IN QUEBEC, NEW OWNERS AT STONEHAM SKI RESORT Resorts of the Canadian Rockies (RCR) has just purchased the Stoneham Ski Resort. Located 20 minutes from Quebec City, the resort is the third-largest ski resort in the province. RCR plans to coordinate the investment of more than $200 million (Canadian) in upgrading the resort to create a year-round facility and village "that will equal Mont Tremblant."
The resort has a vertical rise of 1,380 feet, and covers four mountains with 10 chair lifts. RCR owns six other Rocky Mountain resorts, including ones in Lake Louise, Kimberley, and Nakiska.
TORONTO HOTEL NEWS ROUND-UP * The 1,377-room Sheraton Centre Toronto offers a "Clean at Your Convenience" program that lets guests choose when they wish to have their room cleaned and refreshed. You can learn more about the hotel at www.toronto.com/sheratoncentre. Kosta Tomazos was recently named general manager of the property.
* The Holiday Inn Select Toronto Airport has completed a major renovation and remodeling project. The hotel features new furniture, wall coverings, carpet, lighting, and artwork throughout the property. The Roof Garden Meeting Room was expanded, a new fitness room was added, and the executive club rooms were upgraded with two telephone lines, ergonomic chairs, and other amenities. In addition, exterior improvements were made as well.
* The newly refurbished Four Seasons Hotel Toronto is offering the Jack Frost Winter Promotion, in which room rates have been frozen from November 1st to March 31st 1999 for groups of 10 or more. The rate is frozen at $145 (Canadian) per room, per night.
The promotion also offers complimentary meeting space proportionate to guest rooms occupied. Special food and beverage packages, complimentary VIP meeting setup, and upgrades are available at minimal costs.
PEOPLE IN THE NEWS Roger Kraemer has been appointed regional marketing director, central region U.S., for the Canadian Tourism Commission. Kraemer comes to the CTC after 28 years with Japan Airlines, most recently as passenger sales manager in Chicago.
The CTC has also named Robin Thompson meeting and incentive travel specialist based in San Francisco. Thompson previously served as director of group sales at the Renaissance Stanford Court Hotel in San Francisco.
NEW BISTRO IN OLD QUEBEC Here's a new hot spot in Old Quebec: The newly opened Bellissimo Bistro features Mediterranean cuisine, paella, panini, and one of the most popular sushi bars in the quarter. For more information, call (418) 694-7979.
Three New Hotels for Vancouver Area Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide has negotiated the management of the new hotel/residential tower being built at the Wall Centre in Vancouver for its Sheraton hotel subsidiary. The 45-story tower is scheduled to open in the spring of 2000. The Wall Centre complex occupies a 2.5-acre area in downtown Vancouver. According to Starwood, the tower is designed in an elliptical shape "to present a narrow profile to Vancouver's zealously guarded mountain views."
Celebrated Canadian architect Arthur Erickson has termed the tower "the most sophisticated high-rise the city has seen." In addition to 350 guest rooms, the tower will have 60 luxury condo suites, and will add 30,000 square feet of meeting space to the Wall Centre's inventory of 15,000 square feet. The Wall's existing 35-story, 428-room hotel already operates as a Sheraton property. The two towers will be connected by skybridge and together will operate as the Sheraton Wall Centre Hotel. The present hotel and its 30-story condo tower were built in 1994.
General manager of the Sheraton Wall Centre Hotel is Victor Burt, former GM at the Sheraton Centre Toronto.
Also new in this city by the sea: The 313-room Crowne Plaza Hotel Georgia debuted earlier this year. The hotel opened following six months of renovations to the existing property, which originally opened in 1927. It was one of the city's oldest hotels, and now features such amenities as the Crowne Plaza executive club level, a fitness club, a full-service "Euro/Asian-fusion restaurant," and 5,800 square feet of meeting space.
The hotel is located downtown, across the street from two malls that offer more than 200 shops and restaurants. It is also a few blocks from the Vancouver Trade & Convention Center, Stanley Park Chinatown, and the city's cruise ship terminal.
Just outside of Vancouver in downtown Richmond, the Vancouver Airport Marriott opened in June. The 237-room property boasts 172 suites, all of which offer a work station equipped with two power outlets, a PC modem jack, and an adjustable ergonomic chair. There is also a restaurant, a lounge, an outdoor heated pool and a 4,600-square-foot ballroom. Golf, tennis, and boating are located nearby.