Union Club of B C

Fantastic place for a quiet and discrete meal with friends who have climbed the social ladder much further than one might have otherwise suspected. Waitstaff highly proficient and able to deal with a level of misbehavior reminiscent of that time Hunter Thompson was thrown out of the Oak Bay Beach hotel for eating all the butter. They’re not kidding about the cell phone rule, so keep everything far more below table than you’re used to. Matter of fact, if you have to text, disguise it as public masturbation. They’ll be much more forgiving. I have absolutely no idea if food was even served, but I’m sure that it was excellent.

While I have never stayed here, I have eaten here on a number of occasions, the most recent being for our annual firm general meeting and dinner. The food was simply fantastic! Tuna Tataki Salad amazing! Beef Tenderloin Sublime! Ditto for the Crème Brûlée! And the service was unbelievable. Perhaps the best I’ve ever experienced! True professional waitstaff who know how to give proper service, very refreshing. There are many waiters and bartenders at other more mainstream establishments who could learn many lessons from these outstanding professionals.
The many dining rooms that are available are all beautifully and elegantly appointed as is the entire facility.
This place personifies an older much more civilized, classy and dignified time, that is getting more and more difficult to find and experience nowadays. While the atmosphere is a little stuffy or old English, it must be experienced and appreciated on occasion as a special treat and to get a little taste of what the upper class Brits live like. Indeed, one gets the impression that Sir Winston Churchill might walk in, or perhaps a high ranking British Officer in a pith hat!
While I don’t dine here regularly, I always enjoy it when I do and look forward to returning.

We enjoyed the vintage building, elevator and room fixtures. The location is perfect if you want to explore downtown Victoria. I can’t comment on the complementary breakfast because we had to get an early start up the coast. However, it looked like it would have been excellent. The September price of this room was very competitive if you want to stay downtown. I would recommend this establishment to anyone who appreciates classical architecture and antiques. We had a hard time finding this establishment. It was not marked well and calling the hotel did not yield useful information. We deliberately selected the least expensive room price and the view was predictably bad.

We stayed here for two nights in August 2012, and are glad we did. The Union Club has an old-​time feel but with modern efficiencies. We were in a recently upgraded room, with fairly new paint, lighting and furniture. With the exception of the bathroom, everything was quite spacious and comfortable. The bathroom, however, had hardly any counter space, which made shaving etc. a bit difficult. It was very warm (for the area) during our visit, and the hotel doesn’t have A/​C. I understand that, but it meant we had to open the window, and that meant some noise from the street. The fan was very noisy.
We very much enjoyed the dining room, with its wonderful feel and gracious service. The fitness room was quite satisfactory as well. The library is right out of a British film, and well worth spending an hour or so lounging with a drink in hand.
The location could not be better. Upon arrival in Victoria from the Vancouver ferry bus, we walked the two short blocks to the Union Club. The Inner Harbor is one block away.

I was very pleased with my stay. The style and old fashioned traditions within this place just make it such a unique experience. It’s really a diamond in the rough in a way because it’s eclipsed to most tourists by the neighboring goliath: the fairmont empress. But for a little less money you can have the same location and lots of exclusivity without the pretentiousness of other swanky hotels. You also get free breakfasts which are very good and less noise and hallway traffic than other options in town. The only downsides would be the age of the amenities and some lack of space which is just a byproduct of the older design.

The Union Club in Victoria is nothing but old school class.
I attended a private reception there the other day and had thought that I had been transported back to another time. Across the street from the famous Empress Hotel, the Union Club is located in an equally impressive heritage building. Complete with rich, dark wood paneling, plush, overstuffed leather couches, and paintings of prime ministers long past.
As I was there for a private function I didn’t get to see all of the facilities offered at the club but I was able to get a quick tour of the bar, games, and snooker rooms. The bathrooms alone were quite amazing, I could have just hung out there for the the afternoon but that would have been a little creepy.
The club is a members only facility, so don’t just expect to walk in off the street and play a quick game of snooker unless somebody you know happens to invite you in as their guest. However, just because it’s a private club doesn’t mean the other guests or staff members are stuck up or pretentious in any way, but rather just the opposite.
If you get the opportunity to go to the Union Club don’t pass it up. You’ll find yourself transported back into another time without the need of a flux capacitor.