Fairmont Palliser

Came here last week for high tea. It was a pleasant experience, started with the waiter providing a selection of various teas to choose from, followed by fresh berries with cream. He then brought our tea and a three teared tray of fresh scones with proper clotted cream and a selection of preserves, a variety of finger sandwiches and some small deserts. The selection was good, the sandwiches were fresh and I liked that everything was properly made with real ingredients. The waiter was attentive and friendly. However I wasn’t a fan of the deserts. Everything was fruit-​flavored, strawberry-​chocolate cake, mango cookie/​custard thing, orange macaroon and a green tea cream puff. Not my cup of tea (pardon the pun), I would have preferred more classic options, so this is the only reason for the 4 stars and not 5.

Great stay, great location… Check in was quick and smooth, staff was extremely courteous and helpful. Starbucks onsite was a bonus!

We enjoyed a wonderful two night stay in Calgary and felt extremely welcomed by the Fairmont staff. From check in and room upgrade from the lovely Kyla, to Simon our waiter at the Rimrock and Patrick the master omelette maker, Ofelia in the Oak Room and the housekeepers and valets — it was truly 5 star service. The room was spacious and comfortable and we hope to visit again! Thank you!

Wonderful old old hotel. Fantastic service, beautiful old world charm. Had front room on street, very quiet, cozy room, comfy bed. In downtown center, easy walk to mall & restaurants. Will definitely be back.

We stay here most every time we are through Calgary. The rooms are nice and the Beds very comfortable. The staff is friendly. I have never really had any issues here. Location is great being right Downtown and a walk away from the Tower.
The restaurant in the Hotel is Nice but very pricey. This Hotel can be very busy at times. With some long waits to get Checked In or Out.
If you are a Fairmonts Presidents Club member, it will allow you Free WiFi and other perks.

Classy and historic hotel in downtown Calgary. Very central, close to shops on 8^th ave, restaurants, coffee, pubs and bars. Perfect for walking around and navigating.
I use the valet parking here all the time. Very professional and nice. Love the staff at valet
Was at the Palliser for an event and always hit the Oak Room, before or after — just depends. Great drink choices and a great food menu! Perfect place to have some drinks and conversation.
They have live jazz and Death by Chocolate. Can’t remember which nights but both are amazing… especially death by chocolate!!!
A great traditional hotel in the core with some modern touches. Will be back again and again.

We were in Calgary for a conference and we booked at the Fairmont as they were one of the preferred hotels. We had a great experience from start to finish and at every step, we found the staff to be amazing.
Valet parking out front was only $ 30 for the day so we opted for this opportunity. It was a total convenience and a bit of a treat, and we feel that the come and go opportunity for the set daily price was similar to what we would have paid in the nearby parkade when we were coming and going several times each day. The valet team was extremely pleasant and our car was always there when we called down for it.
The room was lovely — beautiful glass handles on all of the doors, stunning décor, a huge king size bed. It was smaller but well laid out so it felt like there was a lot of space. And the hotel just celebrated their 100^th anniversary last year.
I believe there are a ton of amenities in the hotel including dining, pool, business center, workout area, room service and more. We didn’t have an opportunity to try any of it as we were spending a lot of time at our conference but we would definitely go back to give it a try.
Overall, it was a great experience in this clean, centrally located and beautiful hotel and the service from the staff made it a five star experience.

One of my most favorite places to travel on business is Calgary… because I stay at the Palliser. Service is always impeccable, the hotel is beautiful, beds are super comfy… and they have recently added a Starbucks to the lower level. The location of this hotel is right in the middle of everything downtown, and I have no issues getting around while there. Only slight hindrance is that this hotel is a little pricey… but I’d highly recommend it anyways.

My husband and I are staying here while visiting my family. I’ve always been a big fan of Fairmont hotels and often make a point to stay with them if I can find a reasonable rate. We have been very happy with our stay so far, the rooms are nice and elegant. The beds substantially more comfortable than what you typically find in a majority of hotels. The staff is very kind and accommodating as well.
My only gripe would have to be with the room service. The quality of the breakfast we ordered was incredibly disappointing. Both of our meals were hardly touched, and for $ 50 breakfast it certainly was no where near what it should have been. My eggs Benny ($ 24) was not very warm and the hollandaise was like a hard over cooked foam. My husbands waffles where so over cooked and crunchy that he only ate ¼ and gave up.

