Chartwell, Terrace bar, restaurant to be replaced by ‘smoking hot’ atmosphere
Bruce Constantineau
Sun
General manager Guy Rigby looks over renovation plans at the Four Seasons Hotel. Photograph by : Ian Smith, Vancouver Sun
Four Seasons Hotels will spend $5.3 million over the next few months on renovations to its iconic downtown Vancouver property meant to create a “buzz” among city foodies and barflies.
Venerable Chartwell will close as a public restaurant in November while the Garden Terrace restaurant and Terrace bar have already shut down for good.
In their place, hotel general manager Guy Rigby says patrons will experience a destination restaurant and bar with a “smoking hot” atmosphere.
“This won’t be a typical hotel dining room anymore,” he said in an interview Monday. “A perfect dining experience now involves a tremendous amount of drama, activity and atmosphere. It doesn’t require a tie because it’s a little less formal.”
Work on the $4.3-million second-floor renovation project — including the 6,750-square-foot restaurant/bar area and 5,000-square-foot lobby — began three weeks ago and is scheduled for completion in November.
Another $1 million will be spent between January and March next year on renovations to the lower lobby and driveway.
The yet-to-be-named restaurant and bar will feature an open kitchen and a bar set against a backdrop of a “green” wall of live foliage. Other focal points include Ottoman lounge chairs near a fireplace, an interactive kitchen counter/bar and various dining options — including a communal table and intimate dining booths.
The restaurant will also house an exclusive glass-enclosed private dining room with sketched images of coastal mountain scenes.
Rigby expects the multi-zone facility will become a “must” place to drink and dine because it will be crowded and “very exciting.
“A great restaurant is the window through which people see our hotel,” he said. “When you put buzz into your food and beverage, people want to be there.”
The new contemporary design was created by San Francisco-based Engstrom Design Group, which redesigned Four Seasons restaurant properties in Las Vegas and Hawaii.
Executive chef Rafael Gonzalez, formerly executive sous chef at The Pierre hotel in New York, will create the new restaurant’s menu.
Rigby said Chartwell will become a private dining room when the new restaurant opens in November.
Work on the second-floor lobby area includes a new terrazzo floor with area rugs, new furnishings and a new front desk. The lower-level lobby will get new artwork and a new ceiling with hanging lanterns while the driveway will receive updated lighting and ceiling work.
Rigby also noted a significant capital investment will begin by the fall of 2008, when work begins on renovating all 372 guest rooms and suites — a project expected to finish by the spring of 2009.
He said hotel officials are also discussing the possibility of opening a spa in the hotel, something considered a must at most upscale properties.
Physical limitations of its building caused the Four Seasons to lose its prestigious five-diamond rating from the influential American Automobile Association four years ago.
The AAA cited several reasons for the downgrade — including the dated appearance of the hotel’s lower lobby, no spa facility and no separate showers and bathtubs in all guest rooms.
Rigby said he doesn’t stay awake nights hoping the current and future upgrades give the hotel its five-diamond rating back.
The Pan Pacific and Sutton Place hotels are the only two five-diamond properties in Vancouver.
“It’s nice to be a five-diamond hotel but the most important thing is that we carry the Four Seasons brand and our staff offers guests the best service experience in the city,” he said.
“By the time we’ve renovated the hotel, we’ll have a room product that will compete with anybody in the city and, in my opinion, we’ll have the most exciting and innovative restaurant in the city. There will be nothing like this.”
© The Vancouver Sun 2007
