Hotels of Canada Introduction Alberta Hotels BC Hotels- BCYHA Canada's Castles Choice Hotels Fairmont Airport Harrison Resorts Hotel History Hotel humor Hotel Packaging Hyatt Regency Calgary' Ontario Inns Sheraton Wall Centre Westin Grand Whistler Hotels Yellowhead Hotels Yukon Hotels Gateway Maps Adventure Isles Adventure Roads BC Attractions BC Nature-Ecology Vancouver Asian Market Airlines Cathay Pacific China Southern Hotels Canada Services Visas Add your name E-mail new information   Rail Alaska USA . Highways Alaska . Canadian Rockies Yellowhead C Canada's famous doors of hospitality by Jerry W. Bird Canada is dotted with famous hotels, inns, lodges and resorts; a few having existed since pioneer days, while others are but faded memories. Some of my favorite haunts remain as attractive and popular as ever, keeping up with the times, yet retaining their unique charm - those built during the hey day of Canada's two great continental railways. Victoria's elegant Empress, the Hotel Vancouver, the palatial Banff Springs and Chateau Lake Louise, Edmonton's Macdonald, Saskatoon's Bessborough, Regina's Hotel Saskatchewan and Calgary's Palliser are all prime examples. Further east, there's Winnipeg's Fort Garry, Toronto's Royal York, Quebec's Chateau Frontenac,, Montreal's Queen Elizabeth and Ottawa's Chateau Laurier. How can one forget the Algonquin, a tudor style resort on the Bay of Fundy at St. Andrews by the Sea, a pleasant bus ride from St. John, NB. We enjoyed the Mother of all Lobster Feasts on the grounds of that historic property during a convention I helped stage for CGA-Canada. We have participated in many such events, worked on projects or enjoyed memorable stays at most of these superb hotels, the Banff Springs in particular. For several months, a suite in Edmonton's Macdonald Hotel served as our advertising agency's branch office . Romantic Dream Vacation: Coast to coast rail trip, with overnight stops at several of these nostalgia-inspiring properties, including Victoria's Imperial Empress, Banff Springs Mountain Majesty and Quebec's charming Chateau Frontenac. It's a romantic, fairyland vacation for folks of any age. From Vancouver or Halifax. Train connections by Via Rail Canada, Royal Canadian Pacific and Rocky Mountain Rail tours. Contact Railways of the World Tours; fax (604) 681-6595, airhwy@dowco.com Harrison Hot Springs Resort, near Vancouver also 'springs' to mind. It recalls a legend of CPR's glory days, when high rollers, from movie stars to royalty rode the Canadian Pacific Railway, staying at hotels and resorts at or near the main line. I am touched by that same spirit with each visit to The Harrison. And its always a happy return. We launched Air Highways Magazine there, when the BC Aviation Council selected me to speak at its 1996 Conference. Our publishing group is working on a history of that great resort and others for our Suite 2001 Program. Reservations and information on many of the above mentioned hotels, including those in the fotomation sequence and vintage hotel posters are available from Fairmont hotels www.fairmont.com Canada's Hotels continues with "Hotels along the Yukon" Fotomation- series of souvenir posters available at Canadian Pacific Stores. Catalogue: http://www.cphotels.ca Country Inns, Lodges and Road houses Dawson City's Yukon Hotel (above), was one of several former gold rush hotels that were still standing (or leaning slightly) when I was a youngster roaming the town. Those still in operation included the Occidental, Westminster, Royal Alexandra, Pearl Harbor, and a variety of lesser known establishments, most with the familiar false fronts and tin roofs. My friends and I loved to explore the boarded up, abandoned relics, but most especially to visit the string of road houses that stretched along the old stage route between Dawson City and Whitehorse. My granddad, Ernie J. Somerton, a many of many talents, was one of the first to operate the Caterpillar train that plied that route along the frozen Yukon river in the 30s and 40s. More-> Welcome to Alberta's famous doors of hospitality One of my first assignments while handling the Advertising and Public Relations for the Cross family's Calgary Brewing & Malting Company, was a series of newspaper features on the company's chain of country hotels. We called the series " Alberta's Famous Doors of Hospitality." This labor of love gave me an early appreciation for the value of a hotelier to the community. It was an opportunity to count many hoteliers among my inner circle of friends. Both of my sons have been in the hotel industry for most of their careers. That says a lot about the industry as a stable working environment. During many years in the Alberta media, traveling throughout the province, I knew and worked with many Alberta hoteliers, such as Mortie Milner, Sam Switzer and Homer Mears. Pictured above, along with the famous Chateau Lake Louise and Waterton Lakes Lodge, is a scene of Edmonton's North Saskatchewan River Valley, site of One Thornton Court the first hotel on our list. It is located next to the "Hotel Macdonald," where we've stayed many times. Hotel and Tour Packaging by Kevin Walker I grew up cleaning swimming pools and making beds, as far back as I can recall, it was part of my upbringing. I remember a time 18 years ago, when my father, grandfather and myself were all sharing desks at the same hotel. The significance of this, is that family hoteliers today seem to be somewhat of a dying breed, as hotels are more and more becoming corporate entities." In addition to the Oak Bay Beach Hotel, Walker is owner and General Manager of Pride of Victoria Cruises. Launched in 1983, the company operates two 45-passenger whale watching and dinner cruise boats that sail to the Gulf Island and San Juan Islands. "It's how we strategized to advance our interests at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel, and was a real opportunity in the early 1980s," he added. "At the time, it wasn't really in vogue for a hotel to participate in a consortium of 4 different companies involved in soft adventure. Adventure Tourism has since grown a life of its own, and now we find tourism buffs very interested in exploring Eco and Adventure Tourism. It was a radical new thought, yet we could see the change taking place in the hotel marketplace in Victoria, where our Oak Bay Beach Hotel once shared exclusive rights to the upper end trade with the Empress. We recognized the need to do something a little bit different to allow people to identify us as an exciting accommodation experience." More