March 5, 2006
Hello from Calgary - Our Comfortable Night
at the Twin Gables B&B and an Unexpected Celebrity Breakfast
Bed and breakfast travel is one of our favourite ways of discovering
new places and the historic Twin
Gables B&B is a real treat. It is a 4.5 star-rated bed and
breakfast, located in the upscale Mount Royal neighbourhood in Calgary,
which is about 25 minutes away by foot from downtown, and the restaurant
area on 4th Street takes just a 10 minute to walk to. It was the
perfect location for our Sneak Peek at Calgary and after a good
night’s rest after our feast at Il
Giardino’s last night, we enjoyed the comforts of our
Mount Royal Suite, complete with its own sitting area, a private
bathroom, an in-suite jacuzzi, a fireplace and a laptop computer
with high-speed Internet access.
Our hostess Deirdre (right) with our tour guide Jocelyne (left)
at the Twin Gables
Well, a good portion of the B&B experience is the breakfasting
experience and boy, were we in for a treat. We were just waiting
to sit down for our morning meal in the historic parlor, when the
two other B&B guests came down the stairs: a good-looking couple
about our age was about to join us for breakfast.
I thought the face of the young man looked familiar, but I couldn’t
quite place it. My husband, on the other hand, recognized him right
away: Michael
Damian , a.k.a. “Danny Romalotti” from the famous
“The Young and The Restless” daytime television show.
Mike and Janeen Damian
I did some research on our famous breakfast companions and was
rather astounded at their achievements. Not only did Michael star
in the #1-rated daytime drama (with an audience of over 100 million
around the world), he is also enjoying great success in music and
theatre. He captured the starring role in Andrew Lloyd Webbers "Joseph
and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" which became the highest
grossing revival in L.A. history. He then continued his success
in New York, breaking box office records on Broadway. Michael has
also released 5 albums and has had 8 top 40 hits and earned a BMI
Songwriting Award. Recently Michael has moved into directing, writing
and producing movies and music videos.
Mike’s wife Janeen (formerly Janeen Best) is a celebrity
in her own right: she is a former Solid Gold dancer and her film
credits include Basic Instinct, Bugsy, Earth Girls Are Easy, Footloose
and many more. Her television credits include Solid Gold, the Academy
Awards, American Music Awards, Grammy Awards, the Young and the
Restless, Matlock, Fantasy Island, Love Boat, Johhny Carson, the
Dukes of Hazard and many more. So, it finally dawned on me that
we were indeed surrounded by stars.
Well, after I got over this initial surprise, the breakfast was
excellent, we started off with a yoghurt with fresh fruits, followed
by beautiful home-made blueberry scones. The main course was a delicious
Western omelette with green peppers, onions and mushrooms. The meal
was delicious and we had a great conversation with our famous breakfast
companions.
Mike and Janeen shared with us that they were in town to scout out
a location for their upcoming movie project and they were staying
at the Twin Gables for a few days. They mentioned that they launched
a movie production company called Riviera Films a few years ago,
and that they enjoy a great collaboration writing, producing and
directing movies. Their latest project “Hot Tamale”
was recently completed and will be premiering shortly at the Newport
Beach Film Festival.
View from the rooftop room at the Twin Gables
For a moment it felt a bit strange, sharing the breakfast table
with real celebrities, but Mike and Janeen were so natural and down-to-earth,
it was like sitting down with a regular couple from next door. There
was not even a hint of snobbishness or arrogance here and all four
of us had a delightful conversation.
For me it was very interesting because I myself have been making
a transition into the creative / media field with my website, so
it was very informative for me to listen to Mike and Janeen share
their own stories of moving from acting in front in front of the
camera to stepping behind the camera into directing and producing
movie projects, a field where they had to prove themselves all over
again. We also shared lots of laughs and parted, wishing each other
good luck for our respective projects. Our encounter goes to show
you that some of the stereotypes that we associate with celebrities
often don't apply and that fame doesn't automatically inflate people's
egos. It was a real delight meeting Michael and Janeen, two successful,
creative and down-to-earth people.
After breakfast I wanted to sit down a little with Deirdre and
Henry Brost, the owners of the Twin Gables, to find out more about
the background of this historic home and how it came to be this
special bed and breakfast. Deirdre explained that in 1909 there
was a big boom in Calgary and CP Rail owned all the land in the
neighbourhood and decided to sell it off in lots. American investors
wanted to call it American Hills, but CPR’s founder would
not allow that. He decided to name the area Mount Royal, in keeping
with making it the most exclusive area in Calgary.
A cozy retreat under the rafters - the Skyline Suite
The house itself was built between 1910 and 1912 by a lawyer, a
certain Mr. Milliken, who had come to Calgary from Toronto. Due
to the economic crisis following the 1929 stock market crash he
lost the house to the bank in 1931 and a certain Wellington Walker,
an entrepreneur also from Toronto, bought it in 1932 for $10,500.
He was involved in the coal and cattle business and owned several
sign shops. In 1965, at 91 years of age, he willed the house to
his caregiver who turned it into a lodging house after his death.
After she passed away in 1972 it remained a rooming house and slowly
started to fall in disrepair.
Our Mount Royal Suite
The house’s previous owners, Marge and Tsak Rogers, are local
artists who produce highly sought after paintings and they started
renovating the house from top to bottom in 1976. In 25 years they
gutted it and completely renovated all three floors. Henry &
Deirdre bought the house about 4 years ago after they had already
owned a bed and breakfast in the suburbs of Calgary. Deirdre wanted
to move into the center of town where there would be demand for
tourist accommodation all year round. It was a big step for both
of them, and the taxes in the city proper were a significant increase
in costs, but Deirdre loves the location. She said that this is
the house she has always dreamed of owning.
