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Letters: Readers weigh in on closing of Bengal Lounge

My wife and I have been attending the Bengal Lounge since 2007. We are excited that the Bengal is being reborn into something new.
Cartoon
Editorial cartoon, Jan. 16, 2015

My wife and I have been attending the Bengal Lounge since 2007. We are excited that the Bengal is being reborn into something new.

Every change at the hotel, from re-opening the lawn to the public, to the renovations (of which the owners happily provided glimpses to the public), shows a polished enhancement of our pearl in the harbour. I challenge any one of the people petitioning to stay with the old to state how much they support the Bengal. We support the rebirth of cool that the new owners are bringing to the heart of our city.

The Bengal wasn’t at the Empress since the beginning. Neither were the leaning trees at the front that were removed. The reading room became the Coronet Lounge, which became the Bengal in the 1960s and now the new memories will be in a different part of a great property.

I think the idea of a thousand signatures on a petition is not only ridiculous, but arrogant. What right does a citizen have to demand the owners keep something alive? This works for public service entities, but unless you are worried about a several-thousand-dollar bar tab disappearing, perhaps sign your name to a volunteer board and serve the community instead.

The Empress has our continued loyalty and support with all of the changes, as does any property in Victoria that enhances itself. The Delta, Hilton and Grand Pacific, to name a few, have renovated and enhanced their properties, and it makes Victoria that much more special.

Derek Sanderson
Victoria

Bengal added Britishness to Empress brand

Re: “Missing the Bengal, eh wot?” editorial, Jan. 15.

This is about a living symbol of the glorious reign of Victoria, Empress of India for whom the city and its famous hotel are named. The Bengal Lounge was a great way to add Britishness to the Empress brand.

But now, as the magnificence of an erstwhile empire, warts and all, fades into obscurity, it seems that such history is no longer useful to thoroughly modern marketeers. After all, we live in a different time, and different empire.

Perhaps the anachronistic name of the hotel should itself be dropped for something more in tune with the 21st century. The Inner Harbour Fairmont perhaps?

This is from a guy who grew up in Victoria but swore allegiance to the Queen and the Canadian Forces a long time ago. Dad (ex-British Army in Bombay) and Mum (born in pre-war Hong Kong) are still puttering away in Oak Bay. One of my sisters and I worked at the Empress in the early 1980s.

E. Alexander Cooper
Quebec City

Very colonial and a tad hoity-toity

Re: “In 1969, Bengal Lounge was a bad dream,” column, Jan. 15.

In her 1969 column, Elizabeth Forbes clearly wasn’t in favour of the redecorated Coronet Room that became the Bengal Lounge. I agree with her on so many points.

Coming from Ontario, I have to admit that the first time I visited the Bengal Lounge a few years ago, I didn’t quite get it. Why the reference to Bengals and India here on Vancouver Island? Wouldn’t a First Nation theme have been more apt? And what’s with the bad lighting?

Having said that, I’ve brought various visiting friends and family there who all seem to have embraced the ambience, albeit very colonial and a tad hoity-toity but, after all, isn’t that what the Empress is all about?

I do agree, though, that it’s time for a makeover. Get rid of the bad paintings and the animal skin. Really?

The room could be so much classier and, I hope, still retain some of the original woodwork, but lighten up the place a bit (or a lot).

Whatever they decide, let’s hope the extremely outdated bathrooms also get addressed also.

Sonja Edwards
Victoria

Closing of Bengal Lounge is sad news indeed

I was definitely saddened to hear the news of the Bengal Lounge closing.

I enjoyed my first cocktail there in 1979 with my future husband, nestled comfortably in a large, plush leather chair.

I’ll never forget the drink ordered — a fuzzy navel, a drink that tasted like a dessert. I remember the exact spot that we sat, starry-eyed at 19 in a place like no other I had been, feeling very grown up.

