montreal

Top 10 Luxurious Adventures of 2010 -- And How to Perfect 'Em in 2011

When people ask me for luxury travel advice, usually along the lines of "I want to plan a perfect trip to XYZ," I have two responses: a) there ain't no such thing as perfect in this world, no matter how much money you spend; and, b) you always know exactly how to make a trip as perfect as possible after you get home.

Still, the following trips I made in 2010 pleased me greatly, which is basically what I count as sublime perfection -- and should you plan to follow in my footsteps in 2011, note the tips I've added for making terrific travel even better.

Tags: australia, BedAndBreakfast, bestof2010, chicago, cruise, FrenchPolynesia, melbourne, montreal, Morocco, NovaScotia, ontario, PaulGauguin, PuertoRico, shakespeare, sonoma, tasmania

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The Classicist: The Summer of Style Icon & Jazz Great Miles Davis

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Books, Men's Style, The Classicist

Here at Luxist we write a lot about fashion and style, mainly in the form of luxury goods, but it's also interesting to look at the inspiration and influence behind what some people only see as pricey items in a luxe boutique. Some style influencers are well known and at times over-used; Steve McQueen and John F. Kennedy are two examples that spring to mind. Less well known but equally as influential among the tastemakers who decide what we buy as musicians – see Ralph Lauren's homage to Davis' take on Ivy League style here – is the late jazz great Miles Davis, who's finally getting his due with a new museum exhibition and accompanying book this summer.

Now through August 29, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is staging the first major North American multimedia retrospective dedicated to Miles. Entitled We Want Miles: Miles Davis vs. Jazz, the exhibition (designed and organized with help from the Cité de la Musique in Paris with the support of Davis' estate) combines image and sound to offer visitors a sensory experience inspired by Davis himself, who once said, "A painting is music you can see, and music is a painting you can hear." If you can't make it to the museum in person – or even if you can – Skira Rizzoli's book version (above) is well worth buying. The most comprehensive and lavishly illustrated volume on the jazz great to date, it chronicles Davis' life and his relationship to jazz and musicians surrounding him, on the heels of the 50th anniversary of his acclaimed album Kind of Blue and 40th anniversary of Bitches Brew.

Gallery: We Want Miles Davis

Tags: books, coffee table books, exhibit, fashion, jazz, luxury goods, Montreal, museum, music, Ralph Lauren, style

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Westmount, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Today's home is a gracious three-story home in the Westmount area near Montreal, Canada. The home was built in 1916 and is well-shaded by surrounding trees and nicely set back from the street for privacy. It has eight bedrooms spread out over all three floors. The main floor has a large main hall, living room with fireplace, a sunroom with leaded glass windows, wood-paneled den with an ornate ceiling, large kitchen and more. A patio leads out to the landscaped garden with a raised pergola and a large reflecting pool. The master suite has a fireplace, adjacent office and a large bathroom with a soaking tub, steam shower, sauna and outdoor deck overlooking the garden. The top floor is given over to more bedrooms. This home is listed at $5.885 Canadian.

Gallery: Westmount, Montreal

Tags: canadian real estate, estate of the day, montreal, westmount

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Visit London's V&A Museum for Quilts: 1700- 2010

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Art

If you're looking for a crafty excuse to visit London in the next few months, I've got a good one for you: Quilts 1700 - 2010, a new exhibit opening at the V&A Museum.

The exhibit, which opens March 20th and runs through July 4th, focuses on quilts both historic and contemporary. The quilt pictured above, "At the End of the Day", is a 2007 creation of artist Natasha Kerr; historic quilts include those commemorating the lives of Admiral Lord Nelson, Charles II and the Duke of Wellington, among others.

(Bonus for fans of Tracy Chevalier, who wrote the novel Girl with the Pearl Earring, which became a movie starring Scarlett Johansson -- she's written a story based on the George 111 quilt, which is in the museum's magazine. There's a great video of her research process here.)

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Tags: art, fiber, london, montreal, museums, quilt, quilt exhibit, quilts, scarlett johansson, ScarlettJohansson, Victoria and Albert Museum

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Like Madonna: Get in Touch with Your Masculinity in Montreal

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

When I heard that Hotel le St.-James in Montreal was the preferred accommodation for celebrities like Madonna and Mick Jagger, I have to admit I pictured something slightly different than this gracious, historic hotel in Old Montreal. Although I knew the building dated back to 1870, and I had seen the photos of the white-gloved doormen, I think I was picturing an interior décor something along the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas.

