Fairmont Hotel Macdonald

For our anniversary we booked a Fairmont Gold room. What a treat! I loved the private lounge and the redesigned room. The staff went above and beyond to recognize the event we were celebrating with a complimentary dessert at supper in the Harvest Room. Loved the location too, just a quick walk to the hockey arena. It’s perfect.

Stayed for an old hotel experience, so the peeling paint in the bathroom and loud pipes were expected on our part. Unfortunately, we also expected the staff to have the experience of an old hotel and we were very disappointed. I was going to write a review of how many times over our two night stay we experienced slow service, staff unable to answer hotel questions (things that were being advertised literally a few feet away from the person being asked) and being offered many apologies but no one jumping to help in anyway. We started to think the staff was trained to offer a confused expression and act like it's the first time the question has ever been asked...we, just as confused, point to the advertisement hanging just feet away...huh?? It was not surprising when a manager texted my number and when I told her to phone after a certain time, she did not. I texted her again to remind her but I only got another text with apologies of her not contacting me. When staff is trained by management that offer apologies rather than action, the poor service of this hotel will continue.

We have visited other Fairmont locations and have always been extremely impressed by one thing above all: the service. At the MacDonald however, reality did not meet our expectations by the half. It was here that we felt like an inconvenience every time we made a simple request of the staff. Though some things like the hot tub/steam room being closed due to Covid-19 are understandable, there seemed to be little excuse for the bellhop/valet’s visible unwillingness to be of assistance. Thought it might have just been the day, but the next morning the same guy was there with the same sour attitude. Not the best welcoming party. We booked Fairmont gold months in advance but sadly were not kept apprised of the changes due Covid including that the gold lounge would be closed. As the Harvest Room was also closed we were forced to dine in the Confederation Lounge. It wasn’t overly busy for a Monday night, but it took nearly 2 hours for our meal to arrive (we were seated at 7 & appetizers finally arrived at 8:30). There were some rowdy visitors in the lounge who were very obviously smoking weed in the gardens which also didn’t make for a pleasant atmosphere. There was a smashed bottle on the steps outside by the pool deck the night we arrived, spoke to the manager about it in the morning but it was still there when we left. Really all in all disappointed with the Hotel MacDonald. Will likely not visit again. There are nicer places in the city with rooms just as comfortable and certainly better service! The only person who made us truly feel accommodated was Tyler, our server at the Lounge. If it weren’t for him and the bottle of DOCG we brought and had decanted we would have left after the first hour of waiting. As it was our anniversary we were grateful also to have dessert gifted to us, but again, I’ll give Tyler the credit for this. In reality, if you go anywhere else and wait 2 hours for dinner, especially at $44 a plate, you would expect more than a free dessert. No excuse was made for the tardiness (not sure if it’s a policy or not). Finally, we had asked for a bottle of rose in the room to be chilled while we were at dinner, the ice was brought to the room but the wine had been left on the counter! This was sadly not the Fairmont experience we were used to.

Stayed overnight July 2020- there was a lot of construction around the hotel but had no problems accessing the hotel or with any noise. The staff were diligent with masks and distancing. The room itself was great (402), spacious and quiet. Breakfast on the patio was very relaxing and very nice to stroll through the gardens too. Our waitress was friendly and attentive.

It was fun to have the Fairmont Gold experience! We were able to be toured around downtown with the hotel's X5 - it was neat to experience our city as if we were tourists. The driver had a lot of recommendations for places to eat and a lot of stories to tell about the guests he has driven around. The afternoon canapés at the exclusive lounge were a treat - also a relaxing spot to sit and see some city views. The pool and hot tubs weren't busy at all. There was a wedding downstairs while we had a drink at the bar - it seemed like a fun place to celebrate. Try to explore the hotel if you get a chance, it's nice to see the views from different floors. I would definitely come back again - maybe we'll try out the spa services next time!