443 replies to this topic

[Mike K.]

I don't think that anything has replaced the BL. It's an extra space for events according to staff.

[VicHockeyFan]

New lounge is called "Q".

[sdwright.vic]

^But that lounge is us up front in old dinning room space.

[Mike K.]

I was there on Saturday and asked about the Bengal. The staff member said it sits empty unless required for an event. Q is the only bar and it fronts onto Government. East of the bar in its regular place is the restaurant. Then to the south along Government you've still got the tea lounge.

I must say, Mr. Bosa pulled all the stops with that reno. All that bickering for naught.

[Nparker]

I was there on Saturday and asked about the Bengal. The staff member said it sits empty unless required for an event...

There must be a better way to utilize this space.

[shoeflack]

I was there on Saturday and asked about the Bengal. The staff member said it sits empty unless required for an event. Q is the only bar and it fronts onto Government. East of the bar in its regular place is the restaurant. Then to the south along Government you've still got the tea lounge.

I must say, Mr. Bosa pulled all the stops with that reno. All that bickering for naught.

 

Kind of sounds like the result of most Victoria construction projects.

[grantpalin]

I was there on Saturday and asked about the Bengal. The staff member said it sits empty unless required for an event. Q is the only bar and it fronts onto Government. East of the bar in its regular place is the restaurant. Then to the south along Government you've still got the tea lounge.

I must say, Mr. Bosa pulled all the stops with that reno. All that bickering for naught.

What a shame to trade a popular destination for a place that mostly sits empty.

[VicHockeyFan]

We were told at Chrisrmas by a staffer there that all kinds of traffic was down.  But I guess wait and see, the place does look pretty good.

[johnk]

New lounge is called "Q".

They could hire Jian Ghomeshi as a waiter, he's available.

[rjag]

There must be a better way to utilize this space.

 

Dont tell Isitt!!!

[Nparker]

Don't tell Isitt!!!

My only thoughts for the former BL space were ones that create more revenue than having it sit empty most of the time. I'd like to think that even Comrade Isitt wouldn't see this space as the ideal social housing project. Then again, other than announcing he was running as the new leader of the BC Liberals, there is very little he could say that would actually shock me.

[Mike K.]

Sometimes addition revenue is a money losing proposition, I guess. Managing and staffing an additional eatery/lounge is likely quite costly.

[Nparker]

Sometimes addition revenue is a money losing proposition, I guess...

So they're employing the V2V model: you need to lose money to make money. 

[Bingo]

A massive custom-designed chandelier with a floral theme is being crafted by renowned Czech lighting company Lasvit for the renovated lobby of the Empress Hotel.

The chandelier is being manufactured in the company’s Shanghai studios in what the company described as crystal mesh. While the chandelier will weigh in at 1,300 kilograms, the overall installation will be more than 2,000 kilograms, a hotel official said.

The hotel did not release any images or design drawings of the chandelier, but said the lighting will have a diameter of more than six metres.

Titled Twill Flower, it will be a major feature in the redesigned lobby and the crowning touch of the final stage in the Empress Hotel’s multi-million makeover. The final cost of the massive renovation — which has included rooms, restaurants and bars — is expected to fall between $30 million and $50 million.

http://www.timescolo...ation-1.2404240

        Twill Flower

 

[Rob Randall]

Help wanted: individuals and firms experienced in construction project oversight, including quality inspection and implementing comprehensive oversight of subcontractors and overseeing testing plans for a major chandelier manufacturing project in Shanghai. Those with experience with the Johnson Street Bridge project need not apply.

[zoomer]

Crystal Meth chandelier?!

I miss the Ivy.

[mbjj]

I miss the Bengal Lounge. We used to spend a few hundred dollars there every year. Now we spend 0 at the Empress.

[Nparker]

I miss the Bengal Lounge. We used to spend a few hundred dollars there every year. Now we spend 0 at the Empress.

Ditto.

[VicHockeyFan]

Ya I'd say the same. Have not spent any money there since it closed.

[Mike K.]

I have. It's great.

 

The food at the Bengal Lounge started to slip a couple of years before it closed. It turned from a high-class lounge to a mediocre buffet where you wouldn't want to order anything off the menu out of fear the chef-du-jour was having trouble finding his spice rack.