VacantReady

Andrew Morrison over at UrbanDiner.ca covers Vancouver’s restaurant food scene, but he has a pretty good eye on the hotel trade as well. Thanks to Urban Diner, I discovered that yet another hotel property will open its doors to guests in the downtown core.

Construction on the ParaYso Hotel (para-Why-so?) is expected to kick-off in the summer of 2009. Local hospitality entrepreneur Graham Alexander has finalized a land deal at 620 Seymore street for $5.5M, and he plans to develop a small hotel property at the downtown location.

“The Company plans to build a Hotel with a roof top bar lounge, of up to 91 nicely designed interior suites, and energy efficient Hotel. The interiors will be exquisite but will be for the 20th century where beauty, green and energy are of high concerns. The development is lead by Graham Alexander, a developer of hotels in Mayan Riviera Mexico and Chilliwack, B.C., Canada.”

[via Yahoo! - & no doubt the PR writer meant 21st century]

The ParaYso Hotel will be located near the financial district, within one block of the new Canada Line shuttle from the Vancouver International Airport and a few blocks from the new convention centre. The hotel lies adjacent to the Steve Nash Sports Gym, Gotham Restaurant, and the Shore Club restaurant.

The 600 block of Seymore Street in Vancouver is not exactly the most upscale strip downtown, and incidentally, the hotel’s location sits almost exactly on the spot where two men were gunned down in a targeted gangland shooting in January of this year.

I’m sure developments like the ParaYso Hotel are exactly what Seymore needs as part of a long-term strategy to rejuvenate the area. The newly renovated Moda Hotel to the South on Seymore, and the Delta Suites to the North of the ParaYso will certainly benefit from more hotel critical mass.

And hey, who doesn’t love roof-top lounges? Watch out Loden—yours isn’t going to be the only one in town.

0 comments | Permalink | Canada • Vancouver • Development

Last week I received an email from Debbie Collins letting me know about the launch of the Opus Montreal’s new Koko Restaurant + Bar, set to open its doors this Saturday, May 10, 2008.

The anticipated restaurant located in Montreal’s newest boutique property plans to “blend urban glamour with modern Asian cuisine in a theatrical, 9000 square foot setting”. Sounds like Vancouver’s thriving Asian-Chic culture is taking over Canada’s hippest city…

Opus Montreal’s Koko Restaurant, the Video:

Executive Chef Don Letendre of Vancouver’s renowned Opus Hotel kitchen has created a pan-Asian menu, served in the Japanese izakaya “sharing-style”. Letendre’s culinary experience in Tokyo, including cooking at popular Soba Ni Umazake Yoshimura, left an indelible impression and influenced his style of clean and innovative cuisine.

Says Letendre, “My experience in Japan taught me about balance between cooking, tasting, and seeing, and gave me a foundation for my senses. It helped me to trust in my hands.”

“Koko adds an exciting new element to the dining scene in Montreal,” says John deC. Evans, President of Opus Hotels. “Much as its setting integrates the classic aspects of Joseph-Arthur Godin’s 1914 art nouveau structure with its adjoining contemporary concrete and glass structure, Koko blends an array of Far Eastern flavours and textures with Western culinary techniques to bring an international dining and socializing experience never before scene in this city.” To set the mood, resident DJs spin with international talent to bring the latest electro-house rhythms from East and West.

Nice Hotel Marketing, Opus

I love the Opus’ promo video-release for Koko. Cheap and cheerful, and effective. 

The folks at Vancouver’s Opus Hotel were early adopters in leveraging social media to connect with their guests when they introduced their popular Blog. The site was very well received by guests and the hotelier community under Opus VP Daniel Craig’s terrific writing. Daniel has since left the company to pursue fame and fortune in the literary world, but you can still read his hilarious hotel dispatches at his new blog.

I receive lots of boring industry press releases (usually unsolicited) in my inbox, and virtually all of them hit my trash folder unread. Not this one though, because Debbie did her homework. She knew a little about me (like, my name for starters), and she presented her info in a way that she knew would be meaningful to me.  And it worked.

Through our interactions, I was made to feel that that Opus Hotels would also make an effort to connect with me in a personalized manner.

Opus is a pretty cool boutique brand in Canada—one of the few in my mind who offer a chic, “happening” vibe. This is a rare experience indeed for a Canadian hotel (c’mon fellow Canadians, you know it’s true). I’ve been a fan of the Opus in Vancouver for years.

Next time I am in Montreal I will be first in line to check out the Opus Montreal—and you can be sure that I’ll try Koko Restaurant + Bar. Thinking about it right now is making me dread hitting the streets of Cairo in my never-ending search for decent cuisine (c’mon fellow Caireans—you know it’s true).

Linkage
Opus Montreal [Vacant Ready]
Recent Feature [Montreal Real Estate Blog] - thx 4 the link!

