Posts Tagged ‘hotel blog’

OPUS Hotels Take Lead as Canada’s Premiere Boutique Brand

November 16th, 2011
OPUS recognized by readers of Conde Nast Traveler Magazine

OPUS Hotels recognized as Best in the World by Conde Nast Traveler Magazine

It’s time to say “bye-bye” to big hotel chains and their long lobby lineups and “hello!” to the friendly service of boutique hotels. Readers of Condé Nast Traveler Magazine have done just that.

OPUS Hotels was recently recognized amongst the world’s hospitality elite as “Best in the World” and “Best in Business Travel” by readers of Condé Nast Traveler. In fact, OPUS Hotels was the only boutique brand included on the Best in Business Travel list which has us feeling very thankful considering that travelers have a lot of choices.

Year after year, OPUS Hotels is widely recognized as best of the best by esteemed outlets including Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure and Forbes Traveler. OPUS Hotels, for consecutive years, has even been included in the Presenters’ Gift Baskets at the Academy Awards.

As General Manager of OPUS Vancouver, I am extremely proud to share these achievements with our Team.

So what sets OPUS Hotels apart in a crowded market?

Without giving away all of OPUS’ fabulous secrets, here are the top 5 reasons savvy business travelers crave a dose of OPUS while on the road:

  1. Complimentary Welcome Beverage
    After a long day of traveling and being assaulted by frisky airport security agents, it’s nice to unwind with a drink. That’s why OPUS Hotels offers every guest a refreshing welcome cocktail at check-in (something airport security could consider before those invasive pat-downs).
  2. Residential Ambience
    Something to read other than the room service book? A custom music selection to rock out to in the shower? Rooms at OPUS Hotels are unlike any other. Inspired by five fictional guests, each room has its own personality, from modern and minimalist to artful and eclectic. Rooms are complete with a unique selection of artwork, books, magazines and music.
  3. Luxury BMW Downtown Chauffeur Car Service
    Time is money. Jet-setting business guests don’t like to wait in taxi queues, nor do they care for chatty cabbies blasting foreign radio. That’s why OPUS Vancouver and Montreal offer all guests complimentary downtown drop-offs in the hotels’ luxurious BMWs. So whether guests are attending a button-down business meeting, or simply popping off for some late night Chinese – OPUS makes sure they arrive in style.  
  4. Whimsical Service
    After a long day at the office, guests return to a sensory wonderland in their rooms. From freshly turned down bed linens and cool water carafes to relaxing mood music and retro candy bedtime treats, getting into bed with OPUS is an unforgettable experience.
  5. Award Winning Bars & Restaurants
    The Zagat rated, award winning bars and restaurants at OPUS Hotels are sought-after destinations themselves. No visit to Vancouver is complete without meeting over drinks at OPUS Bar or enjoying a taste of La Dolce Vita at OPUS’ Cento Notti Pop-Up Restaurant. OPUS Montreal’s KOKO Restaurant + Bar is the city’s premier dining and nightlife hotspot, and was recently included on Condé Nast’s Hot List, Hot Nights List. Hint, hint – a perfect venue to entertain discerning business associates and clients.

Earth Hour at OPUS: the lights will be out, but everybody will be home

March 25th, 2011

For two hours beginning at 8:30 PM on Saturday, March 26, OPUS Hotel Vancouver will join world icons like the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and Rome’s Coliseum in shutting lights off to commemorate Earth Hour.

Around the world, people and businesses will turn off lights and come together in celebration and contemplation of the one thing we all share in common. No, I don’t mean death, taxes, and Justin Bieber. I mean our planet.

Organized by WWF, Earth Hour started just four years ago, in Sydney, Australia, and has since become the biggest grassroots environmental movement in history, with 128 countries and territories participating last year. This year participants are urged to go “beyond the hour”: to think about what else we can do to preserve the planet after the lights go back on.

On the heels of the devastation of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Earth Hour seems particularly poignant this year. At OPUS the tragedy feels especially close to home. Our own Haruko Motoyama, national sales director, was born in Japan and all her family lives there.

“I learned about the earthquake when my Mom called me on Skype from Yokohama,” says Haruko. “We spent the next three hours talking. There were constant aftershocks, and Mom kept hiding under the table. During the following days there were blackouts and the phone networks were down, so I kept up to date through Twitter.”

