The Fairmont Hotel Macdonald Review

(See updates below for full review)

Disappointed so far.

Here's a quick summary. Took the time and effort to call and reserve adjoining rooms, only to be told that's not available upon registration. We wanted adjoining rooms as we are traveling with younger children, and the Fairmont apparently cannot accommodate 5 people in one room due to fire code restrictions (what we were told).

Upon entering one of the rooms, a wash towel awaited us on the floor, in plain sight (see photo). That's a fairly gross oversight for such a high-end hotel.

You will see the rust in the Keurig coffee maker's water reservoir (see photo). Yuk.

The entire 2nd floor smells like exhaust from the kitchen grille. I like the smell. It makes me hungry. Some may not enjoy it as much as I do.

The river view is very nice. Wait staff is very friendly.

We have a few more days here. Will update this review later. I really like the ambiance of the hotel.

#Update 1#

Staff was able to find adjoining rooms and we were able to relocate to the reserved rooms the following day. Staff very friendly and use of texting to keep us posted on room status was welcomed. Thanks to Dennis and Sydney for helping.

Vincent the executive housekeeper personally called to apologize for the dirty towel left in a room (thank you for reading this Google review!). Asked for ways to make it up to us.

Having to unpack, repack, move to a different room, and unpack again in less than 24 hours is a hassle we wish we could have avoided. Not sure how Fairmont's reservation services can improve to avoid this in the future.

Aside: Luke the parking attendant has been a great ambassador for the Fairmont from the start. Super friendly and positive attitude. I would hire this guy to work for me if I could.

#Update 2#

Vincent, the Executive Housekeeper, took it upon himself to make adjustments to our account and profusely apologized for the inconvenience. He notified us by email of what he did, after we left the hotel.

Although we did experience hiccups during our stay, the communication and the degree with which the team at Fairmont tried to make corrections is exemplary, and warrants a 5-star review. I have changed my review to reflect their efforts.

I would stay at the Fairmont McDonald again when the occasion arises.

One of if not thee classy spots in Edmonton. This is one of the oldest hotels in Alberta but was built beautifully and showcases Edmonton's immaculate River valley views. Plus, the lounge is a gorgeous way to spend the evening chatting over scotch or sipping a mamosa to bite the dog back.

Clean, great food and a cozy stay overlooking the river.

Some of the rooms that are classified as river views aren't 100% river views. Some rooms are directly over a major street so it can get noisy at nights. Service is always top notch.

Very nice 5 Star Hotel. Had lunch there with a great view of Edmonton and the river valley. The food was top quality along with the service.

Had Sunday brunch in the ballroom. Great set up, delicious food and good service. I would go back!

Enjoyed a delicious lunch on the patio and a beautiful view of the river valley

Amazing staff and such a cool heritage building to explore while I stayed for a week

We had our wedding reception at the Fairmont Hotel MacDonald. Awesome venue with amazing food and excellent service. Shout out to Mr. Danilo Madrid for his very special fruit carvings, helping me select the best food choices possible, and his generous and kind heart in helping us make our celebration run so smoothly! The entire team was amazing and Mr. Madrid went above and beyond for us! Can't thank you enough!

The patio is simply amazing! Great food selection and the prices are reasonable for such a nice establishment!

Wish they had a better craft beer selection, particularly from more Alberta breweries. Their house beer is good.

We got a table at the outdoor patio and the view was amazing. They make one of the best old fashioned.

I had high expectations and they were blown away. From location, grounds, amenities, team to the room everything was grand. This visit ended a week long, multicity road trip and it sure ended on a high note. I'm looking forward to my next visit.

Excellent hotel. Very attentive staff and sweet Canine Ambassador.

We love other Fairmont locations but our first visit to the MacDonald was a horrible experience. Unorganized and lack of training of staff mainly. However, our second stay there was much better. The building is beautiful, but the rooms are average.

Art Works Summer Solstice Gala event. Empire Ballroom. Beautiful! Great food and lovely decorating.

