IUC Travel: World Class Environment at Opus Montreal; Roberto Benigni outside My Door
From the get go, my stay this week at Opus Montreal was a journey into a stairway of heaven, as the sweet song goes. The way this neo architectural gem is decorated is almost beyond belief. Not a detail is spared. I stayed in the purple room, equipped with a glass walled rain shower, king bed and ergonomic chair. The entire building is charmingly decorated, combining its futuristic funky feel with a bit of retro when one views its original stone stairway encased in a glass partition. A stunning portrait. Beyond the hotel’s columns and elegant decor, concealed beside a soaring, chic atrium is Koko – an incredible, upscale joint that jumps, with everyone from suits, to hot babes to famous actors. Those who dine at Koko are guaranteed gourmet reward. The food is next to none, especially the to die for calamari, which had the most amazing texture and flavour of any calamari I’ve tasted. Before I checked out of Opus I heard a gentleman speaking animatedly in Italian outside my fifth floor room. Wondering what all the commotion was about when I opened my door it was none other than Oscar winning actor Roberto Benigni, 
in town promoting his upcoming Just For Laughs show “Tutto Dante”. Benigni was talking to his publicist a million miles a minute. “Roberto,” I said. “Welcome to Montreal.” He shook my hand and I closed my door. Meeting one of my all time favorite actors was the icing on the cake. The next time I’m in Montreal I won’t consider any other place to stay. You never know what can happen at Opus.
IUC Rating: ***** out of *****
- 8 Comments
- Tags: Opus Montreal
Sounds divine, Ian. Roberto Benigni must have the best energy of any “show” person. What a treat for you to absorb some of it. Have fun, and don’t forget about us lowly readers, here. Lol
ReplySounds like a nice place, and I took a look at their website, looks good too – presidential suite looks amazing! One question though – what are the bidets like?
ReplyYou hawt piece! Great pic.
ReplyIan, while am sure this is interesting to you – I don’t really care. When did this become a travel blog?
Reply@MaeIAsk:
If you read back you will see from time to time we have discusssed fav places to visit and talked about Via Rail.
Beautiful hotel, nice recommendation for business. Nice tip. Thanks IAN.
ReplyAwesome. I’ll be up there next week. Will try and get my friends to go there, depending on expense! Love Montreal, used to live in Toronto, appreciate the recommendation!!!
Reply@Kate:
Montreal is nice to visit – my family went there for Xmas one year as a change of pace, and both the city and the people were lovely.
Check out these onlin menus at Koko:
http://www.kokomontreal.com/#/home/
http://www.kokomontreal.com/pdf/Menu_Drinks_December_2008.pdf
http://www.kokomontreal.com/pdf/Menu_Food_December_2008.pdf
Here’s my selections:
Cocktail: Opus 136
Appetizer: CRISPY SOFT SHELL CRAB, with Indonesian ginger sambal
Entree: DOENJANG SALMON, with marinated and stewed market vegetables
Side: STIR FRIED SNOW PEA VINE, with Thai crab paste
Dessert: MALTED KULFI with carmelized banana
Major league tasty, really been craving seafood recently too! And a far cry from the boxed sandwich I’m having for lunch . . . sigh!
ReplyKoko is not that great. It is a place where bridge and tunnel go. Great location, but the food and beverage at the Opus is not their strong point. Montrealers dont go to Koko!
Reply