469 replies to this topic

[m3m]

I fear they’ve ruined it. Killed all the charm it once had. We’ll see though

[Victoria Watcher]

The video shows it’s still cool.

[Fox]

Since the Command Post closed on Government street, I am not sure where I would even go to buy a pith helmet.  Maybe the Bengal lounge updated their dress code though... 

 

I guess the tiger is still missing?

Edited by Fox, 16 January 2026 - 11:54 AM.

[Mike K.]

The tiger went missing!?

[m3m]

The video shows it’s still cool.

Not sure I should trust your opinion on what’s “cool”

I joke

[mbjj]

The tiger skin was stolen just before they closed I think. They used to have lovely comfortable chairs you could sink into. We went sometimes for the curry buffet, mostly for the atmosphere. I'm sure better Indian food was found elsewhere, but it was nice to go there for lunch. 

[m3m]

It looks pretty corporate now …
I miss the vibe mbjj described

[Mike K.]

Yeah, I miss it too. It was such a great spot. They had nailed the vintage vibe.

[Victoria Watcher]

Roger the marmot has delighted locals and visitors from his den on the grounds of the Empress Hotel for nearly two decades.

But this spring, there’s been no sign of him emerging from his winter slumber.

Dorothy Knappers, his self-described primary feeder, worries he might not have survived.

It wouldn’t exactly be a surprise, since the yellow-bellied marmot — a fixture at the Inner Harbour landmark since 2008 — is estimated to be 20 years old, five years older than the average lifespan for the species.

The Empress has embraced Roger, named after former general manager Roger Soane, since his arrival, likely as a hitchhiker in a truck or bus from Alberta.

The hotel dedicated a small garden to him on the north side of the hotel, where he dug his den under a rock grotto. It’s behind a gate in a garden he shares with the hotel’s resident honey bees.

Knappers visited Roger twice a week, bringing the stout herbivore his favourite foods — sweet potatoes smothered in baby food banana puree, carrots, broccoli, organic apples, shelled peanuts and Timothy hay for den lining and winter food.

As sure as the tulips bloom in spring, Roger has always emerged from hibernation at the start of March, she said.


https://www.timescol...spring-12160334

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 19 April 2026 - 03:31 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

I think the marmot is dead.