Well, there's no rock n' roll memorabilia on the walls and certainly no Love Jones room service available here. This 60-room hotel started its life as a bank, and in the late 19th century, banks were basically palaces erected to the gods of commerce, with intricate wood paneling, shiny marble floors, elaborate ceilings, creamy paintings in heavy gilt frames -- all of which was impeccably preserved when the building was renovated into a hotel, and echoed in the floors that were added to the original structure.

The feel of Hotel le St.-James is sumptuous masculinity -- the palette is a subdued, tan, deep blues, browns, a faint hunting print pattern on the window treatment, even the curving posts of the four-poster beds seem to thrust towards the ceiling with great confidence. It flirts with severity, but pulls back from it by a few soft and whimsical touches: the pure white linens, the stuffed lion (which is the hotel's mascot) which sits on the mini-bar on each room.

Gallery: Hotel le St.-James Montreal

Tags: hard rock hotel, HardRockHotel, hotel review, hotel st james, HotelReview, hotels, hotels to stay in montreal, HotelStJames, HotelsToStayInMontreal, jake gyllenhaal, JakeGyllenhaal, las vegas, LasVegas, love jones, LoveJones, madonna, mick jagger, MickJagger, montreal, montreal travel, montreal travel review, MontrealTravel, MontrealTravelReview

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On Being a Travel Loser

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

You go on vacation to let go, but you probably meant to let go of your stress, not your iPod, your camera, your passport...or your false teeth.

British company Airport Parking and Hotels Ltd (APH) joins the group of travel companies that occasionally release a list of the amusing things they've found that their clients have lost, presumably in a hotel, a car, or an airport lounge. Clothing tops the list, accounting for almost half of the items in their lost n' found, and there are a fair number of gadgets as well: 17% of APH's total lost items were mobile phones, games consoles, mp3 players and cameras. APH says that "luckily only" 4% of travelers lost their passport, but honestly, given the hassle of losing a passport, that number seems pretty high to me.

Then there's the unusual items: the aforementioned false teeth, a ski boot that contained a tube of hemorrhoid cream, "odd shoes", which I presume means a single shoe rather than shoes of a strange style. I may have a suspicious nature, but some of the objects they've found simply scream "criminal activity" to me: an electric scale, for instance, what legitimate purpose might that have? And then there's an assortment of crutches, walking sticks and wheelchairs, which totally seems like evidence of insurance fraud. I don't even want to speculate on why someone would leave a pram behind.

Tags: hotels, montreal, paris, travel, traveling

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Montreal Penthouse, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Today's estate is an incredible place to view the beautiful city of Montreal.This huge 9,000 square foot penthouse also has 16 000 sq ft of terraces with fountains, barbecues, wet-bars and exterior shower for enjoying when the weather is a bit more favorable. The incredibly tricked-out penthouse in the Héritage du Vieux Port building has ten fireplaces, specialized lighting and electronics systems, a glass staircase and elevator. It is essentially a five-story townhouse atop the building with a private elevator. Designed for entertaining, it has a media room, multiple kitchens, a wall of water water feature, library, dining room and four bedrooms. It is listed at $6,542,145.

Gallery: Monteal Penthouse

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Tags: estate of the day, EstateOfTheDay, luxury real estate, LuxuryRealEstate, montreal, penthouse

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Thompson Manor, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Today's estate was originally built for the Montreal's rising merchant class over one hundred years ago but now the home has been given a luxurious new renovation for modern tycoons. Thompson Manor, in Ville-Marie, Montreal was built in 1907 and has been updated into a luxury home with all the modern amenities. The fully equipped eat-in kitchen has granite countertops and the original hearth appears to have been turned into a low maintenance gas fireplace.

The mansion has over 10,000 square feet of space that includes an open-concept formal dining room and living room, home theatre, three family rooms, a gym area, four bedrooms and a mahogany wine cellar with room for 5,000 bottles, a wine tasting area and wet bar. This home boasts some very indulgent bathrooms including one with a solid rock soaking tub. The property also has a triple garage with a loft that can be used for additional living space or as an art studio or home office. It is listed at $7.875 million Canadian.

Gallery: Thompson Manor

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Tags: canadian real estate, CanadianRealEstate, estate of the day, EstateOfTheDay, montreal, thompson manor, ThompsonManor

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Insider's Guide to Montreal: 12 Ways to Do the City Right

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Dining, Luxury Travel & Hotels, Spas, Men's Style

photo of lobby at Montreal's Place d'armes

Montreal is a fantastic destination, but like any city, it can be hard for a visitor to get to know. To that end, Tourisme Montreal has engaged five in-the-know locals to basically blanket social media from Facebook, to Twitter, to blogs, sharing all of their knowledge about their city -- and answering questions from travelers in town. Katerine Rollet is one of these insiders, and she recently selected these 12 can't-miss experiences in Montreal for Luxist.

