Celebrating 150 years of Winnipeg by Myron Love
Mariaggi’s Theme Suite Hotel and Spa in the heart of Winnipeg’s Exchange District has always been a cut above the rest. As current owner Lowell Laluk notes, when Sir James Tupper set out to build the Mariaggi in 1902, he envisaged a building consisting of steel beams and girders – at a time when everything in the city was built using heavy timber.
“The beauty of building with steel rather than timbers,” Lowell says, “is that we have been able to adapt the space without having to deal with any large wooden pillars being in the way.”
(He points out that Tupper was the son of Sir Charles Tupper*, a short-lived former Prime Minister of Canada and the last surviving Father of Confederation.)
At first, Tupper rented the building, the Alexandra Block, at 229-235 McDermot Avenue to Corsican-born restaurateur and well-known chef Frank Mariaggi who soon after purchased the building outright.
Mariaggi set out to make his new hotel and restaurant a destination place. “The restaurant on the main floor,” Lowell points out, boasted the longest bar in the city. The bar extended the entire block from Albert Street to Arthur Street. There were separate gents’ private dining rooms on the main floor and the basement housed the famous Italian grottoes. The grottoes featured pools stocked with goldfish. (There are plans to recreate the grottoes once again to its former glory…).
The hotel rooms on the two upper floors, Lowell continues, offered luxuries that were unavailable at any other hotel in Manitoba. Each spacious suite had its own bathtub, toilet and sink, and a telephone. Mariaggi’s Hotel rooms had elegant furnishings and beautiful draperies. It was Western Canada’s first European style hotel.
“Frank Mariaggi’s luxurious hotel was very successful,” Lowell notes.
Marriaggi also opened a second hotel in Port Arthur. His farms outside Winnipeg provided fresh meat and vegetables for his restaurant.
Eventually, he sold his Canadian properties and retired to his native Corsica. Succeeding owners converted the Mariaggi into retail and commercial space.
Lowell observes that every neighbourhood goes through periods of decline and renewal – and the Exchange District is no different. With the development of Portage Avenue from Main Street to Memorial Boulevard, the city’s retail and commercial centre moved away from the Exchange District and the Mariaggi, along with its surroundings, went into a decline.
Enter Lowell Laluk and his entrepreneurial father, Don.
“My dad saw the potential in this building, which is just a block from Portage and Main,” Lowell recalls. “We bought the property in the early 1980s. At the time, it was a rental property with tenants paying $50 a month. Dad moved the tenants out and we set out to redevelop the building.”
Lowell joined his father full-time after earning a commerce degree at the University of Manitoba. “We were intent on re-opening the Mariaggi Hotel,” Lowell recounts. “But we wanted a hotel that offered something different from the Best Westerns and Holiday Inns. We wanted our hotel to be really special.”
Father and son decided to take a page out of the Fantasyland Hotel which had opened just a few years earlier at the West Edmonton Mall. “There were no other hotels in Winnipeg with theme rooms. Most of the hotels that had hot tub suites put the hot tub in the bathroom in the enclosed toilet area of the suite. When you sat in the jetted tub you would be looking at the toilet and sink. Our vision was to make the hot tub the central focus of the room. We put the hot tub and steam room right in the main room. This allows guests to be able to lounge in the hot tub while enjoying the atmosphere of the theme suite. They can make believe they are on an exotic vacation getaway to Rome, Hawaii, Egypt or Bali without ever leaving the city,” Lowell points out.
“We are not trying to compete with other hotels for out-of-town visitors in Winnipeg for business or family visits,” he says. “We appeal to Winnipeggers and people from the surrounding area who looking for a staycation. Almost 90% of our clientele are local – honeymooners, anniversaries, birthdays or couples looking for a romantic getaway or a break from the kids.
“We get a lot of repeat business. And word of mouth has been our best source of advertising.”
The new Mariaggi has also attracted its fair share of visiting celebrities – people such as Ernie Coombs (Mr. Dressup), Jeremy Bulloch (the original Star Wars’ Bobo Fett) as well as local Manitobans such as Izzy Asper, who held his 65th birthday in the Jakarta penthouse, or Grand Chief Fontaine who enjoyed his 70th birthday party in the same suite with a large number of close family and friends. Their autographed and framed photos hang on a narrow hallway just to the right of the reception area.