Over the years the Bengal became very special to us. We often returned over the years to celebrate milestones, most recently a special dinner to celebrate retirement from the banking industry after 37 years. During those years when I was meeting a client or business associate for a wonderful curry lunch, I would glance over to the seat where I enjoyed that first cocktail and quietly smile.

After reading the news regarding the closure of the lounge, I immediately called our son and invited him and his girlfriend to share the Bengal experience with my husband and me before it closes.

Andrea Jakeman-Brown
Victoria

There will always be other bars

Years ago, one of my favourite bars, the Beaver, was closed. Later, the Library Bar closed. Now the Bengal Lounge closes (I never liked it).

There are always other bars.

Blair Humphrey
Victoria

Changes in laws doomed Bengal-type lounges 

I would say that the Bengal-type lounge was doomed by a couple of changes to our laws. One, reducing the alcohol drinking age to 18, thus introducing a more juvenile atmosphere and two, forbidding smoking at restaurants.

Wot? No brandy and cigar (cigarette for me) after dinner? Uncivilized!

Roy Crichton
Victoria

Mourning the last restaurant with manners

I deplore the news that the Bengal Lounge will undergo change.

This is the last restaurant with history and character in Victoria, a living monument to the past, once the library of the Great Old Lady, with its huge ceiling, flapping punkahs, enormous windows overlooking the harbour, tiger skin, large fireplace, elephant tapestries and comfortable chairs. It is the only place in Victoria that still offers a flavour of manners, with a good meal, at reasonable prices. The staff are welcoming and helpful, handsome and beautiful, charming and efficient. The food is excellent.

And they will let you in if you are a sailor in jeans, just docked in front of the hotel, or all dressed up for your first night at the ball; or a tourist who wandered in for a peek. This is the only restaurant left in Victoria where you can rest, enjoy, drink in history and still hear yourself speak.

If anyone will join me, I’ll hold a banner on the steps of the Empress to protest this latest attempt to dress up the Empress in new, common and unattractive clothing.

Erica Cruikshank Dodd
Victoria

 

Many people posted their opinions on our Facebook page on the Bengal Lounge closing:

I love how everyone is chirping in with opinions without even waiting to see what the new owners will do. Mind you, the new owners are dropping millions of dollars into restoring a building that leaks in the basement, has three floors in the very top that haven’t been used in decades and upgrading the whole grounds so that the Empress of yesteryear can be enjoyed tomorrow.

The Bengal Lounge over its 60 years has changed. The bar was moved from the centre to the corner, which is a horrible spot for it. How about we wait for plans and renderings to come out to see the future before you all jump on the bandwagon to complain. From a logistical standpoint on service and day-to-day running of the place, an upgrade is sorely needed.

The hotel is still a part of the Fairmont chain, and Fairmont has made sure over the years to uphold the heritage in its food and beverage establishments. I also know the company behind the beverage program in the Fairmont is knowledgeable on keeping things moving forward without losing the heritage of yesterday.

I’m looking forward to what the next steps are for the Empress. I have loved what they have done so far.

Shawn Soole

 

I’ve been seeing/watching the “refit” of the Empress, and it is sad. It is beginning to look like a generic five-star hotel. Very nice, yes, but all tradition gone. People come to see the iconic hotel for its old-world charm, not for its modern decor.

Experiencing high tea, you’re taken back in time, and a world away. Sitting in the Bengal, you could be in India, when the British ran the tea plantations. The expense of staying/eating/celebrating at the Empress will not be worth it now as “the experience” will not be there. That will all be gone, such a shame.

Jamie Wallace

 

My daughter wanted to go to the Bengal Lounge for her 19th birthday and first (legal) cocktail. That it was a place I went to in my early 20s, and one that a newly legal millennial wanted to go to speaks volumes about the Bengal’s timeless nature. Let’s hope the new incarnation of the space is thoughtful and fitting of its heritage.

Barbara Clerihue

 

The Bengal will officially close at the end of April. The room will most likely be used for high-end retail shops. Lenny the bartender has been there for over 44 years, hence the cocktail Collins 44, which he made and is named after him. Most of the longtime employees will be moved to other areas of the hotel.

