There seems to be a disturbing trend in the “eco-lodging” title these days. Magazine and websites herald “top green hotel picks” aplenty, but rarely reveal any true sustainability beyond organic cotton sheets or recycling bins. (A good start, but not a long-term sustainability plan!) Vancouver’s Listel Hotel does just the opposite. Beneath its classy exterior, this art-centric hotel has green running deep.

My partner and I recently enjoyed a late-winter long weekend at The Listel. Stepping into the lobby, we found a modern, fun space with the art right up front. The Listel is known as Vancouver’s “most art-full hotel”, and rotating art installations throughout the property make this more than just a place to hang your hat – it becomes part of the experience. After checking in, making our way up to our room was a drawn-out affair. Whimsical kinetic sculptures by the elevators kept us entertained for quite a time, and we lingered to admire the Northwest Coast carved mask on display as the elevator delivered us to our floor.

We were thrilled to stay on the Museum Floor, where all the rooms are decorated to “celebrate the Great Pacific Northwest”. Through a partnership with UBC’s Museum of Anthropology, these rooms showcase original art by Northwest Coast artists – no standard-issue hotel art here. The focus of our visit was enjoying First Nations’ art and culture, so this really cranked it up a notch on the geek-o-meter. The room’s color palette of soothing earth tones and hemlock and cedar furniture complemented the surrounding mountains, water and forest fringing the city. We had a great view up the lighted thoroughfare of Robson Street, as well as slivers of Vancouver Harbour between the tall shards of glass skyscrapers, from both the full wall of windows and a surprising, spacious corner deck. Being surrounded by art, even finding The Vancouver Stories – West Coast Fiction from Canada’s Best Writer’s in place of Gideon’s in the night stand, made for a special stay.

I could have stopped right there and been happy with my stay. But looking deeper, I learned about The Listel’s commitment to green initiatives, and that’s when I realized this was more than a sweet boutique hotel. The Listel takes its sustainability to heart.

Among The Listel’s impressive sustainability initiatives:

• The hotel is 100% zero waste; that means all organic waste is composted, all recyclables are reused, and all their non-recyclables are converted into electricity (through a partnership with green electric company Bullfrog Power).


• They are participants in the City of Vancouver’s “Corporate Climate Leader” and Tourism BC’s “Tourism Ambassador for Conservation” programs and they’ve received 4 Green Keys from Hotel Association of Canada (their highest rating, and the only independent hotel in Vancouver to receive it).


• The installation of 20 solar panels and an innovative heat recapturing program has reduced their natural gas use by nearly 50%.


• The Listel has re-outfitted virtually every piece of equipment on the property – from the cappucino machine to the air-conditioning unit – with new, high-efficiency models to save loads on energy and water and reduce pollution.


• Their sustainable purchasing program means not only green cleaning products, 100% recycled paper toilet paper and tissue, and organic coffee, but also that all products are sourced as locally as possible with a focus on green practices in selecting vendors.


• The Listel has done away with the tiny amenities bottles and has launched a bulk amenities program instead, resulting in eliminating over 45,000 plastic bottles annually.

The eye to sustainability certainly extends to the on-site restaurant, O’Douls Restaurant and Bar, as well. As members of the Green Table Network as well as the Ocean Wise seafood program, O’Douls chef Chris Whittaker showcases the local bounty. The space is lovely during the day, even mid-winter, with light pouring in via skylights. At night, it turns into a cozy noted jazz venue, hosting some of the best jazz acts to pass through town.

In addition to the rotating art installments to enjoy, The Listel’s services also include valet parking, WiFi and free local and US calls. The valet parking is a bit spendy, but parking in this ‘hood is tight, and the secure underground lot provides some extra peace of mind. Not to mention, the valet driver left us cookies on the dashboard when we checked out!

The Listel is a fun, friendly and comfortable place to come “home” to after a day spent exploring Vancouver. As a champion of both the arts and sustainability, I can’t think of a more inspirational place to stay!

Guest room photos provided by The Listel. I was generously hosted for this stay by The Listel; the thoughts and opinions in this review are strictly my own.

. . . if these walls could talk . . .

A team of researchers, led by art super-sleuth Maurizio Seracini from UC San Diego, believe they may have found a long-lost Da Vinci piece hidden behind one of the grand hall’s massive frescoes that were painted by Vasari in 1563. Seracini was first tipped off by a clue painted within one fresco – the phrase “cerca trova“, meaning “seek you and you shall find”. Hollywood could not have written this better.

the fresco in question is the one closest in the frame, above

Since these exciting reports almost two weeks ago, the Da Vinci discovery has not been confirmed. Meanwhile, controversy is brewing as critics fear that the Vasari fresco (a masterwork itself) may be damaged beyond repair for this speculative Da Vinci hunt.

The prospect of unveiling a lost Da Vinci piece is tantalizing, but is one artist’s work worth sacrificing another’s?

