John Lennon and Yoko Ono Suite of Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth
As we always want to step in the more luxury hotel rooms of the world, why not treat yourself to THE Montreal’s most famous hotel room during your next vacation or staycation here. The John Lennon and Yoko Ono Suite of Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth was reopened to the public last September 2017 and we are talking about it today to end the year. I may be chauvinist of the Fairmont brand, but it’s in a chain hotels, the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge (a quick greeting to my former team including my internship supervisor Anne-Marie who is still at Fairmont), that I started my old career in hospitality and I will be eternally grateful to them.
The John Lennon and Yoko Ono Suite of Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth
The 1742 Suite is really beautiful. We feel as soon as we cross the door that we enter history, a past that has transformed generations and is still current today. The concept, developed by Sid Lee Architecture, which also redesigned the architecture of Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth Hotel, was designed to redesign the room to match repositioning the furniture that John and Yoko had done at the time of the Bed-in, including placing the bed against the window to clear the central space. It must be said that the 1742 Suite had undergone tremendous transformations over the past 48 years, removing the original character of the suite. Instead of recreating the decor of the hotel of the time, which was good at the time but a little outdated today, the design is inspired rather places visited or inhabited by John and Yoko, including London, New York, Tokyo and Delhi.
Do not forget that the historic character of Suite 1742, where John Lennon and Yoko Ono settled during their second Bed-in in 1969, where the famous song “Give Peace A Chance” was composed, was one of the most Important elements of the Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth’s transformation work carried out from 2016 to 2017 by its owner, Ivanhoé Cambridge.
Give Peace A Chance from wall to wall
Photograph: Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth / Ivanhoé Cambridge
Also, in the works inspired by the famous handwritten notes Hair Peace and Bed Peace (as you can see in the photo above) are present on the window of the suite, while the chorus of the song Give Peace a Chance, recorded by the famous couple in the 1742 suite, is engraved repeatedly on the walls, in the manner of war memorials, the names of the victims having been replaced by a wish for peace. Touching these words gives a totally immersive sense to the room, it is beautiful in this year filled with violence to find ourselves in a space where we see only peace.
Photograph: Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth / Ivanhoé Cambridge
Photograph: Normand Boulanger | Gentologie
One of the special features of the suite is the integration of artworks, interactive objects and multimedia installations, conceptualized and produced by MASSIVart, among others, a piece of furniture. archives (above) containing photos and videos, in addition to historical objects such as a vinyl record of the song Give Peace a Chance and and an interview with Gilles Gougeon (in french), the only journalist who was able to interview the famous couple, because Radio-Québec (now Télé-Québec) had an educational mission as we learn La Presse (in french), in the room just before the Bed-In. I do not know about you, but I have never seen a room with multimedia facilities, it’s pretty amazing, because the room is more than a room, it’s an experience. An experience you want to live.
Marie-Julie Gagnon of Taxi-Brousse (in french) test the immersive experience of the 1742 Suite, known as the John Lennon and Yoko Ono Suite of Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth.
Photograph: Normand Boulanger
Virtual reality headphones, placed on each side of the bed, bring to life the unique intensity of the Bed-in’s universe of the John Lennon and Yoko Ono Suite of Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth, transposing visitors to the points respective views of John and Yoko, providing an exclusive and immersive experience. I must admit that this experience is simply beautiful. It brings us tears, the whole thing is really well constructed and enjoyable, it was the first time that I lived a virtual reality experience as well done and moving. Want to know more about Marie-Julie Gagnon’s experience in the John Lennon and Yoko Ono Suite of Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth? It’s here (in french).
Photograph: Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth / Ivanhoé Cambridge
Reflections on the visit of the 1742 Suite
Photograph: Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth / Ivanhoé Cambridge
It really gave me special feelings to visit this room which saw two of the greatest artists of the 20th century gathered to celebrate peace, and in Montreal. It’s very special to be one of the few people to have had the chance to visit this room, and to be where John Lennon set foot. It is during invitations like this that one realizes the chance to do this job.
Photograph: Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth / Ivanhoé Cambridge
Photograph: Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth / Ivanhoé Cambridge
Photograph: Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth / Ivanhoé Cambridge
Thank you to the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth and Ivanhoe Cambridge Team for the invitation to visit the John Lennon and Yoko Ono Suite of the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth.
To book the 1742 Suite, it’s here.
You can also visite the Nacarat bar on the ground level of the Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth
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