Holiday Photo Series: Fairmont Hotel Vancouver in Downtown Vancouver

By Lee Rivett

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Fairmont Hotel Vancouver in downtown Vancouver. Photo: Lee Rivett

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Retail Insider resumes our annual tradition of sharing holiday photos of Canadian retail centres for 2022. Both landlords and merchants have rolled out the red carpet for holiday shoppers and the staff at Retail Insider wanted to share their efforts for those on a mission as they plow through their Christmas shopping, those who haven’t seen their favourite retail haunts over the holiday season for a while, or for those who like to thumb through festive holiday photos like we do!

This instalment of the ‘Holiday Photo Series’ takes us to Fairmont Hotel Vancouver in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. The landmark hotel is nestled at the eastern end of the Alberni Street “Luxury Zone” and its ground floor is filled with luxury retail.

Louis Vuitton exterior at Fairmont Hotel Vancouver in downtown Vancouver on December 19, 2022. Photo: Lee Rivett
Dior exterior entrance at Fairmont Hotel Vancouver in downtown Vancouver on December 19, 2022. Photo: Lee Rivett

Plans to develop a railway hotel at the present site of Hotel Vancouver first emerged in the 1920s from Canadian Northern Railway. After construction was stalled in the 1930s Great Depression, it opened as the “Hotel Vancouver” in time to welcome Queen Elizabeth during her 1939 royal tour of Canada. The hotel has gone through a number of changes from the ownership and management perspective; however, Fairmont Hotels and Resorts sold the hotel to a Crown corporation pension fund (Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec) in 2007 but Fairmont still manages the hotel. In 2015, the property was sold to Larco Enterprise for $180 million — prior to that, rumour had it that an underground mall would connect the hotel to nearby CF Pacific Centre.

In preparation for the building’s 80th anniversary, the Hotel Vancouver underwent a C$12 million renovation of the hotel lobby, restaurant, and guest rooms from 2014 to 2018. This included reconfiguring the ground floor by moving the hotel’s check-in desks to allow for luxury retail on the ground floor. The dense clustering of luxury brands includes a 10,000 square foot Louis Vuitton, a 9,300 square foot Dior flagship, a recently expanded Gucci flagship store spanning more than 6,000 square feet, Omega and St. John Knits.

See below for our visit to the luxury retail podium of the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.

Dior interior window displays at Fairmont Hotel Vancouver main floor/lobby in downtown Vancouver on December 19, 2022. Photo: Lee Rivett
Omega at Fairmont Hotel Vancouver main floor/lobby in downtown Vancouver on December 19, 2022. Photo: Lee Rivett
Fairmont Hotel Vancouver main floor/lobby in downtown Vancouver on December 19, 2022. Photo: Lee Rivett
Omega and Gucci in Fairmont Hotel Vancouver main floor/lobby in downtown Vancouver on December 19, 2022. Photo: Lee Rivett
Louis Vuitton window display at Fairmont Hotel Vancouver main floor/lobby in downtown Vancouver on December 19, 2022. Photo: Lee Rivett
Gucci at Fairmont Hotel Vancouver main floor/lobby in downtown Vancouver on December 19, 2022. Photo: Lee Rivett
Interior Dior entrance at Fairmont Hotel Vancouver main floor/lobby in downtown Vancouver on December 19, 2022. Photo: Lee Rivett
Dior at Fairmont Hotel Vancouver main floor/lobby in downtown Vancouver on December 19, 2022. Photo: Lee Rivett

We hope you enjoyed our holiday tour of Fairmont Hotel Vancouver in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. Don’t forget to check out our other retail photo tours on Retail Insider. Thank you for taking this tour with us.

Lee Rivett
Lee Rivetthttps://retail-insider.com
Lee Rivett, based in Vancouver, supports the digital distribution and technical backend operations of Retail Insider. In addition, Lee is also an active contributor to Retail Insider’s editorial content. His work includes technical reporting, international shopping centre tours, and feature articles on Canadian retail news.

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