The Star (Toronto) A place to indulge your inner fantasy

[mtlurb]

A place to indulge your inner fantasy

 

 

The opus montreal is a hotel with multiple personalities

 

Mar 30, 2008 04:30 AM

 

 

MONTrEAL–Remember when getting in touch with yourself involved either recreational drugs, transcendental meditation or, at the very least, a dusty summer of backpacking across Europe?

 

No longer. Today, it's a high-end affair, best achieved at boutique getaways, like the uber-chic Opus Hôtel Montreal.

 

At the corner of Sherbrooke St. and Boulevard Saint-Laurent, where Old Montreal meets new, Opus Hôtel Montreal's 136 rooms and suites evolved from the venerable Hotel Godin, North America's first poured-concrete building. Built by Joseph Arthur Godin in 1914, the sleek art nouveau structure was updated in 2004, by architect Dan Hanganu, who added a modern wing of glass and steel.

 

When Opus Hotel Vancouver owner John deC. Evans bought the property in 2007, the goal was to improve while preserving original elegance. The painstaking process is still underway, as architects work to revamp the fine dining restaurant and build what is expected to become Montreal's largest terrace bar, with dramatic space indoors and out to accommodate both large groups and the chic evening crowd.

 

The Evans family knows hotels. Having already enjoyed great success with Opus Vancouver, they were confident their Quebec version would be well received.

 

"We knew Montreal had the right vibe for this kind of hotel," says Katherine Evans, 27, daughter of John and the force behind Opus Hôtel Montreal's promotion, marketing and food and beverage functions.

 

Opus has quickly become one of Montreal's most stylish boutique hotels, and certainly the only one to offer rooms that enable guests to get in touch with their inner Pierre, Susan, Mike, Dede or Billy.

 

Finding yourself at Opus is a matter of matching decor to desire. Creative interior design that echoes a successful system used at Opus Vancouver has divided the hotel's rooms and suites into five personality collections, each with distinct characteristics.

 

Pierre, for example, is a Parisian designer, in search of a sophisticated sanctuary. The walls of his room and suite collection are deep orange, the furniture, rich dark wood, and the bed coverings a mix of strong, warm textures and patterns. The effect, at once dramatic and urbane, invites you to pour yourself a glass of something very expensive and put your feet up.

 

If the inner you is tender, select the Susan. With walls drenched in periwinkle, soft white linens and romantic silken pillows, a Susan suite is riddled with romance, the white leather settees and ottomans so languorous, you might just drape yourself over them and never leave.

Elegant Pierre, romantic Susan, high-powered physician Mike, musician-party-boy Billy and outrageous diva Dede (take special note of the funky toss pillows on Dede's beds) – choose the suite that speaks to your inner self, slip into the robe that awaits in your closet, and head for the bathroom.

 

Every Opus room and suite features a porcelain paradise with not only delectable L'Occitane amenities and perhaps the deepest bathtub you'll ever soak in, but also a personal, hand-held oxygen canister to give brain cells a boost on the road to self-discovery.

 

Continue your self-discovery voyage at nearby Spa Valmont (the only Canadian location of the famous Swiss line) where therapists cosset you in plush terry and provide to-die-for facial and body treatments. Signature products contain the finest salmon roe – like face caviar, it's a decadent restorative.

 

Rejuvenated, celebrate the glorious new you at Opus' Suco Restaurant while Executive Chef Mohammed Zai, recent winner of Quebec's chef of the year award, spins local fare into exotic delicacies.

 

 

 

http://www.thestar.com/Travel/article/349113

[Gbx]

Opus Hôtel Montreal's 136 rooms and suites evolved from the venerable Hotel Godin, North America's first poured-concrete building. Built by Joseph Arthur Godin in 1914, the sleek art nouveau structure was updated in 2004, by architect Dan Hanganu, who added a modern wing of glass and steel.

 

Je suis très étonné d'apprendre ça, 1914 me semble incroyablement tardif pour être le premier building en béton du canada. Je ne savais pas non plus que la partie en béton de cet immeuble était "historique", j'aurais juré à un pastiche récent.

[Ornello Mastrocola]

The restaurant and terrace is scheduled to be ready by Grand Prix week-end.