Just down the street from the Calgary Tower on 9th Avenue is the Fairmont Palliser Hotel, one of Calgary’s oldest historic buildings. It’s within walking distance of the majority of Calgary’s gay nightlife, making it an excellent destination for gays and lesbians visiting Calgary for business...or pleasure. I usually walk by this building in awe – the appearance of three towers at the front is really quite impressive! So it was quite an honour to have Marketing Manager Nancy Jackson take us on a tour of this fabulous building.

The lobby is a marvel in itself, with the high ceilings, antique furniture, and original paintings. To the right of the entrance is a balcony into the lounge where orchestras play during special occasions such as Christmas and New Year’s Eve. However, seeing all the posh, high-class individuals lounging around can sometimes make the average person doubtful that such an establishment is affordable to them. "There’s a perception that...we’re priced out of a lot of people’s budgets, and that’s not necessarily true," says Nancy. "We have great rates that are available on the Net, we have excellent weekend packages and specials, there’s business travel rates...so there’s lots of options, and our rates are the same as most of our competitors." Indeed the Fairmont Palliser has been working to change this perception to make people aware that it’s not just a hotel for – let’s face it – the rich and famous. I mean, who wouldn’t be daunted by the fact that Queen Elizabeth II once stayed in what’s now called their "Royal Suite", room 859. The Fairmount Guestrooms, One-Bedroom Suites and Junior Suites are much more affordable for those of us who are not celebrities – yet you’ll still feel that you’re living in style!

Built in 1914, the architect designed the building floor layout in an "E" shape to maximize exposure to outside lighting...with windows that actually open!! The suites aren’t cookie-cutter identical either – each is slightly different from the next. Originally the building was only 8 stories high, however in 1929 an additional 4 top floors were added. Now the 8th floor has its own private concierge for the Fairmount Gold rooms – the most luxurious available in the hotel.

The building has a grand total of 405 rooms, each one equipped with business amenities such as a desk with halogen lamp, cordless telephones with dual-lines and voicemail, and even a High-speed Internet connection for your laptop! The televisions are equipped with 42 channels, as well as a broad selection of pay-per-view movies and pay-per-play Sony Playstation games. All rooms are pet-friendly with a minimal surcharge to deep-clean the carpets after your stay, ensuring that other guests don’t suffer from any pet allergies. The guest rooms are 225 square feet, but the more up-scale rooms range from 350-800 square feet! We were shown a corner Junior suite, its bathroom equipped with it’s own Jacuzzi! In addition, we saw the Royal Suite – not only does it have a living room, bed room, dining room, and 2 bathrooms, but it also has Queen Elizabeth’s china set on display in a (very secure) antique display cabinet. It’s not the largest available room in the hotel, but certainly the one with the most history.

On our tour, we found out there is a lot more to the Palliser than just overnight accommodations. We were shown an antique-furnished conference room on the 8th floor, complete with wireless internet access for those with laptops, a desktop computer for those without, and even a kitchen area with coffee, tea, and snacks. It is booked on a first-come first-serve basis, however amazingly its use is complimentary! The Crystal Ballroom on the main floor can house up to 450 people and is frequently used for conferences and weddings – in fact, they average around 195 weddings May through September. This is very appropriate since the carved ceiling is reminiscent of many churches in Europe – absolutely breathtaking.

The Boulevard Level, located on the basement floor, once housed a gay bar! Though they are no longer in business, the floor is still host to a Hair Salon, the Obsessions Deli, a Work Center, Health Club, and more. The Work Center gives you access to photocopiers, fax machines, computers...anything you could possibly need to keep up with business away from home. The indoor salt-water swimming pool was built just recently in 1998 – the last hotel in the Palliser chain to get one. It’s one of the complimentary services that the Health Club facilities provide, alongside of the Eucalyptus Steam-Room, Weight-Room and Massage Parlor.

When you’re looking for a bite to eat, there are several options comfortably close by in the same building. The Obsessions Deli carries a variety of continental fare for breakfast and lunch. The Oak Room is a casual lounge with beautiful dark-oak walls – a place you can go to eat without needing a reservation. The Rimrock is a ritzier place to go, but to be safe you’ll need to book ahead. They have themed lunch buffets for every day of the week – just $23 per adult. Tuesday and Thursday evenings they feature "Death by Chocolate", an all-you-can-eat chocolate buffet with everything chocolate that you can imagine! The Rimrock is also host to a very special antique fireplace that would have been torn down in the 60’s had Calgary not launched a letter-writing campaign to save it – and with good reason! It’s undergone a few minor renovations since then, but a classic piece like that is impossible to replace.

"I grew up in Calgary and [the Fairmont Palliser] was always ‘the place’, like you came here for brunch and it was the place for special occasions," says Nancy, "But we’re trying to get away from that image...we’re not just the place for special occasions, we’re also your every-day place." The common areas throughout the hotel are adorned with historical pictures of Calgary. One showed a small park owned by CP Rail at the site where the Calgary Tower now stands– it was surreal to say the least. "We’re a public building and we welcome people to come into the building, but ideally if those people want to go on tours, if they could make an appointment and somebody in guest services can take them around and give them the factually-correct information. We have people come in, just wander around, get coffee and sit in the lobby – we’ve got such a beautiful area."

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Contributor Rob Diaz-Marino |

Locale Calgary |

Topic Accommodation and Lodging | Fairmont Hotels | Fairmont Palliser | Travel |