Fortunately, Haruko’s family is safe. But fear of another earthquake and radiation exposure prompted her parents and two sisters, one three months pregnant, to fly to Vancouver. “When they arrived they had a hard time adjusting to still ground,” Haruko says. “In Japan the earth was trembling every half hour or so.”

Haruko says she’s touched by how the international community has rallied in support of Japan. “Small things make a difference,” she says, “like Shaw Cable offering the Japanese news channel for free and phone companies offering free long distance calls to Japan. It shows that we truly are a global community.”

At OPUS we like to think that every hour is Earth Hour—except for the turning off all the lights part, which could get inconvenient for guests. When it comes to environmental-friendly hotel practices we were early adopters. So it’s only natural that we’re all about Earth Hour.

On Saturday night it’ll be lights out at the front desk, in the lobby, bar, and restaurant, and on the hotel’s exterior. Guests will be encouraged to participate, and guestrooms will be supplied with flashlights, which they can keep for $5, with all proceeds going to the Japan Relief Fund.

And who says Earth Hour can’t be a bit sexy? Dinner and drinks will be by candlelight in OPUS Bar and One Hundred Nights, where a special “Going Beyond the Hour” three-course menu will be available for $45. Throughout the hotel, 15% of food revenue will be donated to the Japan Relief Fund.

For more information about Earth Hour and how you can contribute, click here.

 

Videorama! A Round-up of Our Refreshed Suites

March 18th, 2011

With the recent refresh of OPUS Hotel Vancouver’s suites, we’ve been sharing videos inspired by the personalities behind our five lifestyle décor schemes. To help you shop and compare we thought we’d share all four videos here as one big semi-dysfunctional family (the characters that is, not the suites).

No video for Billy yet—he doesn’t do suites, so he’ll have to wait until rooms are refreshed. Just so he doesn’t feel left out, we included an image of him doing what he does best: just being.

DEDE:


 

MIKE:


 

SUSAN:


 

PIERRE:


 

BILLY:


A Hundred Days’ Journey into Nights

March 10th, 2011

Far out and funky! Virtually overnight, One Hundred Days has been stripped of its edgy art studio vibe and has magically morphed into an entirely new pop-up concept with a vaguely familiar name: One Hundred Nights.

Think seventies discotastic wonderland: sparkly silver walls, murals of pop icons like Ziggy Stardust and Iggy Pop by graffiti artist Vince Dumoulin (pictured above working his magic), and the all-essential glitter balls. Plus a groovy blend of glamour and whimsy—pink and white chairs, white tablecloths, and table flowers spray-painted in a kaleidoscope of colours. Best of all, the picnic tables are gone, so no more butt splinters. Chef Brandon Thordarson has refreshed the menu (“american with a small a”) but has wisely held over the Kick Ass Burger.

Boogie on, the seventies are back! But not forever (thank God)—this is a pop-up restaurant after all. So all you foxy mamas and cool cats better dust off those gold platform shoes, let out the waist on those hip-hugging bell bottoms, tease that big ole ‘fro, and—

Then again, please don’t.

What exactly is a pop-up restaurant? Not to be confused with a fly-by-night restaurant, which is an entirely different thing, a pop-up is a temporary restaurant that opens for a specific period of time and then transforms again, moves to a new location, or takes early retirement in a timeshare in Bora Bora.

LudoBites is generally considered to be the original pop-up restaurant; it’s been roaming the streets of Los Angeles since 2007. In New York, What Happens When transforms every 30 days. And The Feast in the Sanctuary Hotel opens on March 10—and closes on March 12.

There are pop-up hotels too. The name doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in structural integrity, but it’s a growing phenomen. There have been pop-up hotels in London, Paris, and Singapore. Last year, Visit London opened one in March and closed up shop five days later. That sounds like a case of bad management to me, but apparently it was all planned. The “hotel” looked suspiciously like an Airstream trailer, and each day guests woke up in a different sightseeing location.

OPUS Hotel Vancouver’s pop-up concept was originally conceived to buy time while plans were drawn up for a permanent replacement for Elixir. But it proved so wildly popular that One Hundred Days turned into about One Hundred and Eighty Days. And now we’re into Nights. But really, who’s counting?

“When we opened One Hundred Days, we set out to do something completely unexpected, creative, and extraordinary,” explains John deC Evans, president and CEO of Opus Hotels. “With One Hundred Nights, the surprise will continue within the context of our pop-up concept.” The space was designed by Robert Bailey and is co-managed by OPUS Hotels and Peter Girges of RocksGlass Concepts.

One Hundred Nights will be in constant motion, with new art going up weekly, but it won’t be around for long. So get down here and boogie before it’s outta sight. As for that Lycra cat suit and headband? Save it for Halloween.

Seriously.

See you there!

For reservations call 604 642-0557 or click here.

What do you think about the pop-up trend? Share your comments here.

 

Lifestyle characters revisited, Part 5

February 12th, 2011

With the recent refresh of OPUS Vancouver’s suites, and guestrooms soon to follow, we asked the fictional muses behind our five lifestyle décor schemes to author a few posts. Our fifth and final post is from Pierre, the food and wine critic from Paris.


Pierre arrives sans Pierre

I arrived from Paris today, this is my first time at this hôtel boutique called OPUS. So far, not so bad. At first the walls were … how do you say? … a bit hard for my eyes, especially after three bottles of ’86 Château Cos d’Estournel at le Cinq last night (there were four of us, but two were not drinking, the philistines.) Now that my eyes are adjusting I must say I am finding the color very stimulating – Hermès orange, but of course.

The people here are so friendly. Why all the smiling? At the front desk I met a woman named Dede who looked familiar – an American actress, I believe. Beautiful girl, but the French? Une abomination.

There was also a guy named Mike, a doctor from New York, and his filthy mutt kept sniffing at my crotch. Had precious Pierre been present (yes, Pierre), he would have snapped off her snout in an instant. But Pierre travels first class only, and Le Monde is paying for this trip.

I am here to research a story about the culinary scene in Vancouver, so I have many restaurants to visit: Campagnolo, Blue Water Café, West, Bao Bei and Vijs – and this just tonight. The bellman has offered to drive me to Gastown in the hotel’s BMW 7 Series at no charge. So I will arrive in style, but, as usual, alone.

First I think I will explore this neighborhood they call Yaletown. It’s a former warehouse district, mostly residential, and the architecture is quite unique. Ce n’est pas Paris, but moi j’adore the open spaces, the tall glass buildings and the salty-fresh air.

In fact, I feel inspired. I think I’ll head down to the water for a jog. When in Rome …

Pierre

Gray skies are gonna clear up – Put on a happy face

January 30th, 2011

Blah hiss boo! Let’s face it, January is gloomy in Vancouver, and this year is extra dreary without the Olympic flame to lighten our days—not to mention thousands of bright-eyed athletes flooding into town.

But wait, there’s light at the end of the tunnel. On February 11 and 12 the dark days of winter will be lit up by Illuminate Yaletown, a two-day street festival featuring contemporary light art installations from bright-minded local designers.

And it’s my favourite price: free-99.

The same weekend, the City of Vancouver plans to rekindle some of last year’s Olympic fire with a variety of events, including free skating at Robson Square, street hockey on Granville, and LunarFest at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Bring your camera! The Yaletown Business Improvement Association will be holding a Flickr photo contest, with over $500 in prizes.

Check out these luminous entries from last year:

One Hundred Days for Twenty-Eight Bucks

January 25th, 2011

If like me one of your New Year’s resolutions was to stop spending so much money on expensive restaurants, then Dine Out Vancouver couldn’t come soon enough. Starting today, you can enjoy great value meals that don’t come with a Big Mac.

Through February 6, select restaurants in Vancouver are offering set three-course meals for $18, $28 and $38, along with BC wine pairings. Presented by Tourism Vancouver, this is now the largest restaurant promotion in Canada. Yes way.

One Hundred Days at OPUS Hotel Vancouver is getting into the action with three luscious 3-course meals to choose from, each for only $28. My pick: Bianco Risotto with Truffles to start, followed by Lobster and Crab Mac & Cheese with Hennessey Bisque, and, la pièce de résistance, a Warm Chocolate Cookie with House Made Gelato. Yum!

With the meal so cheap you can afford to kick things off with an Iced Teaquila cocktail. That’ll pretty much kill all salads-and-sobriety resolutions. At least you’ll be holding upholding the spend-less-on-restaurants resolution—until after February 6, that is.

To see the menu click here. Fridays and Saturdays are sold out, but tables are still available weekdays. To inquire call 604 642-0557. Stayover rates from $199. For info about other restaurants visit the Dine Out Vancouver web page.

Lifestyle characters (& suites) revisited, Part 3

January 10th, 2011


Editor’s Note: With the recent refresh of OPUS Vancouver’s suites, we’ve asked the fictional muses behind our five lifestyle décor schemes to write a few posts. The third comes from Susan, the fashion exec from Toronto. The above video showcases the new design of her suite.


Someone Spits on Susan

Argh!!! I presented the new line today, and the buyers rejected it full-stop! Said it was too “out there”. Seriously? What do they know about fashion – half the old farts were in Men’s Warehouse suits, the rest in fleece. Fleece! What is it with this city?

Then, as I’m climbing out of the cab in front of OPUS, I feel moisture hit my face. I look up, thinking it’s starting to rain (again), and see some chick leaning over the balcony. I swear she spit on me. She looked like that actress, Dede, but I couldn’t be sure – there was spittle in my eye.

Okay, relax, Susan. On to more important things … where’s that damned mini-bar? Here we go. Ooooh, come to mama all you shiny pretty things!

No, Susan. Bad girl. Put the Snickers bar down and back away.

Not even an itsy splash of red wine? It’s good for you. Oh dear, there’s only a full-size bottle. Oh well, bottoms up! Oooh, Pringles go great with wine, don’t they? Wait—four bucks? Hmmm …

Gosh, I’ve always loved this suite, but with this paler shade of blue, it feels even more soothing. I can work for hours on this comfy king bed, surrounded by these whimsical patterns, those curvy lamps, and … hey, is that a Tiko Kerr on the wall? Yes! One of my local faves.

Well, back to work for me. Tomorrow I’ve got a brutal day of meetings, but then I get to take a spin around the art gallery, and after that it’s my favourite opera at the Q E Theatre: Lucia di Lammermoor. Tonight, however, the agenda’s a tad less refined: wine, Pringles and Top Model.

Mommy better call the hubby and chicklets in Toronto before she gets too tipsy. Ciao for now!

-Susan

Lifestyle characters (& suites) revisited, Part 2

January 4th, 2011


Editor’s Note: With the recent refresh of OPUS Vancouver’s suites, we’ve asked the fictional muses behind our five lifestyle décor schemes to write our next few posts. The second comes from New York doctor Mike, along with the above video showcasing the new design of his suite.

Mike gets upstaged

Okay, this is the last time I invite Anna Nicole on a trip. The little bitch has upstaged me at every turn, most recently with kee-ute Parisian guy I was checking out in the lobby while he was checking in. But he only had eyes for her, and she wasn’t exactly shy about returning the affection.

Look at her now, gnawing so innocently on that Milk Bone. Maybe it’s for the best that Steve and I are taking a break – I can only handle one princess at a time. Hmmm … wonder how he’s doing now?

Wait – my suite looks different. Feels bigger, brighter … the color is lighter. That big oak cabinet – gone! I’m liking this translucent divider. And what’s this – a king bed? Awesome.

Hey Anna Nicole, what do you say we shack up together tonight?

She doesn’t look enthusiastic. I think she’s pining for Pierre, the little tart.

At least I’m not stuck at the convention hotel this time. In Chicago I got pressured into having dinner with the other gynies, and it was so eye-stabbingly dull I faked sick and left early. An hour later, I’m heading out clubbing in a muscle shirt and tight jeans when I run smack into the guys in the lobby. “Feeling better are we, Mike?” one says, and they all crack up. Awkward.

Well, princess has to pee, so I’m going to fire up this Nespresso machine, brew a double shot, and take her down for a run – she just loves to see and be seen on the seawall. After that it’s a quick pre-party pump in the fitness room and then dancing at 560. Hey, maybe Pierre will be there …

What’s that, Anna Nicole? Sorry, sweetheart – no dogs allowed.

-Mike

Fun on New Year’s Eve is back!

December 27th, 2010

Gambler, bootlegger or masquerader? Whatever your vice, OPUS Hotels invites you to ring in the New Year with all the good cheer and optimism of a champagne-soaked cheerleader.

One Hundred Days
Vancouver’s hit pop-up restaurant won’t be around next New Year’s Eve, so enjoy it while you can. Get a head start with the early seating from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. and enjoy a three-course meal and NYE cocktail for just $35. Or raise the stakes with a High Roller ticket for $150 from 9:00 p.m. to  midnight, including canapés, champagne and dessert bar, and an open bar (degree of restraint required: limit two bevies at a time). After midnight it’s $20 at the door. (more…)