Empire Landmark Hotel set for a final night, last spin
Tonight is the last night for guests, Cloud 9 goes for a final spin Saturday
The Cloud 9 revolving restaurant takes its final spin atop the Empire Landmark Hotel on Saturday night.
The 42-storey, 357-room hotel is only 43 years old and still thriving, with over 90 per cent occupancy throughout the summer. But with downtown real estate prices soaring, the owners have decided to redevelop the block-long site at 1400 Robson with two condo towers.
The last night for hotel guests is tonight, for Cloud 9 Saturday. And general manager Johnny Tsang says demand to get into the restaurant has been crazy.
“For the whole month we are fully booked,” he said. “Everyone has been calling me personally, ‘Can you squeeze me in?’ ”
That’s what happens when you’ve got the best view in town, a view that constantly changes as the restaurant does a slow circle over an hour.
On a sunny Wednesday, visitors got bird’s-eye views of English Bay, the West End, Coal Harbour, Stanley Park and the forest of downtown highrise towers.
Nan Kumlin was making her first visit to the restaurant, and was blown away.
“It’s gorgeous,” she said. “It’s too bad it’s closing down. I wish I would have known about it sooner. I’ve lived in this city for eight years and I’ve never even heard about it. It’s the first time I’ve been up here.”
The fact she had never heard of it shows how far the Landmark has fallen in the public eye since it opened in late 1973.
Built by Ben Wosk for $12 million, it was designed by architect Ross Lort in the brutalist style popular at the time, with an exposed concrete exterior. In a city of tall, thin “point towers,” it was one of the tallest and thinnest, a sliver that shot up 121 metres into the sky.
The revolving restaurant was a key selling point.
In 1976 a fire in the hotel sent 25 people to hospital. Wosk took the media on a tour to show it was safe and not a “towering inferno,” which was the name of a disaster movie that came out that year.
In 1986, Wosk sold the Landmark along with two more hotels (the Sheraton 500 and the Sheraton Burnaby Villa) to Southmark Corp. of Dallas for a reported $48.5 million. In 1988, Southmark flipped the three hotels to Daniel Lee of Los Angeles for a reported $82 million.
Lee ran into financial difficulties, his lenders took it over and in 1997 it was purchased by Hong Kong ’s Asia Standard International Group for $57.75 million. Asia Standard then changed the name to the Empire Landmark.
Johnny Tsang has been the general manager for 14 years.
He said the hotel had a rough patch around 9/11, but in recent times has been doing fine, particularly with the record number of tourists this year.
Most rooms rent for around $250 a night, but there is a quartet of sub-penthouses on the 40th floor that rent for $500 to $600.
Like most of the hotel, the 900-square-foot suites are a total ’70s throwback, bi-level pads with a living room, dining room and kitchenette/wet bar on the main level and a second-storey bedroom reached via a spiral staircase.
They also have a balcony to die for, although it’s so high in the open air a visitor can get vertigo.
“Can you imagine watching the fireworks here?” said Tsang. “It’s right in front of you.”
Tsang lives in the hotel, although not in one of the skookum suites. He said there are 110 people on staff who will be laid off when the hotel closes.
“Honestly, I’m damn lucky,” said Tsang. “Most of the staff were willing to stay until the last day. I have a list of 45 people who have been working here for more than 20 years, and 15 more than 30 years. They’re really a family.”
For the whole month we are fully booked. Everyone has been calling me personally, ‘Can you squeeze me in?’
The demolition date for the building has not been set. The redevelopment calls for 31- and 32storey towers, with 237 market condos, 63 social housing units, and retail and office space on the bottom three floors. The height of the buildings will be 91 metres, which is about 25 per cent lower than the existing structure.