A stunningly redesigned classic hotel awaits travellers to one of the world’s great cities. Hotel Le Germain Montreal recently underwent a $30 million renovation, emerging with six new floors on top and a thorough remake of rooms, the lobby, the second floor Le Boulevardier restaurant and the meeting spaces. You’ll now find 136 rooms, up from 101. They weren’t able to use a crane so they built a new roof and raised it up six times to create six floors. There are truly spectacular suites on the 18th floor in the new section, as well as a remarkable gym with Read more
Architecture
Hyatt hotel lovers have a stylish new property to check out in Mississauga. The Hyatt Place Toronto/Mississauga opened just more than a week ago on Hurontario Street, just a couple blocks south of Highway 401. It’s a beautiful property, and the first Hyatt Place hotel in Ontario. My wife and I stayed the night this week and found it extremely enjoyable, as well as clean and safe. You walk into the lobby and are immediately met with a bright, wide-open space with beautiful art on the walls, a colourful set of golden yellow chairs and pretty pink orchids. There are Read more
I’m on the road today so this is a re-post from a fun visit to Munich, Germany a few years ago. MUNICH – Sometimes in life we read too much about a place before we arrive. We get all pumped up about this area or that, and then we get there and it all goes flat. I have to plan my trips reasonably carefully to get the stories I want, but I still try to leave as much unplanned – and un-scouted – as possible. That way, I get to a destination and find myself more surprised than I Read more
With travel at something of a standstill, I’m re-posting some prior blogs of mine. This one focuses on some marvellous, lesser-known places to explore in my home city. TORONTO – I walk up a flight of stairs and emerge into a wonderland. Swirling, intricately carved arches of brilliant white stone dance around my head. Soft blue lighting infuses the room with a deep glow, then turns green and yellow and soft orange. The light seeps around corners and plays onto brilliant white pillars that rise towards a series of equally stunning ceiling panels. I’m not a religious person, but the Read more
Since we can’t travel much these days, I’m re-posting some prior blogs. This is from a great visit to New York City last year. BROOKLYN – “The view down here is nice, but I’m going to show a place almost nobody knows about.” Sheli Baez is escorting my wife and I around Brooklyn on a New York Times Journeys visit; a program based on the newspaper’s popular “36 Hours In” travel section stories, where readers are given a guide for the perfect day and-a-half in great destinations around the world. The New York Times Journeys are run by Urban Adventures, Read more