My first experience here wasn't the best. Management reached out to me and got me to come back and I have to say, I was a little skeptical but they brought it. Their staff were great, the room was beautiful and the over all experience was substantially greater than my first. There was a bit of a wait for some services that I had sent to the room and a slight delay when waiting for the valet service but all in all, if this is what I am to expect anytime I stay at the Fairmont, I will most definitely be coming back. Special thank you to Hayde who went above and beyond to make our stay enjoyable.

Gorgeous location, excellent rooms and service. Overall great spot.

Wonderful hotel in the grand old Chateau style. Exceptional service from the staff. Rooms are large, bright and clean. Bed was very comfortable. Had dinner and drinks in the Confederation Room, on the patio, which had a great view.

Amazing view! Can't get over how good it is to see the entire valley. The pub has good food and it seems good local beer on the menu, even though I didn't have any for lunch.

Room was nice, great view of River Valley. Service was great too. Wifi kept disconnecting which was frustrating since it wasn't free. All in all a bit pricey for what is included. Food (room service) was average.

A four star hotel gets 5 stars from me. My stay was incredible.

Well. Hoping this is the spot for new year's. Top shelf. Top floor.lets do it fo sho

Breakfast at the Harvest Room was above our expectations and the staff were great.

Very bad decor. Super dated old person stile. NOTHING IS INCLUDED IN PRICE! NOTHING! You have to pay an additional charge for internet! Rooms are not even nice. Any regular 4 star hotel is wayy nicer. Would not recommend

I love this hotel it s very historic and beautiful. But I find that inside needs some new changes the carpets look really old and out of date and some of the walls and furniture need revamping. If people are paying a good price to stay at a hotel they should always keep the place looking well kept. This hotel has more potential and I think with a few changes it s could be a better place for our city.

Beautiful! Gorgeous building!! Worth the cost and stay!

I was here for a Grey cup event. The venue was perfect for it

Great old hotel, built as part of the Canadian Pacific Railroad hotels. Eclectic rooms, good food, nice staff. Nice meeting room on main floor, typical basement meeting room

Way overrated and overpriced. Vallet service is worth the money you pay

Classy place with generally great staff. The lounge could have used more staff though as I sat there for 10 minutes and nobody came to take my drink order so I left

Fantastic service, great food in the fairmont gold lounge, delicious cocktails & beautiful patio. Extremely poor Wi-Fi in many rooms. However, dont think the hotel deserves a 4 star rating!

Beautiful patio. Upscale, nice bar, generally mature crowd. Love it.

Extraordinary view, well priced drinks and great room service. The staff is exceptionally polite and professional, the valet very knowledgeable for driving directions. My wife and I were very impressed, the beds were extra comfortable and pillows of various sizes made it easy to get cozy. Water pressure in the shower was awesome, and the gym was huge!

Stayed in the Lougheed suite. Was a nice big room, with confirmed beds. Only complaint is the lack of microwave.

Great hotel. With a delicious brunch in their Dining room.

Charming hotel overlooking the river valley. All the attention and amenities you would expect from a Fairmont property.

The room was nice and clean, mattress was very comfortable. The hubs has a million food allergies and the breakfast room was incredibly accommodating. Our server, Natalie, was friendly and went the extra mile with the kitchen to make sure my husband had a full belly before we checked out.

Location is great. Customer service is not as great

Apparently this one is located in a rough part of town. We were kept awake with police activity out front of the hotel starting g at 02:00 finishing up at 05:40 Needless to say we will not be staying here again.

