I recently spent three days with the Fairmont Waterfront team, learning how food, nature, Indigenous culture, Pure Coastal luxury and wellness shape the hotel’s approach to the guest experience. As someone who writes about Vancouver’s restaurants and travel experiences, I enjoyed seeing familiar places from a different perspective and finding experiences to share with locals and visitors.
Reimagining Pure Coastal Luxury
Fairmont Waterfront sits across from Canada Place, with the harbour and North Shore mountains in view. Waterfront Station, Gastown and the seawall are all close enough to reach on foot, making the hotel a convenient base for a stay in the city.
The hotel is renovating their guest rooms in phases, using coastal colours and natural textures that reflect the waterfront setting. I enjoyed a luxurious stay in the Signature Harbour Stanley Park King room during the trip. Floor-to-ceiling windows framed a wide view of the harbour and mountains, and I found myself lingering by them in the morning before heading downstairs.
Sustainability Rooted in Action
Rooted in a sustainable travel philosophy, Fairmont Waterfront has a rooftop garden with bee hives where honey, herbs, fruits and vegetables are harvested. You can find those rooftop ingredients in the handcrafted food and cocktails in the hotel’s restaurant, ARC Restaurant + Bar.
We met with the team from Honeydew Bee Collective who showed us the beehives and spoke about the care involved in maintaining them.
Fairmont Waterfront has a Five Green Key rating, with sustainability initiatives covering energy efficiency, waste reduction and local sourcing. The garden and apiary are the parts guests can see up close. When rooftop ingredients appeared in our food and cocktails later, the connection between the garden and the restaurant felt much more apparent.
Exploring Indigenous Culture
Some of the most meaningful time on the trip was spent exploring Indigenous Culture. In Stanley Park, Talaysay Tours led us on a walk centred on the trees and plants around us. Our guide, Talaysay, spoke about their culinary and medicinal uses and the cultural knowledge connected to them. I have visited the park many times, but I left aware of how much I had walked past without knowing.
Later, Canoe Cultures took us onto False Creek to learn about Coast Salish canoe history and culture. Seeing Vancouver from the water gave us a place to listen to stories connected to the shoreline around us. I appreciated that both experiences were led by people sharing knowledge of their own cultures.
We had dinner that evening at Salmon n’ Bannock, an Indigenous-owned restaurant serving dishes made with local and traditional ingredients. Chef-owner Inez Cook has trained the ARC team to make bannock, which the restaurant serves with salmon. It was one more connection between the people we met during the trip and the food back at the hotel.
Led by a Love of Land and Sea
I ate at ARC throughout the stay at the hotel, from breakfast in my room to the restaurant’s à la carte menu, buffet breakfast and Province-to-Plate dinner. The Garden-to-Glass cocktails brought ingredients from the rooftop into the drinks program.
ARC’s menus draw on relationships with local fishers and farmers. Rooftop honey and herbs, locally grown produce, sustainable Ocean Wise seafood, and organic B.C. wines all have a place in the restaurant’s culinary philosophy.
Granville Island with Chef Harris Sakalis
Fairmont Waterfront’s Executive Chef Harris Sakalis took us through Granville Island Public Market, stopping to talk with local vendors and show us ingredients that inspire the cooking at ARC. I visit the market often, usually with a snack or a few things to take home in mind. Walking through it with a chef made me pay more attention to the people supplying those ingredients.
The visit gave me another way to think about the hotel’s Province-to-Plate approach. It begins beyond the restaurant, with growers and vendors Chef Harris knows and the seasonal ingredients he chooses to bring back to the kitchen.
Wellness, Seamlessly Integrated
Our days were full, but the hotel made room for quieter moments. I joined a floating sound bath led by wellness instructor Tianne Allan in the heated rooftop pool. As the evening light changed over the harbour, we floated and listened.
On our final morning, Tianne led a gentle rooftop yoga and meditation session. It was a calm start before checking out, with the water and mountains still in view.
Stay Gold
Fairmont Gold is the hotel’s more private stay option, with a dedicated check-in desk, concierge and access to an exclusive lounge and terrace. Breakfast and evening canapés are included for Gold guests, along with hotel car service.
For travellers who want a quieter place to have breakfast, work or take a break between outings, the Fairmont Gold lounge adds another space beyond the guest room.
The trip introduced me to beekeepers, Indigenous-led tours, local vendors and chefs whose work connects the hotel to Vancouver. The conversations around the garden, table, market and shoreline made the stay memorable.
Disclosure: I visited Fairmont Waterfront on a hosted media trip. Indigenous Tourism BC and Destination Vancouver supported portions of the itinerary.