“We have been fortunate to attract a large number of celebrities. Many of them are used to the luxurious settings that we have to offer. However, we really get a kick out of those couples who save for a year to spend a night or two at the hotel. We have often had guests walk into the room with candles lit and lights dimmed, and they get really emotional and thank us for creating such a wonderful atmosphere for their anniversary.”
The first two theme suites that Don and Lowell built in the mid 1980s were recreations of Rome and Japan. “We did virtually all the renovations by ourselves,” Lowell recalls. “Although we had no training, we learned by experience. Over the years, I have done a lot of planning and design, dry walling, sanding, painting, flooring and electrical work.”
Currently, Mariaggi’s offers a choice of 15 different theme rooms – including four apartment-style suites, at varying rates depending on the room. Guests can choose from a Roman or Parisian theme room from Europe, or rooms reflecting Egyptian or Moroccan milieus or various east Asian and Caribbean looks. You can also travel, virtually to Mexico or Hawaii.
“Each room gives you the impression of being in another world,” Lowell says. “As well, before the guests check in, we light candles in the room, provide romantic music and set up anything else the guests request.”
He notes that each room comes with a hot tub or Jacuzzi, a large steam room, dining area, stereo and large 65-inch, smart TV. Larger rooms also have dry heat sauna, pool table, shuffleboard, video games and direct access to outdoor decks that overlook the historic Exchange District. In the check-in area, there is a wide range of DVDs and CDs, aromatherapy oils and scents for guests to choose from.
In its decor and furnishings, each room is as accurate to its theme as possible. The Mexico room is a prime example. The art and furnishings have all been sourced in Mexico. There is a rose flowering tree canopy that hangs over the bed and even the table and chairs were imported from Guadalajara.
Lowell reports that he is currently building three new rooms on the top floor: a Hollywood themed room, a second room that introduces guest to Jakarta and a third suite that is still to be unveiled.
Lowell’s most ambitious project is the just completed 2,000 square foot Bali suite and party room at ground level. (The hotel itself is up a flight of stairs to the building’s second floor with store fronts and restaurants having occupied the ground floor areas.)
“We imported about a half a million dollars’ worth of art in 25-foot containers from Indonesia for the suite. It looks really impressive.”
“Our largest suite and party room for special occasions (which is where many special dignitaries have chosen to enjoy with friends and family for small weddings, anniversary or birthday parties) is on the top floor,” he explains. “When you get 50 people at a party at midnight, it can get pretty noisy and may disturb some of our other guests. So we decided to build our new suite and party room in what used to be Ordnry Clothing on the ground floor. Guests can enjoy the night without having to worry so much about disturbing others and at the end of the evening, they just leave out the front door.”
Lowell reports that his father Don was directly involved in operating Mariaggi’s until about 10 years ago. “Although I bought out Dad’s shares, he still is just a phone call away. I often bounce ideas off him. I don’t always agree with him, and we have heated discussions but I take his advice to heart. There is no better teacher I would want to have than my dad. Inevitably, I make the final decision, but I consider his comments very carefully beforehand,” Lowell says.
All of Lowell’s three boys have helped the family business. Andrew and Nathan are studying at Queen’s University (Chemistry) and University of Victoria (Mechanical Engineering). And just as Lowell worked with Don over the years in renovating Mariaggi’s, Lowell’s middle son, Matthew, is helping his father build the new suites. Matthew is a great help. He is smart and creative. A hard worker and he gets along with everyone really well. Matthew is currently in his last year studying Civil Engineering at the University of Manitoba. Will he be the third generation of the Laluk Family to operate Winnipeg’s oldest luxury hotel?
Time will tell.
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*Sir CharlesTupper served the shortest term of any Canadian prime minister, only 68 days. Prime Minister Bowell resigned after a cabinet revolt over his handling of the Manitoba Schools Question. Tupper, with the support of the Cabinet, was appointed prime minister by the governor general, the Earl of Aberdeen. Tupper was the fourth and last prime minister to lead the Conservative government after Macdonald's death in 1891. He led the Conservatives into the 1896 election, which he lost to Laurier. He resigned as prime minister but stayed on as leader of the Conservative party and Leader of the Opposition. He was defeated by Laurier in the 1900 election and retired from politics. He was one of three prime ministers who never sat in Parliament while he was prime minister, the others being Campbell and Turner. – Wikipedia
