2.  Superb culinary experience at the 3 restaurants and in-room dining

3. Friendly local staff and comfortable accommodation in historic 1929, fully restored, property

4.  Affordable rates for your meetings or family getaway

5.  The hotel gives back to the local community with La Tablée des Chefs

Enjoy the video showcasing our beautiful region and Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu!  See you in Charlevoix this winter!

March 1st: Re-opening of The Plaza, a Fairmont managed hotel
After a two-year, $400 million restoration, the world’s most renowned landmark made its return in majestic style. The Plaza is a must see while in New York. If you are thinking about going to the Big Apple this winter, you can get a third night free until April 1st when booking 2 nights at the regular rate of $595 US  (or more).

June 26th: Demolition Party at The Royal Monceau in Paris
The Hotel first auctioned off all of its furnishings and then held a VIP destruction event where guests were encouraged to smash anything leftover. Stars were invited to this unique party with the best DJs! The Royal Monceau is now under the creative eye of owner Alexandre Allard and renowned French designer Philippe Starck for a 16-month refurbishment. The French Masterpiece will be transformed into an ‘’art deco revisited’’ hotel with the main goal to attract a younger clientele under the Raffles banner.

September 20th : Bomb attack at The Marriott Islamabad, Pakistan
This was a very sad event that claimed the lives of too many people. The hotel reopened on December 28th. Let’s hope this won’t happen again.

November 27th : Taj Mahal Hotel and Oberoi complex’s Trident hotel attacks
Unfortunately and once again, India was the target of terrorism. This time, two major hotels and guests were involved with many casualties. The hotels recently reopened but it will take many months to bring every back to the way it was.

Dec 22nd: Steve Wynn’s Encore Hotel opens in Vegas
Despite the recession, 2.3 billion Encore Hotel opened with 2,034 suites. Encore is a casino-resort that was designed to grab up the wealthiest, most sophisticated visitors in town and charge them top dollar. Through the end of October, tourism for the year was down 3.2%, room rates were down 9.7%, and gaming revenue was down 8.5%. And even though some rival projects around town have been stalled or killed, other competitors are still rising. Only the future will tell us if Las Vegas is overbuilt or not…

My wishes for 2009
Obviously I hope for fewer acts of terrorism in 2009 and for a better economy so our colleagues in hotels won’t loose their jobs. I am confident hoteliers will continue to be creative and bring the hotel business to a different level. Happy New Year to all and continue to book hotel stays!

This is quite impressive considering the current financial crisis affecting hotel occupancy rates all around the world and also in Vegas.  Occupancy was down with 88.3 % of rooms filled in August, down 2.9 % compared with August 2007. The privately held Harrah’s reported losses of $285.4 million for the first six months of 2008, compared with profits of $422.8 million in the first half of 2007.

Gary Selesner, president of Caesars Palace, said “This is all about the future,” “We’re building our capacity for the turnaround that will come, whether it’s one, two or three years down the road.”

Also coming in late 2009 between Bellagio and Monte Carlo resorts is Las Vegas Citycenter developed by MGM Mirage & Dubai World valued at more than 9 billion dollars. More on this mega project later.

Will The Caesars Palace need to hire back Celine Dion to fill up the hotel?  Are there too many hotels in Vegas? Will the occupancy rate grow after the recession? I think it will!  Otherwise the world’s top resort developers would not have bet on it!  Like I said before… Viva Las Vegas!

Loden will also feature a superb, Babey Moulton Jue & Booth designed, 80-seat restaurant called Voya (derived from Voyage) with one mission in mind: food can be a journey unto itself. Voya is led by popular ex-Lumière Québécois Chef Marc-André Choquette.

The $35 million, 14-storey hotel was developed by the Amacon Group of Vancouver is now managed by accomplished hotelier Mrs Edel Forristal (ex Four Seasons, Pan Pacific, Hotel Vancouver).

I think opening a hotel is the ultimate experience when you work in this business and I am very excited about this new product for Vancouver.

All the best to the entire team at Loden Vancouver for your successful opening!

For those that have travelled to India, you know that ‘’emerging district’’ does not have the same signification here. Poverty is visible everywhere. When I stayed at a 4-star hotel in New Delhi, I did not go outside the gate. There are millions of people living on the streets and slums right next door.

Inside the Four Seasons Mumbai, the smallest room is 388 sq ft, much larger than many poor Indians’ homes. Each Four Seasons room comes equipped with a separate shower stall and bathtub; but across the road, many residents are lucky if they have running water for two hours a day, and flush toilets are, in many places, a frill. Social inequality confronts you everywhere you go in India. That does not stop the country to become a financial empire. In the same district, Deloitte are setting up offices as well as Goldman Sachs.

It took three different deals involving 22 prospective hotels for Four Seasons to close the deal in a country of congealing bureaucracy and inefficiency. India is one of the most difficult large economies in which to do business. The hotel was supposed to open 2 years ago.

To find the staff to work at such luxurious hotel is also a huge challenge. For every 50 candidates who applies, Four Seasons hires one.

I could have talked about the hotel’s 202 guestrooms, spa and restaurants but we all know it’s fabulous, it’s Four Seasons! My interest is the process in which western hoteliers have to go through to open a hotel in such a complex and fascinating country.

If you are interested, I checked for price online for next month and got a rate of 20 500 Indian rupees ($2000 USD) per night. Like the Indians would say: ”Chalta hai” roughly translated to ”that’s the way it is”. Four Seasons has more hotel projects for India but we’ll have to wait and see when, where and how long it’ll take to seal the deal!

