The project will be completed next summer in August or Septembre 2009 inshallah and I can’t wait to see The Burj Dubai completed along with The Dubai Armani Hotel. Stay tuned!

On a domestic side with the top 25 Canadian destinations, Quebec City made it as #6, Montreal #14, Tremblant #19 and Tadoussac #24. The Rockies and West Coast are all over the map!

Be involved on Tripadvisor and comment about our lovely & authentic province of Quebec, we need the business on this side of the country!

With oil price that rose above $130 a barrel earlier this month and guestrooms in Monaco in the 1500-2000 € range per night for luxurious hotels, this event is really not in line with what is happening on our planet. The biggest issue with Le Grand Prix de Monaco and F1 is the reduction of the output of CO2. F1 has started this year to be green as most of their sponsors have green committees, they did not have much choice!

This season sees the first step in such moves, as cars must use biofuel, or fuel made from organic rather than fossil matter, for the first time. In line with the European Union objective for road-car fuel in 2010, racing fuel will now have to contain 5.7 percent biofuel. Another new rule this year eliminates a previously obligatory 10-minute period during qualifying when the cars did nothing but burn off fuel.

Next season, a device designed to save the car’s kinetic energy during deceleration and then to use it in short power bursts - thus saving on fuel - will be instituted. Other “clean” technology systems, including one using heat from the engines to produce extra power, are in the works.

Prince Albert II of Monaco, whose Formula One race is a symbol of both the sport and the principality, has vowed that the race would become greener, and he wants the cars to use more environmentally friendly engines.

I love Monaco, I have been there 3 years ago and stayed at our hotel, The Fairmont Monte Carlo. It’s a great place to visit and I look forward to reading more about the new F1 rules and green initiatives that will really make a huge difference for our planet.

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!

IMEX 2008 has introduced a number of Green initiatives, making it the greenest IMEX to date. Initiatives include the use of hydroelectric Green Energy for all electricity needs during the exhibition, the use of recycled and recyclable badges using corn-starch laminate (the badges are completely compostable in water), the use of bio-diesel fuel for 90% of hosted buyer buses, etc. Germans are leaders in environmental issues and we can all learn from them.

Many of my Fairmont colleagues from all around the world will showcase at IMEX: our Global Sales offices from London, Paris, Frankfurt, Milan, Moscow as well as Fairmont hotels from The Quebec Region, Singapore, Monte-Carlo, The Canadian Rockies, etc. Click here to learn about The Fairmont Green Partnership.

Have a great show my fellow hoteliers and we look forward to hearing about the success of IMEX 2008!

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!

After a very long flight, it was lovely to be picked up at the airport in a Bentley with Evian water and a cold face towel. It’s hot and humid in Singapore, over 30 degrees with daily rain showers. Upon arrival at the magnificent colonial 103- suite Raffles Singapore, we were escorted to our James Michener Suite and received a Singapore Sling. During our entire stay we had a butler service which we are not used to. You are not a hotel guest at Raffles but a resident and the service we received was amazing. The Raffles hotel is Singapore’s jewel, dating from 1887 and has gone through a S$160 restoration from 1989 to 91.

We enjoyed a massage at the Amrita Spa and one of our best memories is our evening at The Raffles Culinary Academy with Master Chef Tan Yee Hoo. We cooked a great meal with great company.

The Swissôtel The Stamford, the tallest hotel in Singapore at 226 metres and 73 floors, is a large 1263- room business hotel that offers a totally different experience than the Raffles. We had a fabulous meal at Jaan, featuring Modern French food, located on level 70!

Singapore is a unique multi-cultural destination that welcomed 10.3 million visitors in 2007. All of the best hotels in the world are in Singapore: Fairmont Singapore, Conrad Centennial Singapore, The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore, Shangri-La Hotel, The Fullerton Hotel Singapore, The Meritus Mandarin Hotel Singapore, Four Seasons Hotel Singapore, Grand Hyatt Singapore, The Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, etc. The average daily rate is supposed to hit S$230 in 2008 with an annual occupancy rate of over 88%.

Another fabulous destination for a hotel geek like myself with amazing growth…

The Plaza is owned by Elad Properties. The hotel was bought for $675 million in 2004 and $400 million were injected to return The Legend to its original glory. Some details I was able to find on the net: 30 million dollars were spent for the roof and 4.5 million for the Grand Ballroom restored to its 1929 opulence.

Since opening in 1907, the Plaza has been bought and sold eight times, once by the Hilton family in 1943 and once by Trump in his Ivana- infuenced ’80s.

The Plaza hotel will offer 282 distinctive Louis XV style guestrooms (including of 152 pied-à-terres) and is the first hotel in the world to have 24-carat gold plated Sherle Wagner designed sinks and fixtures in every guest room and suite. I guess only the megawealthy community can really appreciate 24-carat gold plated sinks, I’d be happy with a regular marble sink and brushed nickel faucet…

Another interesting part of this project is the conversion of guestrooms to private residences. Sales for the 19-story Beaux Arts building went better than expected. From floor plans alone, 75% of the 182 residences were sold. Twothirds of the buyers were American, with 66% of those from the metropolitan area. The biggest buyer, real estate developer Harry Macklowe, bought an entire floor of the Plaza for around $60 million. New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft also purchased in the building, as did several international billionaires.

The restoration of The Plaza, Henry Janeway Hardenbergh’s Beaux Arts masterpiece, has been overseen by an award-winning design team including Gal Nauer Architects, Costas Kondylis and Partners, Walter B. Melvin Architects and Rani Ziss Architects.

Square-foot prices started in the $5,000 range and increased to an apex of $6,500. A one-bedroom with a view of Central Park costs around $7 million. A three-bedroom is on the market for $20 million.

You must go on the Elad page and and click on the video and dream you were a guest of The Plaza for a few minutes…