Wander around Vancouver on a sunny afternoon, and it may seem like the entire city is on holiday. Yet, at several of the city’s top hotels, staffs have been hard at work, completing room upgrades, re-envisioning their food and beverage outlets and crafting inventive experiences.
For a round-up of what’s new at the city’s Forbes Travel Guide Star-Rated properties, read on.
Fairmont Pacific Rim
Five-Star Fairmont Pacific Rim has collaborated with Canadian author and artist Douglas Coupland, best known for his 1991 novel, Generation X, to create Suite X, an eclectic, Pop art-influenced Fairmont Gold suite. A corner unit on the hotel’s 17th floor, this colorful creation showcases Coupland’s books and artwork, with paintings even extending across the ceiling. The suite features expansive vistas across the Burrard Inlet to the North Shore mountains from the living area and from the open-air terrace. A custom multicolored Bocci light fixture illuminates the dining area, which has a full bar tucked into a wall cabinet. A separate bedroom with more unique art pieces also offers urban and close-up nature views.
Guests in Suite X have access to the 20th-floor Fairmont Gold Lounge, which was recently updated with an outdoor-inspired theme, its deep green couches echoing the colors of the evergreens visible in nearby Stanley Park.
Rosewood Hotel Georgia
Rosewood Hotel Georgia recently revamped its guest rooms and lounges, including the lower-level Prophecy Bar, reopened as an inventive speakeasy and Reflections The Garden Terrace, an oasis hidden on the fourth floor.
The space that houses Prophecy was once a jazz club. With romantic lighting and plush furnishings, the new design echoes that classic era, though a gallery of dramatic digital wall art brings the space into the present day. The cocktails range from the wildly creative, like the Kelpie, which blends Aquavit, nori-infused sherry, bitter bianco, lime and spirulina, to re-imagined classics, like a Wabi Sabi Martini made with matcha gin.
Once a summer-only venue, Reflections is now open year-round, thanks to a recently installed, retractable roof that illuminates the venue throughout the seasons and allows for an open-air experience in the warmer months. Share the grilled tiger prawns sauced with harissa or the baba ghanoush with pomegranate molasses before moving to the substantial grass-fed filet mignon or the whole branzino paired with fennel slaw.
If you’re not in a cocktail mood, choose an alcohol-free Moroccan mojito, made with mint tea, lime and fresh mint soda.
Parq Vancouver
The two Forbes Travel Guide Recommended hotels in the Parq Vancouver complex downtown, The Douglas, Autograph Collection and JW Marriott Parq Vancouver, have new culinary leadership. Chef Colin Burslem kicked off his tenure with a summer rooftop pop-up in the JW’s 17th-floor Aqua Lounge, dubbed Le Picnic in the JW Garden, with a garden-themed menu and champagne cocktails created in collaboration with Veuve Clicquot. Other events that highlight the chef’s passion for seasonal ingredients will sprout soon.
Like many of the JW Marriott properties, the Vancouver lodging has a JW Garden, growing ingredients that make their way into the hotel’s restaurants. The Spa by JW has found an inventive use for the honey produced by the bees buzzing through the same garden. The Organic Honey Detox incorporates raw honey into a 105-minute wellness treatment that detoxifies, exfoliates and hydrates the skin. The honey is also used to craft a heel glaze to nourish both feet and hands.
Fairmont Hotel Vancouver
Four-Star Fairmont Hotel Vancouver is brightening the seasons throughout the year with a series of special events. The grand afternoon teas at this venerable property change themes throughout the year, from a cherry blossom tea welcoming spring to a festive gathering around Lunar New Year. This fall, the luxury hotel will embrace the Halloween vibe for several weeks, offering a Haunted Cellar Afternoon Tea from September 24 through November 9.
Staying with the Halloween theme, Hotel Vancouver also will transform its lower-level lounge into Jinx, a “spooky speakeasy” for October. As autumn moves into winter, the space will change again, becoming the annual Kringle’s Holiday pop-up, with festive food and drinks, running from November 13 until December 31.
If solving whodunits is your passion, mark your calendar for Castle Confidential on October 24 and 25. This interactive experience, created in partnership with Vancouver Mysteries, takes you from room to room on the hotel’s 14th floor, a restored heritage space where King George VI and Queen Elizabeth were once guests. There, you’ll meet new characters, follow clues and enjoy themed drinks. The experience wraps up with a cocktail reception to celebrate your puzzle-decoding success.
