WHAT’S NEW:
A recently
completed $100 mil-
lion renovation includes
high-tech roomupdates,
technicolor design flourishes in the
stately lobby, andMaison Boulud, a sleek
French restaurant by celeb chef Daniel
Boulud that draws heavily onMontreal’s
superabundance of world-class produce.
CLAIM TO FAME:
Besides being the
very first Ritz-Carlton, this nearly
100-
year-old hotel played host to the
(
first) wedding of Elizabeth Taylor and
Richard Burton, in 1964. Other guests
of renown include Winston Churchill,
Paul Newman, David Bowie, The Rolling
Stones and the Shah of Iran.
WHAT YOU’LL FIND JUST OUTSIDE:
The
high-end boutiques, art galleries and
museums of Montreal’s Golden Square
Mile, as well as the Underground City, a
4.6-
square-mile subterranean complex
filled with stores, hotels, offices, subway
stations, schools and an arena.
BEST PLACE TO HANG OUT:
The tranquil
Jardin du Ritz, an impeccably mani-
cured outdoor space that comes with its
own duck pond.
UNEXPECTED TREAT:
Those staying
in a suite can choose from a variety
of complimentary ultraluxe skin and
hair products from brands like Fresh
and C.O. Bigelow.
Ritz-Carlton
Montreal
LEPAVILLON
DESLETTRES
MONTREAL
PARIS
BACKSTORY:
In 2010, a brother-and-sister team transformed a classic
Parisian apartment building into a rather odd blend of hotel and liter-
ary shrine. You won’t find numbers on the doors; instead, each of the 26
rooms is named a er a famous writer—from Proust to Tolstoy—with
fragments of his or her work inscribed on the walls.
DESIGN NOTES:
Didier Benderli’s interior combines classic and ultra-
modern lines and color schemes. In some places that means ba leship
gray and razor edges, and in others deep orange and slow, sexy curves.
And with each room drawing inspiration from a unique author, no two
setups are exactly alike.
ROOMWITH A VIEW:
Take one of “Les Romantiques,” the junior suites,
which share an absurdly appropriate Parisian vista: waves of roo ops
in the foreground, the Eiffel Tower beyond.
UNEXPECTED TREAT:
In keeping with the literary theme, each room
comes equipped with an iPad loaded with, among other things, books
by the hotel’s spotlighted wordsmiths.
40
NOVEMBER 2012
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