The hotels were built next to the cities main train station and were intended to be locations for the elite passengers of CPR trains to stay. The hotels were different in appearance, but granite walls with copper roofs are common elements. Many of them are built to look like European castles. One of the most unique looking is the Chateau Montebello which was for many years the world's largest log building. The Tudor style Algonquin in St. Andrews, New Brunswick also stands out.

The idea for the hotels was introduced by legendary CPR head William Cornelius Van Horne. The original hotels were built in the Rocky Mountains to attract tourists from eastern Canada to the scenery. Soon after hotels were also built in the major metropolitan areas as places for both tourists and business travelers.

The rival Canadian National Railway also built hotels such as the Jasper Park Lodge in Jasper, Alberta and the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa. In 1988 CPR purchased the CN hotels, becoming Canada's largest hotel owner. In the 1990s the CP hotels began to expand into the United States. In 1999 the company greatly expanded its international holdings when it purchased the Fairmont Hotel chain and gained control of such famed hotels as The Plaza in New York City.

A number of the original hotels have been torn down, Montreal, Vancouver, and St. John's all lost the old hotels. The survivors remain operating hotels. Many have even become tourist attractions in their own right.

List of CP hotels