More travel photos and stories for Photo Friday over at DeliciousBaby!

lihljiwaas
Kihlguulins
Or simply, Bill Reid.

The first is the Haida name he received at his grandfather’s funeral in Skidegate, in 1954. It means “dear one”. His second Haida name came in 1973; it means “the one with the beautiful voice” or ” one who speaks well”. He is also known as Carver, Painter, Jewelry-maker, Sculptor, Illustrator, Story-teller. Bill Reid could not be confined to one name.

In the first corridor of the Bill Reid Gallery, I encounter some of Reid’s earliest work, such as a miniscule pink tea set the he carved out of chalk at age 12 as a gift for his sister. I’m also introduced to “the final exam”, an on-going study of an antique Haida painted bentwood box, which inspired him early on and he revisited many times during his career. The corridor is lined with a wall of windows bearing translucent blue-green overlays with Reid’s designs, lending the room an ethereal glow, and the opposite walls feature large canvases colorfully painted with striking, iconic images such as the eagle.

Moving further through the gallery I am introduced to the Bill Reid and the Haida Canoe, the current feature exhibition which has been extended to run through March 22nd. This multimedia exhibit presents Reid’s passion for the canoe as the quintessential union of form and function which defines Northwest Coast art. The central point of this story is Lootaas (“Wave Eater”), an incredible 50-foot traditional Haida canoe created by Reid for Expo ‘86. I learn that canoes are present in all facets of indigenous North Coast life; not just for transport, but for hunting, warfare, celebrations such as the potlatch, and even death. In the beautiful companion book Bill Reid and the Haida Canoe, edited by Martine Reid and available only at the gallery, I learn that Reid even saw that “the Haida canoe embodied the ovoid, the archetypal form from which all Haida design developed.”

The Haida Canoe exhibition tells the story of Lootaas’ journey from study to creation to its’ open water voyages through a dynamic collection of video, photos and sketches. It traces the fascinating process, starting with the felling of an 800 year old, 200 ft tall cedar tree in the forests of Haida Gwaii, on to the steaming process, in which the hollowed-out log is filled with a water/ammonia mixture and fire-heated rocks and then covered, the steam helping to push the bottom out to form a slight curve and spreading the beam a mind-boggling 20 inches further out. From there, Reid oversees a team of six carvers and together they bring Lootaas to life. In the gallery, Lootaas’ beautifully painted paddles stand on the ready to dip back into the water at any moment.

Reid is said to have gained more satisfaction from building Lootaas than from anything he’d ever done, and he summed up its importance saying, “Western art starts with the figure. West Coast Indian art starts with the canoe.” Lootaas was the first Haida ocean-going canoe of its size to be created in a century, and it inspired a revival of canoe making and paddling among many of the North Coast tribes, which is now celebrated at the annual Tribal Journeys intertribal gatherings.

In the permanent exhibits at the Bill Reid Gallery, we are also introduced to the many other facets of his studies and talents. Sculptures, such as the sprawling bronze frieze Mythic Messengers, as well as (scaled-down) replicas of the amazing Raven and the First Men (see the original at the UBC Museum of Anthropology) and Killer Whale – Chief of the Underworld (the original resides at the Vancouver Aquarium), are great examples of his breathtaking large-scale work. Yet intricately-detailed jewelry pieces and hand-drawn studies show the full range of capabilities and the limitless eye Bill Reid brought to all of his expressions. The gallery also displays some works from artists Reid collaborated with and inspired, such as a totem pole carved as a tribute to Bill Reid by James Hart, and the large carved box created by Don Yeomans to carry his ashes to their final resting place in his mother’s village of Tanu.

Exiting the Bill Reid Gallery, I felt an immense sense of respect for Bill Reid, who did so much to celebrate and reinvigorate the culture and traditions of indigenous people throughout the Northwest Coast. My time there also fed my long-standing dream of visiting his ancestral lands of Haida Gwaii, where totems still sleep in silent cedars. This kind of inspiration, I find, fuels the best kind of journeys.

The Bill Reid Gallery is located downtown Vancouver, B.C. at 639 Hornby Street. Hours of operation are currently Wednesday – Sunday, 11am to 5pm. The next featured exhibition, opening March 29 and running through September 9, is That Which Makes Us Haida: The Haida Language. According to the gallery, the exhibition “celebrates the last remaining fluent speakers of the Haida language and explores the three remaining dialects found in Alaska, Old Massett and Skidegate through portraits and audio interviews with the last fluent speakers in these communities.”

Photo and Image Credits

Provided by The Bill Reid Gallery:
Lootaas in Paris P20, 1989. Photo © Philip Hersee Photography
The Steaming of Lootaas,1985. Photo © Robert Semeniuk
Lootaas (Wave Eater), 1993. Ink Drawing by Bill Reid

Killer Whale Sculpture photo by the author