0 comments | Permalink | Canada • Montreal • Celebration

Vancouver’s upcoming Shangri-La Hotel opening seems to be creating considerable PR buzz. Surprisingly, local hotel professionals located as far away as Cairo, Egypt (Vacant Ready’s new home-base) are watching the opening of the Shangri-La with some anticipation.

The Vancouver Sun reported today that renowned French chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten (now hailing from New York City) is negotiating to open a new restaurant in the Vancouver property. No agreements have been formalized yet, but Jill Killeen, Director of Public Relations at the Shangri-La Vancouver confirmed that talks are currently underway.

Vancouver culinary scene insider Andrew Morrison of UrbanDiner.ca already caught wind of discussions with Jean-Georges earlier this week, and member comments on Urban Diner reveal some excitement about the potential opening.

The Vancouver Sun article by Bruce Constantineau tempers any exuberance however, with a comment from Barbara-jo McIntosh, owner of Barbara-Jo’s Books to Cooks store in Vancouver:

“It’s a sign that Vancouver is becoming recognized as a growing metropolis with a culinary scene that is worthy of these grand chefs’ attention,” she said in an interview. “It’s fine, and kind of neat, but it doesn’t excite me to an exultant level because we already have a great culinary community.”

I don’t know who Barbara-jo is (apart from a local Vancouver shop owner), but I certainly share her belief in Vancouver’s culinary prowess. Living in Cairo is full of delights and excitement, but the food scene is definitely not one of the world’s seven wonders.

Apparently there have also been rumours circulating in Vancouver that the Shangri-La was trying to entice celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay to open a restaurant in the property, but Killeen has denied any such discussions.

The Shangri-La continues to build momentum on its journey to opening day in January 2009 (already postponed from their expected 2008 opening). Let’s hope they don’t fall into the same opening date delay quagmire faced by the nearby Loden Vancouver.

Linkage
Image thanks to Flickr member [suntom]

0 comments | Permalink | Canada • Vancouver • Gossip

ASAP News in the U.K. reports that a new boutique hotel is set to open in Vancouver at a yet-to-be named location.. The recently formed Boutique Hotels & Resorts of British Columbia (BHRBC) is the management company behind the project—I wonder of they are the developers too?

The new 60 room property will be called “L’Hermitage” (not to be confused with the new residential development on Richards Street), and will be located somewhere in Vancouver’s downtown core. The hotel was designed by Canadian firm Lawrence Doyle Architects in the style of Chicago Modernism. Since I have no idea what that means, I look forward to seeing some design mock-ups. I can’t find any other mention of this project online, and the BHRBC corporate website has no information either. April fool’s day leftovers perhaps?

From the Press Release:

HRBC president Mike Duggan comments, “L’Hermitage Hotel is a perfect fit for Boutique Hotels & Resorts of British Columbia’s portfolio and a welcome addition to the city of Vancouver. The distinctive hotel will be positioned as the leading boutique property in the city appealing to the discerning business and leisure traveler.”

If this new property is anticipating being THE leading boutique hotel in Vancouver, they’ll have to out-perform some pretty tough competition from the Opus, the Wedgewood and the upcoming Loden Vancouver (if it ever opens!), and the Hotel Georgia.

In each of the 60 suites, the most advanced technology will be avaialbe, like plasma televisions, kitchenettes, 4-piece bathrooms, wireless internet access and designer furniture. Facilities include a health club, a library and a full-time concierge .

If four piece bathrooms and designer furniture are the “innovations” L’Hermitage is positioning around...I assume their service delivery will be out of this world!

Update: Thanks to Jay, one of our savvy readers, we’ve learned that L’Hermitage actually is part of the Richard’s street residential project (not surprisingly). The property is anticipating a May opening, so we’ll be watching for more info in the near future.

3 comments | Permalink | Canada • Vancouver • Development

Last week the B.C. Hospitality Foundation held a gala fundraising event, and I was lucky enough to receive an invite from a colleague (thanks Sara!).

What’s the Foundation?

The B.C. Hospitality Foundation was inspired by the desire to financially assist long-time local wine agent Michael Willingham. Michael requires additional costly surgery and rehabilitation after suffering a stroke, and his medical insurance will not cover the cost.

Many of us Canadians assume that our provincial health insurance covers pretty much any “required” medical procedure (at least I did), but Michael and his family discovered that clearly this is not always the case—at least in B.C.

Michael’s situation inspired some local industry colleagues and friends to establish a trust fund that could be used to assist anyone within the foodservice, beverage, and hospitality industry who requires financial support due to illness or accident.

The ‘Founders Dinner’ I attended last week at Vancouver’s Pan Pacific Hotel was another fund raising event planned by the Foundation, and it was an incredible display: outstanding food, wine(s), and a fun auction with some pretty amazing prizes donated by the hospitality and travel trade.

The B.C. Hospitality Foundation is a terrific organization with the sole mandate of helping colleagues in need. It just doesn’t get better than that.

1 comments | Permalink | Canada • Vancouver • Celebration