The Westin Nova Scotian Blog

Do you want to own a sports car? I certainly do now that I’ve seen 70 Mercedes-Benz 2013 SL 550’s parked at our Halifax hotel.  Mercedes-Benz Canadian Dealers were in Halifax, Nova Scotia last week launching the car and experiencing the city.

The Westin Nova Scotian recently received a glowing review from a frequent guest of ours. This business traveler stays at our Halifax hotel while visiting the city and here is what he had to say about his Westin experience.

Our Halifax Hotel will be hosting the 2012 Atlantic Canada Wine Symposium (ACWS) on May 27 to 29. The 4th-annual event is the only Atlantic-focused wine conference and is specific to the needs, climate and interests of East Coast grape growers, winemakers, winery owners and wine enthusiast.

With a modern new look and feel comes a new name.  Our Halifax Hotel Cornwallis Room is now known as the Seaport Room!  In keeping with our commitment to promote our neighbourhood, the Halifax Seaport District, we decided to name our lobby level meeting room the same.

At our downtown Halifax hotel, we encourage our staff to get involved and be a part of our communities. This week, we will be highlighting Sales Manager Vanessa Jones who is an active community member and has been volunteering with the Woman’s Canadian Progress Club for the past year.

Our Sales & Catering team at our Halifax hotel had a surprise visit from a wise old soul last Wednesday. Yoda, of Star Wars fame, showed up just as we were about to start our meeting.  He was bringing exciting news from Velocity Entertainment and Marina Atwell.

Congratulations Wenda & Chris!  On November 9^th, 2011 Reegan Christopher Berkvens entered our lives several weeks ahead of schedule.

Our historic Halifax hotel is one of the original railway hotels in Canada. The 82-year-old historic gem is situated in the Halifax Seaport District along the beautiful Halifax waterfront. Many Haligonians and Nova Scotians have treasured memories and stories of the old dame.

Overlooking downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia and the Atlantic Ocean, topping the 11^th floor of the Westin Nova Scotian, is our recently remodeled and redecorated Crown Suite. The suite is looking better than ever after undergoing a modern make over.

With your support, we’re excited to Make-A-Wish this Holiday Season! Our Halifax Hotel, the Westin Nova Scotian has partnered with Make-A-Wish Foundation for the Take the Elevator Home promotion.

The dust has settled, and The Westin Nova Scotian has once again successfully hosted the biggest and brightest in the world of National defense; The Halifax International Security Forum.

Written by Steven Schwinghamer

If you go out the back door of the Westin Nova Scotian and walk down the street, you may notice it has one quality that doesn’t seem right in Halifax: it is flat!  That’s because much of this area was actually filled in as part of a huge construction project during the First World War.

Nova Scotia Archives - Robert Norwood Fond - Accession no 1987-480 no 61

Mr. & Mrs. Pitt visiting the Nova Scotian

Tony Pitt came to Halifax, Nova Scotia by train from Ontario with his father in 1936, he was 11 years old. Mr. Pitt's Dad, Robert, came to the Nova Scotian from the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa (another CN Rail hotel), and he was Resident Manager of the Nova Scotian from 1936 to 1941.

This Wednesday, November 2, our Halifax hotel had three new, youthful & vibrant employees - we were lucky to have special grade nine students come to work with their parents at the Westin Nova Scotian. The students worked in Banquets, Catering & the Kitchen.

Cornwallis Park across from the Westin Nova Scotian - Halifax, Nova Scotia

When I tell guests and conference delegates that Halifax Nova Scotia is a city with a resort feel, they know what I'm talking about when they take a walk along the Halifax Harbourfront Boardwalk. Known as the City of Trees, Halifax often feels like a park with an extraordinary ocean view

Our Crown Suite at our Halifax hotel is under renovation. The executive suite at our Downtown Halifax will be converted into an ideal space for our business clients.

Meeting Professionals International President's Welcome Reception and Sponsor Recognition

The Elements facelift continues...

Jane, Leanne, Jennifer & Kaela, our friends from Zed Events (http://www.zedevents.ca/), paid us a visit last week.  We often work with the Zed team on creative, one-of -a-kind events, so to give them a new experience we toured our kitchen.  We made a pit stop for a bite to eat before moving on to Eve Lounge to listen to our Tuesday evening Jazz Duo, Ray MacNeil & Mike Cummings.  Ray & Mike are two-thirds of Waterford Jazz.  

Thanks for stopping by for a visit Zed team! 

We had our youngest conference delegate at the Westin Nova Scotian last week. Three month old Bodie was here with his Mom (the MACU conference organizer) & Dad. According to his Mom, Bodie enjoyed the pool and flirting with the female delegates and hotel associates who adored him!

Here I am with the cutie after lunch in Eve Lounge.

When planning your next event have you thought about how to deal with the cash bar vs. host bar question?

Thursday night, our Westin Nova Scotian Sales & Catering team hosted a happy hour (actually two fun-filled hours) for our friends at Destination Halifax and the World Trade & Convention Centre. We partner with both DH and WTCC to promote the Halifax meetings and conventions industry so it was high time they came over to ‘our house' for a sociable!

Savour is over for another year. Last night over 800 people wandered the aisles of booths in our Atlantic & Commonwealth ballrooms noshing on delicious samples of food, wine, beer and cocktails from restaurants, bars, caterers, wineries & breweries located in Halifax & beyond. It was a wonderfully warm and satisfying evening on a cold March night. Many of our hotel associates & I were there to ensure the event's success and I believe we met our challenge. Plates and glasses were stocked and restocked over & over again as dirty dishes were washed and returned to be filled with food & drink before making their way back to stewarding for another bath!

Exhibitors at the event showcased their specialties, cooking and creating dishes in front of your eyes. Scanway Catering offered Uni's famous Florentines, Chives Bistro stacked pulled pork sandwiches with winter slaw, Hamachi House displayed platters of sushi as works of art (see below), Chez Tess offered their signature crepes, Delta hotels served up braised pork belly, and our own chefs from the Westin Nova Scotian kept diners full with three unique sliders (crab cake, Tandoori chicken and beef), just to name a few. Drinks were flowing with Mosaic cocktails, draft from Garrison and Propeller breweries, wines from local wineries & distributors and Guinness from Durty Nelly's Irish Pub.

Are you planning a meeting, conference, or bringing a group to Halifax? Check out what one of our Sales Managers, Teri Green, has to say about negotiating group rates:

The key is flexibility. If your dates are not set in stone feel free to ask your sales manager if there are any dates that might offer you the best rate.

Could your room block start on a Sunday? Sunday is notoriously a slower night for hotels so lower rates may be available. (READ BELOW FOR MORE INFO)......

Buffet or plated dinner for your next event?

There are some misconceptions about the value of selecting a buffet dinner rather than a plated meal. Often times people think that they need a buffet for variety and pricing reasons. It's understandable that you want to make sure your guests are satisfied at a reasonable price. But a buffett dinner is not always the correct option. Here are some of my thoughts for you to consider:

1. Price: A plated meal can often be less expensive than a full buffet. With a buffet there is an average of 20% food waste. Plated meals are pre-portioned based on the average amount of food consumed over that given meal period.

Las Vegas in January! Who wouldn't want to go to a conference in the desert in the middle of winter? Last week I attended the Professional Convention Management Association's 2011 Annual Conference at the MGM Grand Resort in Las Vegas. WOW! This was my first time attending this industry event and my first time in Sin City. What a conference it was...3800 delegates, fabulous keynote speakers & educational sessions, out of this world networking events and lots of time to connect with friends & clients old & new.