The George Drummond-designed hotel was named after Queen Elizabeth II who took the throne in 1952. In 1955, a petition was signed by 250 000 French-Canadians to call the hotel ”Chateau Maisonneuve” but the CN President, Donald Gordon, insisted to name the new asset for CN The Queen Elizabeth Hotel.

Back in 1958, a guestroom was $20 and a Deluxe $26. Nowadays, we are looking at $189-$279 depending on the time of the year.

The latest renovations were in 2003 when 40 million dollars were injected mainly for the lobby and the legendary Beaver Club, a 5 diamond restaurant. The hotel is currently renovating guestrooms (soft goods) a few floors at the time.

The Fairmont Gold at the ”Queeny” is Montreal’s best boutique hotel experience and I had the chance to try it a few years ago. The staff is fabulous and the food at The Montrealais or The Beaver Club, exquisite.

Happy 50th anniversary!

Vail’s just about to wrap up its 45th winter season next week and welcomes over 1.6 million skiers a year. We will see amazing growth in Vail both in real estate and mountain development. Just this year, two new high speed quad chairlifts were installed on the eastern side of the mountain and other chairs were upgraded.

The latest 5-star hotel project to be completed in Vail is The Arrabelle at Vail Square, a ski-in ski-out property with 36 guestrooms and 66 condo units. The reviews are quite good on TripAdvisor despite the fact that it just opened in January.

The Fairmont Vail will offer 128 guestrooms as well as 73 Fairmont residences and a 10,000 sq ft Willow Stream Spa. Dozens of projects are on their way: The Ritz Carlton Residences, Vail to be completed in 2010 with 71 luxury condos, Solaris with 75 condos, Four Seasons to open in the fall of 2009 with 120 units and 25 residences, etc.

The Bavarian-style pedestrian village is transforming itself into a world premier ski destination with great neighbours such as Beaver Creek Mountain and Keystone Mountain helping to bring more traffic into the region.

Watch with me the great videos on the website of Vail and dream about your next trip to powder paradise…

Neighbours include The Fashion Show Mall and The Wynn. The hotel has 1232 ulta-luxury suites & penthouse suites ranging from 515 to 3,500 sq ft. Prices are starting from $379 for next week end for instance.

There is only 2460 sq ft of meeting space so the focus of this 2 billion-hotel will be the wealthy leisure travelers. They’ll love the spa, fine dining and Trump Attaché service. If you go, I would love to hear your comments on my blog.

If you are looking for an investment opportunity, prices for hotel condominium units at Trump International Hotel & Tower Las Vegas range from the $700,000s to $7 million. This is the second project completed this year in the Trump Hotel Collection. Earlier in February, The Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago opened up and created a lot of interest.

Viva Las Vegas!

Cairo is the largest city in Africa (built in 969 A.D.) – a unique fusion of millennial remains and contemporary vibrancy. On one side, you’ll find a citadel dating from medieval times; on the other, office buildings sporting cutting-edge architecture – while in the middle, the timeless Nile flows round the islands of Roda, Abu El-Dahab and Gezira.

Egypt has alway been a popular destination … Prince Andrew was in Luxor with his daughter last month, Nicolas Sarkozy spent Christmas there (with Carla) and so did Tony Blair with his son a few days later. Even Charles Aznavour gave two concerts in January in Cairo. Tourism is one of Egypt’s four key foreign currency earners and despite the unfortunate but frequent ‘’incidents’’ tourism is doing very well.

Today, my company announced the official opening of The Fairmont Towers, Heliopolis, a contemporary new hotel with 247 luxurious guestrooms, extensive conference facilities, a spa, atrium garden and dining outlets.

The property is located in the central Heliopolis area (Greek, for city of the sun), five minutes from Cairo International Airport and a perfect base from which to explore popular attractions such as the Mohamed Ali citadel, the Egyptian Museum and pyramids.

A second property located adjacent, the Fairmont Heliopolis, will embark upon a renovation program beginning first quarter of 2008, whose design will result in a relaxed and inviting space complementing the elegant Towers.

And it’s not over, there is another project that will be completed in June 2008…The Fairmont Cairo, Nile City, located on a prime site overlooking the Nile and just 30 minutes from the Sphinx and great Pyramids at Giza. Stay tuned!

Also onsite is The Willow Stream Spa, a Fairmont spa. You’ll find unique treatments and experiences based on local tradition and flora, ranging from Willow Stream signature experiences to uniquely Mayan traditions featuring local herbs, essential oils, and extracts. One of the most popular is the Cha Chac Rain Ritual, based on the Mayan rain ritual. There is also the amazing Yucatan Healing Retreat, which you get to share with a special friend.

For the second year, El Camaleón is home to PGA Tour in Mexico on February 20-24, 2008. Last year, Fred Funk won the 2007 Mayakoba Classic. The PGA Tour held its inaugural full-field event in Mexico at Fairmont‘s own El Camaleón golf course. The Mayakoba Classic attracted the likes of Fred Funk, Mark Calcavecchia, Bill Haas, and Jesper Parnevik to its emerald fairways.

Golf enthusiasts can experience fairways lined with sand dunes and mangroves; challenge themselves with unique hazards such as cenotes (subterranean caves) and crystal clear lagoons, then take in the alluring vistas from greens perched on the edge of the Caribbean Sea.

With the trilogy completed, I guess I’ll have to go back to The Fairmont Mayakoba so I can write more about my favorite Fairmont resort …