So disappointing. The hotel is beautiful but the staff– especially the general manager that was working sunday november 9^th– absolutely awful. Rude, arrogant and got snippy with my friend. We come up to calgary for our girl weekends every few months always checking out different hotels to stay in and this one we will never stay in again. Waste of money; i will unfortunately never recommend this hotel to anyone.

I love the Fairmont chain. They could fall into the 5 star category no problem if they just stepped it up a tad. I think what ends up happening is that most of their properties they purchase are so old that it’s hard to make some changes without it costing a fortune. Our room was nice, even though it was on the smaller side, and you could tell they tried to update the bathroom the best they could. However older electrical and rad heating holds them back.
The check in was quick and the lobby was grand. We never had to wait long to get our rental car and we enjoyed seeing the two brides pass by as there were weddings taking place in both banquet rooms on the main floor.
It is a wonderful location since I love being so close to 8^th ave and the train isn’t too far away either.

Tried high tea for the first time. For $ 35 you get bread, small sandwiches and dessert. Of course I thought the highlight was the tea, but it was very mediocre. I probably wouldn’t want to have high tea here again. The tea really needs to be of better quality.

I had a bad experience at this hotel a number of years ago. Decided to give it a try again and everything has been great.
Great service from pulling up to the valet, to the room and the bar. Staff here are just fantastic. Highly recommended. Pricey, but, every half decent hotel downtown Calgary is expensive.
Great rooms, great service, great location.

Staying in a newly renovated room and it is awesome! Feels fresh, & nice modern décor! If you are doing business here, its a must! Quick & efficient check in, valet service, perfect downtown location and great staff! A good place to call «home» when away on business travel!

Classy hotel in downtown Calgary. Very central, close to amazing shops, restaurants coffee shops, pubs and bars. We use the valet parking here all the time. Very timely and professional.
The Spa on the lower level is so-​so (ok, not good). We have not yet stayed the night here as we now live in Calgary.
What inspired this review is that this evening, we are at the Fairmont for an event and just had a drink at the Oak Room. Great drink choices and a wonderful, full food menu! Patrick our bartender who has been at this for 40 years was a treat to get to know. He knows his drinks and he rates high marks to all food that comes out of the kitchen.
Apparently some nights they have live jazz and Mondays are Death by Chocolate nights! Unlimited servings with Prime Rib to boot!!!
Will be back to try their menu as well as Rimrock’s menu next door!
The environment oozes history with hints of modern and quiet class!
The food served at our event was buffet style with coffee service at the tables in the ballroom at the end of the meal. The food was tasty, hot where needed, fresh and even though listed as a «light buffet», I was pleasantly surprised at all the offerings. On the leaner, healthier side too but I am sure they can cater to whatever type of menu you want!
Would recommend!

As always, the Fairmont provides exceptional service, if you’re willing to pay the premium that comes along with that.
The Victorian style décor is reminiscent of old colonial times and also takes one back to European vacations of the past.
I have reviewed the quality of the accommodations and service at this hotel before, so this time I wanted to mention some things that I really find baffling at a hotel of this calibre and corresponding price range.
Let’s start with the part that baffles me the most. This hotel caters to upscale business people and tourists who are used to being offered cutting edge technology… and yet. the Wifi service throughout this hotel is more reminiscent of the late 90s than this decade. It makes absolutely no sense. Calgary’s downtown core is awash in Telus buildings and all the latest fiber optics are offered in the area, and yet the wifi (both the Fairmont SSID and the Fairmont_​Gold SSID) became almost completely inoperable at times.
I ran a couple of speed tests, as every nerd with a thirst for data would. at varying times during my three day stay. making sure that I wasn’t accusing them of something that was a once off occurrence or due to some massive tech convention hogging the bandwidth. At every point during my stay the speeds were absolutely abysmal. And I had paid the $ 10 for the «Premium» access as well! I shudder to think what the regular access speeds must be.
In East Asia, people in many areas have been accustomed to gigabit internet for years now, so I can only hang my head in shame to think of how backwards they must think this country is when the most upscale hotel in the city can’t offer you more than a megabit and around dinner time a facebook page can take minutes to load… i mean seriously?
Before I overstate my case, I should probably leave it at that. I don’t feel angered by it in particular, just completely flummoxed that they would provide such awesome customer service and then fall SO fall short when it comes to their customers digital needs, Wake up and smell the 2014 Fairmont. if you can’t keep up with the times, sooner or later your customers won’t be keeping up their visits with you!

