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Despite not owning a passport, the Queen has visited more than 120 countries in 90 years, from Abu Dhabi to Zimbabwe.
So if you’ve ever fancied following in Queen Elizabeth II’s footsteps and staying somewhere “fit for a queen”, here’s ten hotels where you can do just that.
1. Fairmont Royal York, Toronto – Canada
The Fairmont Royal York. Queen Elizabeth II. Image courtesy FRHI hotels & resorts
The Queen stays in the aptly named Royal Suite whenever she’s in Toronto. Just like her parents, George VI and the Queen Mother did before her.
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip’s portrait hangs in the lobby of this historic hotel, which when it was opened in 1929, was the tallest building in the Commonwealth.
DID YOU KNOW? Canada is the country most visited by HRH Queen Elizabeth II – she’s been “across the pond” 25 times.*
And in case you’re curious, Elevator No. 9 is the one the Queen uses when she stays in the hotel.
The Fairmont, Queen Elizabeth II in 1962
It’s not the only Fairmont hotel the Royal Family has stayed at (see no. 3 on this list). But elsewhere in Canada, three generations of Windsors, including Prince Charles, have stayed at The Queen Elizabeth in Montreal.
DID YOU KNOW? The Fairmont St Andrews in Scotland may have played a part in the marriage of the now Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Kate Middleton caught Prince William’s eye when she appeared in a revealing outfit in a fashion show at the hotel in 2001.*
2. Waldorf Astoria Park Avenue, New York – USA
B&W Queen’s Dinner held at the Waldorf Astoria New York. (c) Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts
HRH the Queen Mother stayed here in 1954, and clearly gave a good review of the place to her eldest daughter.
The Waldorf Astoria Park Avenue in New York held a gala dinner and reception (see above) in The Queen’s honour in 1957 when she arrived for her stay.
They also created a Royal Suite especially for Her Majesty.
Expect a large foyer, antique furniture, and luxury embellishments and original motifs if you book a suite.
The Royal Suite Parlour at the Waldorf Astoria New York (c) Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts
Before it got the royal seal of approval, the 5* Waldorf Astoria New York had been setting lavish standards for years since opening in 1931.
Hollywood celebrities and politicians have also stayed here over the last 80 years. The Presidential Suite has hosted every American president since Herbert Hoover (1947).
Its romantic interiors also make it popular as a film location. More than 20 films have featured the hotel.
The Queen Mother at a reception at the Waldorf Astoria New York (c) Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts
3. Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, Alberta & Fairmont Empress, Victoria – Canada
The Queen pictured while staying at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise
When HRH Queen Elizabeth II visits Canada, she’s more than likely to be found in one of Fairmont’s hotels.
Fairmont Banff Springs, Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise and the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge first welcomed King George VI and the Queen Mother in 1939.
The Queen and Prince Philip followed in their footsteps 66 years later in 2005, where they stayed in the Outlook Cabin at Jasper.
The Fairmont Empress Hotel has been a popular choice for the Queen, she’s visited at least once every decade since being on the throne.
She even has exclusive use of Royal China, purchased just for her.
Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip at the Fairmont Empress Hotel in 1951
DID YOU KNOW? The Queen was given a peace pipe decorated with pink and red feathers during a tour of Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan in 1973. You can see the Canadian gift from the Samson Cree Nation in the Royal Collection.*
4. The Majestic Yosemite Hotel – USA
The Majestic Yosemite Hotel – photo by Kenny Karst
In a 1983 visit to Yosemite, the Queen took over the whole hotel (formally The Ahwahnee Hotel), staying in the The Mary Curry Tressider Suite.
They now refer to it as the Queen’s Room in Her Majesty’s honour. With its four poster bed and huge bathroom they recommend it as a honeymoon suite.
This grand hotel was built in the 1920s in a bid to attract the jet set to Yosemite, so if you want to explore the local wilderness and return to luxury, this is the place for you.
Visit in May and June to see Yosemite Falls in its full glory from the hotel.
Tresidder Suite at The Majestic Yosemite Hotel. The Queen stayed in this suite during her 1983 visit – photo courtesy of Yosemite Hospitality
5. The Phoenicia, Valletta – Malta
View of Valletta – terrace at The Phoenicia, Malta
HRH Queen Elizabeth II’s photograph sits alongside other famous guests of the first luxury hotel to be built in Malta in 1939.
She was a princess when she stayed at The Phoenicia on her first trip to Malta in 1949.
Most of the rooms and terraces have sweeping views of Valletta’s harbours.
DID YOU KNOW? Malta is the only country the Queen has ever lived in. She arrived as a newly wed in 1949 to live with Prince Philip, who was posted there by the Navy, in what was then British Malta.
The hotel is currently undergoing a major renovation and will reopen for guests in June 2016.
The Phoenicia, Malta
6. Raffles Hotel – Singapore
The Queen and Prince Philip stayed here in 2006, but Will and Kate also made a trip here in 2012.
In 1987, 100 years after the first Raffles Hotel opened, its status was assured when it was declared a National Monument.
Queen Elizabeth II (March 2006) visits Raffles Hotel
Over more than a century it’s had Charlie Chaplin, Noel Coward and John Wayne through its doors.