Henry & Deirdre’s story of how they opened their B&B
is rather amazing in itself: They took possession on a Saturday
and their friends helped them move. On Sunday they unpacked their
3-bedroom house, on Monday the B&B inspector came, and Monday
afternoon they were open for business. Sure enough that Monday evening
they had their first guest.
Our suite came complete with a Jacuzzi bathtub
They filled me in on a whole litany of renovation adventures: they
added bathrooms to two of the three guest bedrooms. A big surprise
hit them when they found out they had to rewire the whole house,
but Henry, an expert electrician himself, rewired the house by leaving
the walls and the historic wallpaper intact and installing wires
from the floors above. They installed extra plugs, extra telephone
wires and high-speed Internet access all throughout the house.
Another adventure befell them when their sewer pipe collapsed:
they had several guests in the house when the clay pipe leading
away from the house broke and a rather unpleasant liquid started
backing up into the house. They had to get a work crew in with a
back hoe and many thousands of dollars later they had not only a
new sewer pipe, but also a new driveway and parking lot.
The clawfoot tub in the huge bathroom that's part of the Executive
Suite
They also had to redo the chimney, and while they were at it they
had to remove a family of squirrels. The chimney's mortar had deteriorated
and they had to redo the joints between the bricks. From 2004 to
2005 the house was completely repainted and holes behind the eavestroughs
were fixed: it took 72 packets of silicon to fill in the cracks.
Then they handwashed and painted the house. And all this had to
be scheduled while the B&B was hosting a wide variety of guests.
Both Deirdre and Henry say that owning an old house is like a moneypit,
but they both love the house. Henry, always with a smile on his
face, did virtually all the renovations and says he enjoyed them
all. They even redid the entire garden, not surprising considering
that Deirdre is an avid gardener.
Deirdre runs the bed and breakfast full-time while Henry helps
her as much as he can, considering he is working full-time as an
electrician. Deirdre said she had to train him not to snatch strips
of bacon away from her B&B guests on his way to work. With a
boyish smile on his face Henry says he has learned the rules of
the house in the meantime and no longer grabs tasty morsels from
the guests' breakfast.
Note the historic wallpaper depicting Hyde Park scenes in the parlor
With all the renovations, Deirdre and Henry tried to preserve the
outstanding architectural features of the house. The dining room
has not changed at all, the wallpaper, furnishings and hand-moulded
cornices are original to the house. The room also features a built-in
mahogany china system. To this day, Twin Gables has a functional
“maid call system” with bells to call the household
help on every floor.
The parlour features a wall surround wallpaper with scenes of Hyde
Park in London. Deirdre believes the wallpaper dates back to either
the first or second owner. The first owner, Mr. Milliken, was friends
with the Prince of Wales, who is said to have been here at the Twin
Gables.
View of downtown Calgary from the Solarium
The living room and parlour feature original light fixtures with
a copy of the original Edison lightbulbs. Certainly not the brightest
lighting, but truly historic. The previous owners got the house
designated as a provincially registered “historic resource”
in 1984 because of the house’s historic arts and crafts style.
Twin Gables’s
overseas guests mostly come from England, Scotland, Ireland as well
as Germany and Holland. Of course they also see a lot of Ontarians,
British Columbians and travelers from the United States. Off-season
they get a lot of ”urban romantics’” who are local
Calgary residents, just trying to get away for a weekend of pampering
and romance. They also see their fair share of business travellers,
particularly during the week. Many of the travellers are teachers,
doctors and lawyers, but they have even hosted NASA rocket scientists.
A peak into the backyard
Overall they have had a really positive experience with their bed
and breakfast and they have hardly ever had “the guests from
hell”. The only thing that bugs them is when guests don’t
come downstairs on time for breakfast or when they don’t show
up at all. Freshly made breakfasts don't taste that great a half
hour later and Deirdre works hard to make sure her food tastes just
right. She commented that she has truly found her niche in life
and strives to deliver the best possible service. "Ï am
here to serve”, she says, and Henry agrees, nodding with his
characteristic smile.
All guest rooms are equipped with their own private bathrooms,
telephone, and individual laptops with high speed access. Each room
has a personal fridge and a coffee maker, and our suite had a wonderful
Jacuzzi tub with a great view of the Calgary skyline.
Deirdre and Henry's dedication to delivering a great B&B experience
definitely shows.
Related Articles:
An overview of our discovery of the
Canadian Rockies
Arrival in Calgary and our
whirlwind tour of the city
Discovering Canada Olympic Park,
one of Calgary's most visited attractions
Our fabulous dinner at Il Giardino's
and a connection with one of Calgary's most successful entrepreneurs
- an Italian-Canadian immigrant success story
Comfort, luxury and our celebrity
breakfast at the Historic Twin Gables B&B
Calgary's Kensington area and a
meeting with a local entrepeneur who went from Vietnamese boat person
to successful restauranteur
Arrival in Banff & exploring
a local landmark: the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel
Our first skiing experience: perfectly
groomed trails at Norquay
High altitude skiing on the
Continental Divide: Sunshine Village
Exploring Canadian history: the
Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise
Skiing in the largest ski resort in
the Canadian Rockies at Lake Louise
A real adventure: dogsledding in
the Canadian Rockies
A gondola trip to the top of
Sulphur Mountain and discoveries of Banff
Our final walk through downtown
Calgary - discoveries of downtown
An interview with Tourism Calgary:
what to see and do in Calgary
An interview with
Tourism Banff Lake Louise
Useful Websites:
Tourism
Calgary
Tourism
Banff Lake Louise
Canada
Olympic Park
Ski the Big 3:
Banff, Lake Louise and Sunshine
Banff
National Park of Canada
Useful books about Calgary and the Canadian Rockies:
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