I stayed at this hotel and they provided a fabulous rate of $ 99 for the conference rate! The check in was very quick and I had a room on the 6^th floor. It was a bit of a walk from the elevators, almost of the end of a hall but I didn’t mind if it was quiet and it was.
The room was nicely renovated and it wasn’t the biggest room I’ve stayed in but comfortable for one person. The décor was modern and sleek and in the closet there was a safe which was nice. There was also a Keurig machine with 6 coffee k-​cups which was nice. But don’t expect anything else for free here, except the use of a robe. Unless you sign up for their Presidents Club, the wifi is about $ 15/​day. You’ll also find a fridge stocked with pop cans and bottles of booze, and snacks for ridiculous cost.
The bed was comfortable but I couldn’t control the heating in the room easily as the temperature either stayed too cool or a bit too warm. The one thing awkward in the bathroom was how close the toilet was to the door. When using it, the robes would be hanging in front of you!
The whirlpool and pool were busy on a Saturday evening and they have a great gym with 4 ellipticals and 2 treadmills with tvs and open early and stay late. I wish I had more time to enjoy a spa treatment but maybe next time.
Location is great! Lots of restaurants nearby and walking distances to many places to shop, eat, and drink. I recommend eating outside of the hotel unless you don’t mind paying more for an ok meal. Also close to the train line and not far from the Red Arrow too.
You might be able to get a special last minute deal, as one time I saw they were offering $ 105/​night.

3.5÷5
my bf liked this hotel more than I did. I am not a fan of older hotels, but the location is AMAZING! The prices were really good for a fairmont hotel.
We have been staying downtown Calgary for the past few months, the last 2 times we were @ the Westin but the location isn’t as good. This hotel is a bit older but the location was just too good to pass up on. The parking is underground attached to a bunch of other stuff. The hotel room was nice, big screen tv and queen bed, we realized it wasn’t a king on the 2^nd night. The room service was good, expensive (of course). Would stay here again just b/​c of the location but we’re going to try Le Germain next then compare!

I got an amazing deal through the Fairmont website on a king room on the Friday and Saturday night of the May long weekend for $ 119/​night — how could I say no?!
The staff were probably the nicest staff I’ve ever encountered at a big hotel — right from check-​in to the valet to the porter. Really genuine people. I’ve stayed at other Fairmont properties and I was really impressed with the staff at this hotel.
Our room was great — absolutely huge, to start with. I thought that since we got such a good deal, we would get one of the smaller, older rooms, but we had a renovated room on the sixth floor. I prefer beds on the softer side, and this one was heavenly, as were the pillows. It was a little strange that the toilet was immediately next to the shower/​tub, but no bother. I’m a member of the Fairmont President’s Club (sign up! It’s free!), so internet was free for us; you have to pay otherwise.
Since we were in town for the Chump Car race and therefore spent most of our time at the track, we didn’t spend lots of time around the hotel, but it is in a great location, directly beside the Calgary Tower, close to Stephen Avenue, lots of restaurants, etc.
If I could get a cheap rate, I would definitely stay again.

I can’t comment on the pricing for this place, since I was lucky enough to not have to pay for my room during my stay here. The location of this hotel is excellent: right near Stephen ave and the C-​train.
My room was very nice, and very clean, more than just your standard hotel room, with some comfy chairs and a desk that was actually well-​lit. All the staff I encountered were friendly and helpful.
I’m giving them four stars to reflect a few of the things that I found a little off (the washrooms on the main floor weren’t very clean, the toilet in my room was about 2 inches from the wall, and the front desk and concierge gave me contradicting advice), and my general disappointment in the breakfast buffets at places like this. $ 30 for something that’s only a step up from Denny’s? Bleh. The buffets served at the events I was attending were good, although again I wasn’t paying, and free food is always tastier.