We wanted to share our recent experience at the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald which was February 14-15, 2019. To begin, we were graciously welcomed back by Mrs. Nella Mirante, Director of Concierge Services . She was absolutely fantastic from making sure our room was perfect upon our arrival and helped us book an amazing Valentine s dinner in the Harvest Room. There are people in this world that come to work and perform their job, however, time and time again, Nella and her team, go WELL beyond that standard...she assures our time at the hotel is perfect and truly treats us as family. This type of impeccable service is the reason why we will always come back and stay at this regal hotel! Thank you Nella for all that you do for us!!
Also, wanted to mention a great big thank you to Jordan and Nathali at the breakfast buffet in the Harvest Room...these ladies were amazing and exude the outstanding culture of the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald. Thank you all again and we will see you soon!
Warmest regards,
Mario and Tina DeLuca

Spent a couple nights here for our anniversary and had a great experience.

Service is top notch, patio is incredible and enjoyed some great eats during their sunday brunch!

I had a fantastic time at the Image Skin Care launch. Food and service was amazing!

I went to a wedding that was held here and it was a beautiful venue.

Stopped by and had a drink. Nice, but waiting 20 minutes for 2 double espressos seems excessive.

Overpriced. They nickle and dimed us for everything, even wifi was extra. Room was shoddy, wall paper peeling and very plain for a "Grand Room"
Had a mysterious 200 dollar charge on our prepayed room as well as a 50 dollar charge for valet I believe. Worst time at a hotel, this was horribly overrated. Never have I been so disappointed in a hotel.

no parking without valet great breakfast at Harvest.

Noisy, one elevator functioning, stairs are suicidal. Nice views and attentive breakfast staff.

Any evening is complete with the ambience of the Confederation Lounge..... simply beautiful.

Staff was very rude and discriminating. Had a Terrible experience. The price was not worth it. I have stayed at almost all fairmont hotels and have never been treated this Bad. Please do not stay here, not worth the price.

Expensive base rate. Parking not included. Breakfast not included. Internet not included. Helpful, friendly staff. Nice pool and sauna. No high tea Thurs or Fri. Smelly hallways. Noisy riverview rooms. Free shampoo not very nice.

This is one of the premier restaurants in Edmonton. We always have a fantastic meal here and the service is unparalleled

Exceptional experience! It's one of my favourite Fairmount Hotels especially during the holidays season - great spirit!

The staff provided such friendly service. The young woman working at the gym/pool Saturday morning was exceptionally friendly. Reception staff was also great.

Beautiful place, nice grounds. The breakfast buffet wasn't all that great. Order off of the menu cost less and more appealing.

Beautiful hotel with a great restaurant. The service was great and food delicious

This is the first time I have ever been to the fairmont, and I absolutely LOVED LOVED IT! I was there for a wedding on August 24, and the staff was amazing, David, Jungie(hopefully I spelled his name correctly), Bryden are just a few that I remember their names, the receptionists, the servers, gave great service and they were incredibly personable and friendly. LOVED THEM!!!!!! I LOVED THEM ALL!!! I CAN'T EXPRESS HOW MUCH I LOVED BEING THERE! Also found out that they have Sunday brunch and tea days, so might check it out as well. Otherwise, the place is incredibly beautiful, lots of places inside & outside to take pictures. DID I MENTION I LOVED IT!!!

I had my wedding here at the Hotel Macdonald. The staff were incedibly helpful with the planning and running of the event, and helped the room look beautiful (even with minimal decoration). The food was also immaculate gathering compliments of many of our guests. We were gifted a hotel room by some.of our guests afterwards, and it was also immaculate. The lounge also had great food and drinks, and while the lounge was quite busy due to the grey cup weekend the staff were still helpful and attentive. Overall it was top notch from top to bottom and I would recommend the Hotel Macdonald for a Wedding, Hotel Stay, Dinner at their restauraunt, or drinks in the lounge.

Great service happy accomodating staff. Went and witnessed a wonderful wedding event and staff were very professional

One of the best hotels in town. Staff is phenomenal

We went here for high tea and both my wife and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The tea, sandwiches, scones, and dessert were all delicious. I only wish that I had had a smaller lunch before coming, because I was uncomfortably full by the end.

Staff are very friendly and food/drinks arrived in a timely manner.

Their sauna right before the pool is a must. Their historic architecture is so beautiful!