Room renos and a Vida spa for Westin Bayshore

The lobby of The Westin Bayshore

By Colleen Isherwood
Editor

VANCOUVER—The Westin Bayshore hotel has just completed extensive renovations of all of its 511 rooms, and is planning to add a 5,000 sq. ft. Vida spa over the next several months—all in plenty of time for February 2010 when it will serve as the headquarters for the International Olympic Committee.

General manager Jean-Luc Barone, who came to the hotel from the Westin Calgary just over a year ago, is not exaggerating when he says the room renos have been extensive. The cost is $20 million plus, which translates into a cost of almost $40,000 per room. The most dramatic change involved almost doubling the size of the bathrooms.

Each bathroom is 80 per cent larger than it was.  Renovations involved a clever design where they relocated features located outside the bathrooms, and took over the space for the bathrooms. For example, minibars were integrated into furnishings, and that space became part of the revamped bathrooms.

“Everything in the bedrooms was down to the studs, including the walls.  It was due to be done.  The owners were more than generous because they wanted to do it well and do it right,” says Barone.

The bedroom renovations took just over a year.  When they did the 320 rooms in the main building, they had to isolate floors to carry out renovations, but the 191-room tower was shut down for three months starting in November, greatly expediting the renovation process.  The tower rooms reopened on Jan. 25.

Compatible philosophy

When the Bayshore set out to partner with a spa, they were looking for a company that already had a presence on the West Coast, and they wanted to understand the philosophy behind the company’s spas.

“Early on the feeling from everyone was that Vida was the right partner,” says Barone.

“Westin embraces wellness away from home and offers instinctive, personal guest experiences.  We want our guests to leave more refreshed and renewed than when they first arrived.”

Construction of the spa will start this spring and be competed in fall 2009, in plenty of time for the Olympics.

This will be the fifth Vida spa on the West Coast—there are two in Vancouver at the Sutton Place and Wall Centre Hotels, one at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler, and one at the Pan Pacific in Seattle.  There is also a Vida spa at Blue Mountain in Collingwood, ON.  The Westin Bayshore spa will include elements similar to the Seattle spa, but will have its own feel and design.

Vida spas blend the ancient Indian science of Ayurveda with Western healing philosophies, yielding spa experiences that engage the senses while nurturing body and mind. In addition to offering superior traditional therapies, The Westin Bayshore spa will have areas designed specifically for couples massage, Ayurvedic cleansing and infrared sauna treatments. As with all Vida locations, the atmosphere will be sensual yet refined, elegant yet nurturing—a true energizing retreat from the stresses of daily life.

Barone laughs when asked about future plans.  “I’d just like to stop renovating for five minutes,” he quips.  He adds that the hotel has plans to redo the outdoor pool area and the restaurant as well, but not until after the Olympics!