I’ve been lucky enough to interview the likes of Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Bill Clinton and other famous folks in my long journalism career. But I’ve never had much exposure to movie folks, so that made Sunday a lot of fun. The good folks at the Ontario Heritage Trust, who are involved with the Toronto International Film Festival, were kind enough to supply my wife and I with tickets for The Report, a new U.S. film about the battle to release top secret U.S. Senate reports that looked at the use of torture by the American CIA in the aftermath Read more
Architecture
A grand, new look for Toronto’s grand dame of hotels. The Fairmont Royal York celebrated its 90th birthday yesterday and also unveiled a sleek, sexy and very much updated look that no doubt will give the hotel a huge lift. Surrounded by employees, guests, and members of the community, hotel officials unveiled its transformed lobby, designed by Rockwell Group, and the new lobby bar, called CLOCKWORK in honour of the jazzy new clock; a meeting place for Torontonians for nearly a century. Hundreds of people crowded the famed lobby for the celebrations, which were inaugurated with entertainment from Big Smoke Read more
LONDON – A classic yet modern hotel in one of the world’s great cities. Not to mention great food and a nearly perfect location. One Aldwych is a truly terrific hotel in central London, with wonderful design touches, large and comfortable rooms and an outstanding restaurant that’s creating a substantial buzz. The hotel makes an instant impression with a beautiful, light and airy lobby area that has a great bar. They have a full-time person in charge of flowers and plants, and when we there someone had cleverly taken a huge bouquet of flowers and hung them upside down in Read more
VANCOUVER – The Parq Vancouver complex has only been open a year, but it’s already left an indelible mark on this city. Parq Vancouver is a major development in downtown Vancouver, just a few steps from False Creek and adjacent to BC Place Stadium; home of the Vancouver Canucks hockey team and terrific concerts. It’s a game-changing complex that consists of the JW Marriott Parq Vancouver and The DOUGLAS, a Marriott Autograph Collection property. There’s also a glittering (and thankfully subdued) casino, the only one in downtown Vancouver, a massive convention centre with the city’s largest hotel ballroom, a terrific Read more
LAS VEGAS – A soothing retreat in the middle of one of the entertainment capitals of the world. I recently had a night at the new Park MGM Hotel and Casino in Vegas, formerly the Monte Carlo. It’s been given a spectacular facelift, with a welcoming lobby, a great swimming pool complex, sensational food (with more to come, including an Eataly outlet) and relaxing, restful rooms. The room I had was decorated in soft shades of green with gold accents and a big comfy cushioned seating strip by the window. They had nice art on the walls, including a series Read more
