn’t anyone thought of this before, is the red light/green light door indicators. Switched from the inside, these alert staff that you should not be disturbed, but also notify the switchboard that you do not wish to take any calls. How clever! And they have even included a doorbell, which seems like another obvious innovation which makes perfect sense.
It is also very refreshing to finally see a large HD flat screen TV which actually shows HD programming. Indeed, the whole channel line up resembles more of what you would expect in your home and less of what you find in your standard hotel. And that mirror in the bathroom in the suites? Press a button on your bathroom remote and a TV lights up in the middle of the glass. Don’t fall asleep in your bathtub to Dancing with the Stars.
Another retro attitude is the inclusion of a large, world class kitchen which services the entire hotel as well as a breakfast cafe. The goal is to produce outstanding food in every corner of the property for the lobby bar and a single stylish restaurant which dons a new wardrobe three times a day. You’ll also find a trendy Italian breakfast haunt, “Giovane”, complete with canary yellow Vespa & sidecar. With a great deal of forethought, the cafe is situated on the street level, with an exterior and interior exit, ensuring that a lively city crowd is mixed with hotel guests to produce a terrific atmosphere.
There are 377 guest rooms offering Mascioni fine linens, Stearns & Foster beds, spacious spa-like marble bathrooms with television-mirrors, bedside touch-screen control for lighting, temperature, curtains and entertainment, wall mounted 42” LCD televisions with surround-sound, media connectivity panel, Nespresso machines, alarm clocks with Ipod connectivity, and 24-hour room service. Spacious and elegant, over 70% of the rooms offer spectacular harbour and mountains views.
The Willowstream Spa is perched on the 5th floor of the hotel, alongside an outdoor pool of sensible proportions. Great views abound and the spa offers nine treatment areas, including a couples’ room with deep Japanese Zen tub, a Nail Spa, three lounges (two with fireplaces), outdoor spa terrace and a full fitness centre.
All this comes at a pretty price, so don’t expect to get a room for much less than $400 per night. But watch out for the occasional low season special, and make sure you sign up for the Fairmont Presidents Club. Members will occasionally receive very good offers for new hotels such the Pacific Rim.
The hotel receives our 2010 best new hotel of the year award, hands down. It is also a featured hotel for our 2011 Canadian Open package. You can stay one or two nights and visit the Open by coach each day for a summer event that’s not to be missed.