Victoria International Airport (YYJ): Approximate driving time is 30 minutes and distance is 18 miles.

Taxi, limousine, and public transit bus service is available for transportation within the city of Victoria. Daily car-ferry service to Port Angeles in Washington State, and high-speed catamaran service to Seattle, Washington, is available from the Inner Harbour in front of the hotel. Seaplane service from the same location is also offered to both Vancouver, British Columbia, and Seattle, Washington.

Kipling's - Buffet breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served daily in this casual family restaurant named after the famed author, who was a frequent visitor to the city. Extensive à la carte menu offers burgers, steaks, herb-crusted chicken, and a wide variety of desserts. Sunday brunch is a local favorite.

Bengal Lounge - Leather furnishings and a tiger skin set the mood in this colonial-style lounge famous for its curry buffet lunches and dinners, and its longtime status as one of the city's premier meeting spots. Live jazz on the weekends. Extensive martini list.

Afternoon Tea in the Lobby - A tradition in Victoria for almost a century, the Fairmont Empress's High Tea features tea, pastries, sandwiches, strawberries, and clotted cream served in the hotel's original lobby complete with palm fronds, carved ceilings, antique furnishings, and views of the picturesque Inner Harbour.

Amenity highlights: An on-site spa features a full range of therapies, while hotel shops offer elegant apparel and jewelry as well as fine arts and crafts. The hotel also offers a fitness center, indoor atrium pool, children's wading pool, sauna, and hot tub. Secretarial services are offered in the computer-equipped business center. There are three restaurants: Kipling's for casual meals, the Empress Room for elegant fine dining, and the colonial-style Bengal Lounge, famous for curry dishes. The hotel offers an elaborate afternoon "High Tea" service in the original lobby.

Insider tip: Guests with a taste for fine dining are advised to reserve ahead in order to guarantee a table at the elegant Empress Room with its tapestry covered walls and carved mahogany ceiling. Work up an appetite by taking a walking tour of the hotel with Walkabout Tours—front desk staff can assist with arranging a tour.

In addition to two restaurants and a lounge, the hotel has specialty shops featuring elegant apparel, jewelry, and Canadian arts and crafts. The hotel is bounded by gardens and is conveniently attached to the Victoria Conference Center.

The Fairmont Empress is home to the 8,000-sqare-foot Willowstream Spa, a traditional European-style facility offering a wide variety of relaxation and therapeutic treatments including facials, massage, manicures, Kur treatments, and exfoliations. Three types of baths are offered, including Thalasso, thermal mineral, and herbal. In-room treatments are also available.

In-room dining is available 24 hours with a limited menu offered after midnight. Kosher meals are available by request.

Bicycle and watercraft rentals are available across the street at Victoria's scenic Inner Harbour. Hotel staff can provide guests with running maps, water bottles, and towels. Flightseeing tours and whale-watching excursions depart from docks in the harbor.

The hotel is two blocks from Beacon Hill Park, an expansive facility with walking and running trails, a petting zoo, tennis courts, and magnificent views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the distant mountains of the Olympic Peninsula.

The recreational activities listed below are available either on-site or near the hotel; fees may apply.