You can now stay in one of the celebrity’s “personalised suites” complete with bespoke memorabilia.
It’s also the home of the Singapore Sling, the cocktail invented by Raffles Hotel barman, Ngiam Tong Boon in the Long Bar 1915.
Queen Elizabeth II (March 2006) visits Raffles Hotel
DID YOU KNOW: In 1953 the Raffles Grill restaurant was renamed the Elizabethan Grill in honour of HRH Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation
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7. St Regis Washington – USA
The St. Regis Washington, D.C. Image by Bruce Buck via Starwood Hotels
The Queen’s visited Washington four times, first arriving as Princess Elizabeth in 1951, and making subsequent trips in 1957, 1976 and 1991. She’s stayed here when she hasn’t been put up in guest accommodation at the White House.
The Beaux-Arts building that houses the St. Regis Washington is only two blocks from the White House, which is handy if you’ve got a meeting with the President.
Originally the Carlton Hotel (it became the The St. Regis Washington in 1999), the great and the good has made this luxury hotel their base.
Every American president has stayed here since Calvin Coolidge (30th President of the US) officially opened the hotel. Eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes also had a permanent suite here during World War II.
The St. Regis Washington, D.C. Presidential Suite Living Room via Starwood Hotels
The Astor Ballroom is one of the finest in the country. The building made it onto the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.
If you visit, don’t miss the complimentary Daily Champagne Sabreing in the lobby, a tradition dating back to the Napoleonic era.
The bottle is opened using a special “sword” and everyone gets a glass.
8. Treetops – Kenya
“For the first time in the history of the world, a young girl climbed into a tree one day a Princess and after having what she described as her most thrilling experience she climbed down from the tree next day a Queen.” – Jim Corbett
Kenya’s oldest safari lodge has a unique royal connection.
Princess Elizabeth was staying at the Treetops Hotel when she heard about the death of her beloved father, King George VI while she was on her Kenyan tour in 1952 .
DID YOU KNOW? The Queen has only interrupted a royal tour twice. The first time was here, when she found out she was Queen. The second was in 1974 when she was called back to the UK from Indonesia after a snap general election was called. The Duke of Edinburgh continued it and she joined him later in Australia.*
Since the royal visit, Treetops Lodge Nyeri has been rebuilt and refurbished (the first rustic treehouse went up in 1932), but it’s still right in front of a natural watering hole on the elephant migratory route between the Aberdare Ranges and Mt Kenya National Park.
If you’re worried about sleeping and missing out on some of the wildlife – they’ll buzz you in your room to alert you to animal activity.
9. The Half Moon – Jamaica
Sunset Gazebo at Half Moon, A RockResort
Three generations of Windsors have stayed in the Royal Villas at Half Moon, named because it’s on a tropical crescent-shaped beach.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh stayed here in 2012 on their last visit to Jamaica.
The Queen’s late sister, Princess Margaret and the heir to the throne, Prince Charles, have both been frequent visitors, and in 2008 the Prince took along The Duchess of Cornwall for her first visit.
Other glamorous guests have included Hollywood stars Paul Newman and Clark Gable, and former United States President John F. Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline Kennedy.
If you’re into your horse riding – they have an equestrian centre to get you on horseback in the surf. Alternatively you can make some aquatic friends in their own dolphin lagoon.
Hibiscus at the Half Moon, A RockResort
10. Hotel Excelsior Dubrovnik – Croatia
The Queen, along with husband Prince Philip and daughter, Princess Anne stayed here in 1972 while they were on a tour of what was then Yugoslavia (now Croatia).
The Royal Family took the Presidential Suite back in 1972, which is still the hotel’s most exclusive set of rooms.
Book in here and you can look out over the Old Town from the wrap-around balcony.
You can see which other celebrity guests have stayed in the hotel in the Abakus Piano Bar’s gallery.
DID YOU KNOW? When the Queen got stuck in a blizzard near Bristol while delivering Christmas presents in 1981, she was forced to take shelter at the nearest B&B. The shocked manager of The Crosshands Hotel did his duty by giving Her Majesty and her entourage his own flat on the top floor for the night.
London hotels and the Queen
The Goring
The Queen has attended gala dinners and banquets in places like The Savoy and The Ritz.
Arguably her favourite London hotel is The Goring, where the Duchess of Cambridge stayed the night before her wedding in 2011.
The Goring hotel received a prestigious Royal Warrant of appointment to HM The Queen for Hosptiality Services in 2013, which the family-run hotel has been providing for more than a century.
The Queen always spends her birthday, April 21, at Windsor, so there’s a decent chance you’ll see her if you time your visit right – and we’ve also got 18 royally good things to do in Windsor as an alternative.
Windsor Castle (c) VisitEngland/Doug Harding / Doug Harding Photography
Have you stayed in the same hotel as the Queen?
We’d love to hear your experiences of treating in the same footsteps as HRH, Queen Elizabeth II – tell us all about it by leaving a comment below.
*Additional information came from Royal Historian, Kate Williams. You can find out more about Kate here.
Source: lastminute.com