Fasten your seatbelts: A high-flying new lounge is about to take off at the Westin Bayshore.
The HJU:Z Lounge, named after Howard Hughes, takes its cues from the legendary aviator, filmmaker, entrepreneur and philanthropist who famously took over the top three floors at the Bayshore for six months in 1972.
Westender got a sneak peek of the plush but comfy 155-seat lounge, its food and cocktail program, ahead of a grand opening Saturday night, courtesy of general manager Philippe Grandbois.
Grandbois, formerly of Chambar and the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, has been working on the Bayshore’s new lounge for seven months, with the HJU:Z concept – the name is fashioned as a plane’s call sign – one of 12 initial ideas for the space.
The room has a distinct art deco design recalling Hughes’s heyday. There is low-slung, pastel-coloured furniture and ornate detailing in golden brass, while a huge, spiralling chandelier of Bohemian glass soars to the ceiling. There are nods to the billionaire playboy everywhere, from the aviation design on the cloth coasters, to the motto “Rules Don’t Apply” etched into the bar’s spill tray.
Behind the bar, Grandbois’ team has put together a range of dramatic but well balanced cocktails that evoke stops on Hughes’s record-breaking round-the-world flight in 1938. They include the gin-based Alaska No. 2, featuring an iceberg and sliver of gold leaf; the anise-flavoured Foshay Tower; the Cognac-powered, Champagne-fuelled Eiffel 75; and the Muscovite, featuring vodka, lime and haskap berry. Try all seven on the list and you’ll unlock a secret, eighth recipe.
The bar is admirably stocked with an impressive range of wine, Champagne and spirits – most notably a bottle of pre-phylloxera cognac, though that’s likely something only Hughes could afford a glass of.
The food is far from an afterthought. In fact, Grandbois spent months headhunting Hong Kong-born chef Alex Mok, until he finally got his man. At HJU:Z, Mok gives classic dishes a distinct flair, such as a sumptuous piece of coffee-crusted, 28-day-aged, sous-vide Angus striploin, while he also offers inventive, adventurous options like baked abalone with ponzu seaweed, and scrambled duck egg served inside the shell with sturgeon caviar.
You can’t help but think the great man himself would feel very much at home here.
HJU:Z Lounge at the Westin Bayshore opens Saturday, Nov. 18. Initial hours are 5 p.m. until late; a lunch service is in development. hjuzlounge.com
