Celebrities at the Sutton Place Vancouver

Stride through the opulent lobby of the Sutton Place Hotel and there is no telling who you might see.

Name a star, almost any star, who has shot a film in Vancouver and chances are they have stayed here.

Sometimes, the celebrities aren't so obvious. They tend to criss-cross public pathways disguised in scarfs, hats and sunglasses.

But even stars have to shine once in a while. Step into the dark cocoon of the Gerard Lounge at the Sutton and you might spot them. In this venerable precinct, with its English club atmosphere, leather chairs and cozy fireplace, you are apt to find actors, directors and up-and-comers taking in a relaxing drink at the end of the day. Many a deal gets hatched in the Gerard.

But like most Hollywood North hangouts, this is a place of absolute discretion. Vancouverites are known for keeping a polite distance even when the big and the famous are in their midst. No paparazzi here. Barging in would be unseemly. Our northern polite friendliness is one of the reasons we are such a popular place for shooting movies.

At the Sutton, celebrities fall into the gracious, professional hands of senior sales manager Penny Graham who has been with the hotel since the start.

Graham reminds you of a favourite aunt, the kind who can soothe and make everyone feel at home while handling the logistics of the big family buffet, calming a squalling child and keeping the household marching to a perfect beat.

Graham is shy about naming the celebrities who have stayed here, not because it is any deep dark secret but because she is concerned about leaving people out.

She merely points out that the Sutton is the first choice for hotel accommodation in Vancouver in the film and television industry. Its biggest competitor, she added, is private accommodation.

The Sutton has a variety of offerings from one- and two-bedroom apartments to suites with fully equipped kitchens. Still, sometimes the lodgings aren't big enough for stars who are here for many months on a television shoot and who have family staying with them or coming and going.

Quirky requests

Graham quickly dispels any notion that this is a hard-to-please crowd. "We have found that these guests are so very, very nice," she said over coffee one afternoon. "We don't see a lot of egomaniacs here by any means. People are here working. They are here doing a job."

Still, they do have quirks. She recalls one instance where a star dispatched one of the set decoration crew over to the hotel to make the apartment more pink. "They asked if they could paint the bathroom counters and the walls pink. We ended up compromising a bit by adding pink towels, pink pillows, flowers and more accessories as opposed to changing the bones of the place."

She recalls another guest who insisted that all the windows had to be completely blacked out because even the tiniest slip of light would have been disturbing to her.

Even the French doors had to be blacked out. "I might mention that her husband is the celebrity," she added dryly.

The woman proceeded to tell Graham how her husband's massage had to be done. Then when she started to tell her how she wanted her husband's shirts done, Graham drew the line and told her, "I don't do laundry." Ever helpful, she quickly offered to have the problem addressed with housekeeping.

Graham and the hotel staff have spent many a time sitting in an apartment, listening for that elusive noise or hum that the guest insists they are hearing.

One guest complained that the knobs on the dresser would rattle every time the noon horn would sound. No problem. The knobs were quickly changed.

Another time, hotel staff put grass on a guest's balcony for their little dog. "They didn't want to take the dog downstairs and they didn't want someone else to do that," explained Graham.

She and the hotel have obviously made a point of learning how to cater to clientele. She travels to Los Angeles three times a year to meet with the studios, to thank them for their business and to see what is on the horizon.

The hotel staff is meticulous about getting call sheets to cast and crew, which tell them about the next day's shoot, and takes note of odd schedules like night shoots so hotel staff aren't vacuuming outside their door early in the morning. Sometimes it's the little things that count, like making a point of remembering when family is arriving so they can acknowledge their visit.

It has a rate structure to accommodate short- and long-term stays which suits the film industry. It doesn't hurt, too, that it has been a five-diamond hotel for 19 years. There are only two of them in Canada, the Sutton being one and the Four Seasons in Whistler being the other.

"We understand that they can't keep to a strict schedule. They may say that 10 people are arriving tomorrow night and then we get a call that no, it's a week from tomorrow. Many hotels can't accommodate that or their corporate culture is such that it would mean charging for those 10 rooms. We are very flexible with their schedules because we look at the big picture of the industry. It has been good to us and we reciprocate by being as flexible as we can."

The effort has yielded dividends. Graham often hears that an actor's contract stipulates they must stay at the Sutton Hotel. "That is music to my ears."

Sutton Place Hotel
845 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC