Posts Tagged ‘Yaletown’

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:

Gastown: A great place for dining, but sexier than Yaletown? Pshaw.

November 24th, 2010

There’s a great round-up of restaurants in Gastown in the latest issue of Vancouver magazine. For guest of OPUS Vancouver interested in experiencing the latest and greatest in the city’s culinary scene, it’s a must-read.

As usual local food critic Andrew Morrison is spot-on, but we were a bit surprised by his assertions that Gastown is “sexier than Yaletown” and “the new nucleus of Vancouver cool—a title that for the past decade has belonged to Yaletown.”

Gasp. Yaletown has been dethroned? We didn’t get the memo.

No question, Gastown has lured away some of the hipsters who used to strut the streets of Yaletown. As Morrison points out, escalating real estate prices have pushed out some of the independent restaurants, replacing them with tried-and-true, high-volume chain establishments. And we all know that hipsters and chains mix about as well as supermodels and nerds. (more…)

Arabian Nights: OPUS Bar’s 8th Annual Street Party

August 3rd, 2010

On Friday, July 30 OPUS kicked off a very festive long weekend in Vancouver with the 8th Annual OPUS Bar Street Party, themed “Arabian Nights”. In addition to following through with the hotel’s annual commitment to getting VIPs and regulars liquored up with sponsored cocktails, OPUS continued its five-year, $50,000 commitment to UNICEF when owner John deC. Evans presented a cheque for $10,0000.

To get sweeping footage of the event, I had planned to suspend GM Nicholas Gandossi by rope from the rooftop Cirque-du-Soleil-style, but when he caught wind of my plans he “forgot” to bring his camera. So I had to improvise from the ground with my pocket camera. Blame the videography on the Hendrick’s-infused cucumber cocktails (yum).

For party pics and buzz visit OPUS on Facebook.

The Yin and Yang of Yaletown

July 28th, 2010

Having lived and worked in Yaletown for over a decade, I’ve grown so attached to the lifestyle here that whenever I’m obliged to leave, I feel a nosebleed coming on. Fortunately, my neighbourhood has it all, and rarely do I have to venture beyond. For guests of OPUS, I thought I’d share a few of my summertime faves.

About Yaletown

Yaletown’s origins date back to the late 1800s, when the Roundhouse station was built as the turnaround point for the Canadian Pacific Railway. Today, former warehouses have been converted into chic loft-style residences, boutiques, office space and restaurants. The distinctive red brick walls and exposed beams have been beautifully preserved, and the raised docks and cantilevered awnings have become pedestrian walkways and patio shelters. Surrounding the heritage core are glass residential towers and the False Creek inlet.

Yaletown is a place of contrasts. One of Vancouver’s oldest neighbourhoods, it’s also one of its newest. The lifestyle here is ultra-urban, with a decidedly resort feel. It’s a place for hedonism and healthful living, for superficial whims and quiet reflection. It’s hyper-caffeinated, yet laid back. And it’s safe, clean and modest, yet noisy, chaotic and a tad pretentious. In essence, it’s a mass of contradictions living in relative harmony. Which is probably why we get along so well.

Eating & Drinking

In recent years, chain restaurants have taken over Yaletown; for a truly authentic experience, try the independents. In summertime the patios are teeming; take a walk along Hamilton or Mainland streets and choose one that grabs you, then don the shades and watch the fashionable people and their fashionable dogs parade by. (more…)

With glowing hearts: a post-Olympics wrap-up

March 5th, 2010

The Olympics come to a city only once in a lifetime, and Vancouver was lucky to enjoy a perfect confluence of spring-like weather, an unexpected surge in patriotism and enough gold medals for Canada to break the world record.

About 250,000 people visited the city during the Games, and judging by the herds that streamed past Opus day and night, every one of them made it into Yaletown. The hotel was a hotbed of activity, enjoying a full house of awesome guests from Alberta to Australia.

The hotel kicked festivities off early with the Podium Party on February 9 co-hosted by Tourism Vancouver. Among the media personalities, celebrities and athletes in attendance were Olympic gold medal pairs figure skaters Jamie Salé and David Pelletier and gold medal rowers Jake Wetzel and Ben Rutledge. Making a rare appearance were the fictional characters that inspired Opus Hotel’s lifestyle décor schemes—Mike, Billy, Susan and Pierre—who performed slice-of-life scenes to showcase our stylish guestrooms. (In typical fashion, diva Dede was a no-show). 

Gold medalist Jake Wetzel tests bounciness of Opus beds with 24 Hours reporter Michael Schratter and virtual resident Billy

Gold medalist Jake Wetzel tests bounciness of Opus beds with 24 Hours reporter Michael Schratter and virtual resident Billy



(more…)

The Day the Earth Stood Still

May 13th, 2009

For the residents, businesses and visitors to Yaletown who have endured construction of the Canada Line underground rapid transit station these past three years, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. Unfortunately, it’s a speeding train—a Canada Line train. Whether it will flatten us with a railcar of problems—traffic, parking, security—or will transport our neighbourhood to a new level of cosmopolitanism remains to be seen.

Read More

Food and Beverage: the Cream In My Coffee

March 7th, 2007

In our relentless pursuit of world domination, right on the heels of assuming control of Elixir and Opus Bar, last week Opus management took control of Café O. Until now, this sunny northeast corner of the building was leased to a third party. It’s earned a reputation for making a mean cup of coffee, but one of the baristas was, well, kind of mean. A tad overzealous in his love for coffee, he has chased guests out of the café for being so barbaric as to ask for – gasp – cream with their coffee. His passion was admirable, but his service tactics didn’t quite fit in with the rest of the hotel.

