Located at the southern end of Downtown Victoria on Government Street, the hotel is situated close to the British Columbia Parliament Buildings.

[5] Rattenbury's initial plans featured a seven-story hotel similar to the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City.

Incorporating elements of French Renaissance architecture, his designs featured an enormous entrance hall, and a glass-roofed palm garden decorated in a Chinese motif.

[7] Like most Chateauesque hotels, the Empress incorporates stone and brick cladding, steep pitched copper roofs, ornate neo-Gothic dormers and gables, and polygonal turrets.

The hotel was built between 1904 and 1908, opening for service in that year and named for Queen Victoria, who was also Empress of India.

[15] In the 1930s, Shirley Temple arrived accompanied by her parents amid rumours that she had fled from California because of kidnapping threats, a story borne from the presence of two huge bodyguards who took the room opposite hers and always left their door open.

[16] On May 30, 1939, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth attended a luncheon at the Empress during their 1939 royal tour of Canada.

[18][19] In 1965, debate to tear down The Empress to make room for a more modern, functional high-rise hotel surfaced.

One local newspaper warned that, "Without this splendid relic of the Edwardian era, literally tens of thousands of tourists will never return.

"[18] However, on 10 June 1966, the hotel's ownership announced that they would not be demolished, but would embark on a $4 million renovation and refurbishment program, playfully dubbed Operation Teacup.

[18] During these renovation, the engineering staff from the hotel confirmed that there was what has been described as a tunnel that ran from James Bay into the basement of the Empress.

The new company was renamed Fairmont Hotels & Resorts in an effort to reflect its growing global presence and ambitions.

[citation needed] Although the new name stuck, Fairmont made no changes to the hotel's original exterior signage, as a compromise to soothe local anxieties and respect its heritage.

The renovations included redesigns of the guest rooms and suites, spa, dining facilities, and reception lobby.