1- Go for tea at the St. James Hotel. This chic boutique hotel is where the likes of the Rolling Stones and Madonna stay when they're in town, and the tea at newly renovated restaurant XO is a a great way to experience a proper British tea with a modern twist. UPDATED: The St. James no longer serves afternoon tea, but the new Salon XO is worth a visit.
2- Experience the spa at Place D'armes -- one of the best places in town for a mani-pedi, not to mention one of the few places in Montreal to experience a hammam, or Turkish bath. Wrap up with a drink on the terrace.
3- For men: at Québec's own Phillipe Dubuc -- the place for a man to fill his closet with stylish, business appropriate clothing with an edge.
4- For women: fill your suitcase at Montreal's achingly stylish, unfailingly feminine Marie Saint Pierre.
5- For everyone: visit Oglivy, a lovely shopping mall filled with charming boutiques, great book stores, stationary shops, international designers and more.
6- For the shopping-shy: Engage the style hounds at Les Effrontes to have your own guided tour of Montreal's up and coming designer's ateliers.
7- Dine at Joe Beef, on raw bar and steak in up-and-coming neighborhood Little Burgundy ("Petite Bourgogne") .
8- Or, hit Toque -- widely considered one of the best meals you can have in Montreal. Try the tasting menu.
9- Or reserve the chef's table at Europea, and dine in the kitchen of charismatic Chef Jérôme Ferrer. 10- After dinner drinks: check out Hotel St Paul's bar for cocktails with Montreal's chicest.
11- Sweet treats: visit Point G for waffles, artisanal ice cream, and most importantly, macarons.
12- Brunch the next day: La Cantine in the Plateau neighborhood, for a traditional Québec brunch revisited.

Gallery: Insider's Montreal

Tags: dining, fashion, hotels, macarons, montreal, wintertravel-pedia

Featured Smoking Lounge: La Casa del Habano Montreal

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Cigars

Cigar enthusiasts will find everything they could need at La Casa del Habano, Montreal's upscale smoking lounge. Located on la rue Sherbrooke Ouest, it is easily accessible from the city's downtown hotels and provides a relaxing destination for tourists who crave a Cohiba and business travelers who need to unwind following a marathon of meetings.

As the store's name implies, you'll only find Cuban cigars in its walk-in humidor. Be sure to see an attendant before trying to enter (the humidor, that is), as the door is kept locked. The employee will also help you with your selection, introducing you to the latest releases – which can be important, given their unavailability in the United States. As you peruse the shelves, prepare yourself for a bit of sticker-shock, as Canadian taxes do hike up the prices. But, for the cigar that will make the next hour magical, it's worth the sting.

Though you may want to pick up a few sticks for the road, make some time to smoke at least one in La Casa del Habano's large, comfortable cigar lounge. It seats close to 20, with large leather chairs and couches throughout the room and four seats at the full bar. The lounge offers coffee, espresso and a variety of cocktails, completing the experience you'd expect to have in the top shop in Montreal.

Gallery: Casa del Habano, Montreal

Tags: canada, cigar lounge, CigarLounge, cigars, cuban cigars, CubanCigars, humidor, humidors, montreal, smoking, tobacco

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Yves Saint Laurent Exhibit Opens in Montreal

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

In conjunction with the 40th anniversary of the house of Yves Saint Laurent, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is staging a major retrospective of the designer's creations, the first such show in 25 years. Open as of Thursday, the exhibition "develops the revolutionary nature of a body of work that has marked both the past and the present with a new definition of femininity and left a signature that transcends fashion." Pictured above is one of his most famous designs, the women's tuxedo known as "Le Smoking," as photographed by Helmut Newton in 1975.

The show is divided into four main themes: The Stroke of a Pencil, where "the designer's idea is followed from the original sketch"; The Yves Saint Laurent Revolution, where "feminized versions of men's attire rub shoulders with seductive apparel"; The Palette, which "shows how traditional rules of color harmony were reversed in new contrasts inspired by cross-fertilization"; and our favorite, Lyrical Sources, which "explores the historical, literary -- Marcel Proust, Oscar Wilde, Louis Aragon, Jean Cocteau -- and artistic influences that were interpreted and translated by this genius of couture." The exhibition runs until Sept. 28 and then travels to San Francisco's de Young Museum.

Gallery: Yves Saint Laurent Exhibit