Vancouverites can be funny about coffee. “I’ve never seen so much coffee in all my life,” Bette Midler once commented during a performance in Vancouver. “The whole town is on a caffeine jag, and still nothing gets done any faster.” I myself love coffee, but I’m far from a purist. Afraid to confess that I too like a bit of cream in my coffee, I used to bypass Café O and skulk over to Starbucks. Now I can simply pop upstairs without fear of reprisal.

We had less than two weeks to organize the seamless transfer of Café O into our hands, with no downtime in between. Admittedly, I was not thrilled at the prospect of taking over a coffee shop while still consumed by new responsibilities in the restaurant and lounge. I secretly feared we wouldn’t be able to recruit staff in time for opening and I’d be pulling shifts behind the counter. Imagine a barista who secretly wonders what’s really so bad about instant coffee.

It’s times like this when I really appreciate the value of great staff. Over the years we’ve assembled a crack team at Opus. I respect each employee so much I could spend hours raving about them, but I’d never want to single one out over another. Amazingly, quite a few of us have been here since day one and are celebrating our fifth anniversary this year. The occasional live one gets away, but our goal is to “trade up” – to find an even better replacement. In taking over management of Elixir and Opus Bar we snagged three big fish: Leonard, an outstanding director of food & beverage; Michael, a highly experienced restaurant manager; and Annabel, a respected local publicist. Working with existing talent, these individuals will no doubt bring great things to Opus.

Okay, okay, I know I’m being really boring. But allow me a sentimental moment and I promise to return to wedding day relocates, make-up smearing drag queens and celebrity meltdowns on my next post.

On its first day of operation Thursday, Café O pulled in a staggering $83 in revenue. Why waste everyone’s time when there are much greater returns in other departments? Because every department at Opus, large and small, is a critical part of the experience.

Next time you’re in Yaletown I invite you to swing by Café O, Elixir or Opus Bar to check us out. Now that we manage every inch of this building I guarantee you’ll experience even better service, a renewed optimism among staff and a sense of warmth and freshness everywhere. And if you want cream in your coffee, it’s totally okay by us.

Together at Last

December 30th, 2006


It’s December 29 and I’m feeling sorry for myself because for weeks now, while friends and colleagues in the industry have been stumbling from one holiday party to another in a boozy haze, I’ve never been busier. While they’ve been Christmas shopping during work hours, I’ve been shopping for a director of food & beverage. And while they’ve been inventing all sorts of excuses for coming in late and leaving early, I’ve been coming in early and leaving late. You get the idea. I’m bitter.

I was whining about this to my Mom over dinner last night, likely boring her to tears, and she basically told me to get over myself. Did I think being a general manager would be a walk in the park? I really hate it when she’s right. Problem is, I’ve never been fully convinced I want to be a hotel manager. Right now folding sweaters at the Gap or greeting at Walmart is sounding pretty appealing. I’ve always been in the hotel industry a bit grudgingly, convinced that another career is out there for me, one with more pay, less hours and frequent trips to Tahiti. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job. LOVE IT. But would I want to be a general manager anywhere but Opus? Probably not.

Normally things settle down for me this time of year and I’m one of those irritating people drifting around in a boozy haze. But recently my job got a lot bigger. I’ve assumed responsibility for Elixir and Opus Bar. When Opus opened four years ago the hotel and the restaurant/lounge were set up as separate companies, and I joined the hotel side. The ownership wanted to avoid the dreaded curse of hotel restaurants: bad food, inflated prices and poor financial performance that sucks the life out of the more profitable rooms division. So Elixir was given its own identity, its own entrance and a brasserie concept that contrasted with the hotel’s contemporary style. Things have worked out well for the most part, and Elixir and Opus Bar are popular with locals and guests alike. But there have been internal challenges and problems with consistency. For me it’s been frustrating not to have control over food and beverage, but at the same time it’s allowed me to focus all my attention on the hotel. All that will change now that we’re one big family.

When Elixir staff first heard I was getting involved they were nervous. I guess someone told them about my days as a waiter in Toronto when I was in my early twenties. I had two waiter jobs, one in a fine-dining restaurant and the other in a nightclub on ladies’ nights. My specialty was spilling drinks, usually on people, like the cold glass of milk I dumped down an elderly woman’s back and all over her fur coat. She screamed so loud everyone ran over to look. I was so embarrassed and apologetic that she felt sorry for me and gave me an enormous tip. At the nightclub I didn’t fare as well with spills. The ladies wanted my scrawny butt out of the way so they could see the big, buff strippers. Now that Elixir staff know I won’t be waiting on tables, they’re very supportive of the change.

Present position excluded, serving tables is the most stressful job I’ve ever had. Anyone who scrimps on the tip after receiving good service should be forced to spend a day as a server. I still have a recurring nightmare in which I have a section full of hungry, angry guests and the kitchen is totally backed up. It’s like those university dreams where you show up for an exam and realize you never attended class. (Other people have those dreams too, right? It’s not just me?)

Once I get a director of food and beverage in place the workload should ease up. I’m really excited about working with our management team to provide a seamlessly brilliant experience in Elixir, Opus Bar and Opus Hotel in 2007. Stay tuned, and swing by.

One last note. Condé Nast Traveler’s 2007 Gold List is out and once again Opus has been recognized as one of the top hotels in the world. What’s also cool is the write-up tells readers to “check out the general manager’s irreverent blog”. Thanks for the plug, CNT.

Wishing all of you a very happy new year! Hope to see you at Opus soon.