A Weekend Fit for a Queen
A weekend fit for a queen… If I couldn’t go to London for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, what better place to celebrate than at The Fairmont Queen Elizabeth in Montreal??
The Fairmont Queen Elizabeth is welcoming back international visitors with Celeste, the new cirque performance inside The Fairmont, cocktails at Nacarat Terrace and a fantastic menu at Rosélys, giving guests the royal treatment and The Fairmont Experience.
Nick and I arrived Thursday afternoon and received a tour of the hotel before heading to the Nacarat Terrace where we were greeted with cocktails and BBQ. The dinner was upscale grille style and Nick and I are still dreaming of the grilled octopus! This summer is Nacarat’s 5 year anniversary and they are celebrating by partnering with HOLT RENFREW Ogilvy make up artists to give guests a touch up, switch up from day to night or a full glam look every Thursday and Friday. A few fresh swipes of mascara later, we were off to Le Saint Motel, a multi-sensory Selfie Studio, designed to feel like a vintage motel. I highly recommend some outfit changes for this stop on your trip!
Mornings should always start in a gold lounge, it helps set the tone for the day and allows me a chance to set my intentions. The Fairmont Gold Experience gives just that with their breakfast on the 21st floor Gold Lounge. And don’t worry, the Gold Experience package is available for all guests! Once we worked up an appetite, we walked over for lunch at Brasserie Harricana, to start our tour of Montreal’s Little Italy. The cannoli’s are plenty but definitely not the only cuisine offered in this melange, it’s a foodie’s dream neighborhood! After eating more than enough at Jean-Talon Market, a good shopping trip in the Villeray neighborhood was just the cardio I needed. We ended our night at La Balcon, a show and dinner venue, with a history of MoTown on the menu set to the grooves of beef tartare, and charcuterie boards.
We were given a behind the scenes tour and aerial silk workshop of Cirque Éloize. It was a fantastic way to truly understand and appreciate all the hardwork and talent that goes into the making of a Cirque show. You can customize what kind of experience you’d like, at Cabaret Celeste here. Everyone knows how much I love a good high tea, and of course you can’t stay at The Fairmont Queen Elizabeth without visiting Rosélys, fascinators encouraged! Highlights were a foie gras macaron (just trust me!) and a deviled egg topped with smoked salmon. I’m still swooning over the strawberry tea, and loved how idyllic it was to set the mood for our next stop, the John Lennon and Yoko Ono Suite! Truly inspiring to experience the setting of where John Lennon and Yoko Ono recorded Give Peace A Chance. I couldn’t stop thinking about my lunch though, and went back to Rosélys for dinner. Their dinner menu was even better if that’s possible. The seafood tower was a dream and the halibut finished with a champagne butter melted on top, because of course the French have mastered champagne and butter! After we made sure that all the champagne had enough bubbles, we headed over to the lobby to see Celeste by Cirque Éloize. Even after getting our behind the scenes tour earlier, I was absolutely enchanted by the combination of music, magic and acrobats. The show being inside The Fairmont, also made it incredibly quick and convenient. No worrying about catching an Uber or finding parking when it’s literally in your hotel!
We enjoyed breakfast in the Gold Lounge on our final morning and reflected on a fantastic weekend. Both Nick and I were very appreciative of how easily the staff at The Fairmont organized and relayed all the information we needed for our pre departure Covid-19 tests the day before. But the above and beyond Fairmont Experience was truly displayed in my emergency dry cleaning. I got a stain that I never thought anyone would get out, (in a brand new outfit too!), and the 21st floor concierge could not have been more accommodating and had it back so fast and there is literally no trace of the stain. The concierge also gave me a list of boutiques and shopping in the area to assuage my emergency outfit concerns. A truly fantastic weekend in Montreal, I’ll be singing God Save the Queen and Give Peace A Chance as I remember my Fairmont Experience at The Fairmont Queen Elizabeth.