I’m not impressed with the new owners since they bought the hotel a few years ago. Is this really progress? In my opinion, the Grand Old Lady Empress will never be the same. Stop in and have a Collins 44 and sit at the bar with Len and say goodbye to the staff.

Karen Howard

 

It was a glamorous place “in an old school way” to have a cocktail in the ’70s and ’80s ... surrounded by MLAs, businesspeople, celebrities, locals, impeccable servers and sumptuous sofas. And then the wonderful curry buffet! What a magnificent place it was! It has become a family tradition to go for a pre-Christmas dinner and recently we noticed the lacklustre place it had become.

Please consider a new and improved Bengal Lounge: the Indian-themed bar is iconic. Victoria doesn’t need yet another hotel lounge, shops or conference space. I’m looking forward to the changes, but please keep the Empress experience alive!

Rose Carere

 

Such a shame. One day Canada will be stripped of its architectural design history in favour of whitewashed public spaces that look and feel no different than an Earl’s in your favourite suburban mall.

Alexandra Korinowsky

 

When I first moved to Victoria, I had a lovely dinner and wonderful evening at the Bengal Lounge with a friend. There was a band playing music and a place for us to dance. It was lovely.

Linda Dompierre

 

Started going to the Bengal to celebrate the Swiftsure as a young person; met actor Vincent Price there in the 1960s after we painted pop art flowers on boards surrounding the building of the museum. It’s always been a favourite hangout for locals! I am not happy to see the Bengal dismembered!

Lindy Seabear

 

My dad was the bartender for many years in the Bengal room. He took me there when I turned 19 for a pousse-café, which is seven kinds of liqueur in a shot glass poured on top of each other. I’m sad it’s closing.

Maureen Imhoff

 

That was one of the most beautiful rooms in the Empress. Our family has spent years going there. What a waste. The new owners should give their heads a shake and give this a second thought. They should not destroy this Victoria landmark.

Jeff Scott

 

So many negative comments without even knowing the details! The changes could be fabulous, like some of their others so far (i.e. that massive ugly hedge on Belleville Street coming down). I’d bet most locals don’t even visit the Bengal Lounge once a year. The doors don’t stay open with magic. Colonialism and skinned animals aren’t things we need to hold onto.

Dani Dubois

 

Dale and I spent our honeymoon night at the Empress, which means a cocktail at the Bengal Lounge. It is the perfect place to start off the beginning of a beautiful life with someone you love. We’ve been going there every year since to celebrate that special day. One year we even had the same waitress we had on our wedding night. How cool is that.

Nadine Soan

 

That is a real shame. To me, the Empress is the Bengal room. It won’t be the Empress without it. It will just be another big chain hotel.

Pam Rivers

 

I’ve celebrated so many big occasions at the Bengal room. It’s one of the coolest bars in town. You can hear your partner speak, and the food is great. Don’t do it, folks! Please don’t take this oh-so-well-loved institution away from us.

Margaret Bigelow

 

Lots of great memories. Can’t believe they will be closing. Love the food, atmosphere, music, gorgeous setting, big fireplace. Such a shame to see it go.

Mary Ann Phillips

 

Say it isn’t so. The best curry ever! Like most things, the price keeps going up until people are not willing to pay and business goes down. Such a shame that a huge part of our past is going. Maybe they can move it across the street to the old Crystal Garden. Another part of our heritage tossed away.

Marion Van

 

This just brought my happy down.

Amy Joan Cannell

 

I would love to buy the couch!

Lee Hawryluk

 

My family took me there on my 19th birthday and treated me to my first cocktail!

Robyn Briand

 

What a shame. The Empress has changed so much we don’t bother taking visiting friends to see it anymore. It’s just another hotel. Once a real beauty with real history. What a shame!

Teri Wood

 

Keep memories close, but make new ones.

Darlene Worthington

 

This is a local icon being destroyed. What a shame.

Troy More