Lucien Remillard –– A man with a vision
When we started to write this love issue, the following kept on cropping up time after time: architecture,
travel, design and luxury… how we thought, could a single interview capture all of these elements while
remaining as well in the theme of love? The answer wasn’t long in coming, because as chance would
have it, all those points were the driving force behind the man that created Le St. James.
Architecture — try to find a more stunning example than the lovingly restored building that houses this
gem of a hotel. Travel — if you are one of the many lucky travelers who happened to stay here, then
you would have experienced design and luxury equal to the best in the world. Coupled with a quick wit
and amazing hair, Lucien Remillard is definitely a man that KA loves to spend the afternoon with.
KA — How do you respond to a reality that seems to reject that the ultimate speed is doing the things right the first time even if on the surface it might seem to take longer, and how do you relate to the world that wishes to put things up overnight, when you chose to take three years to lovingly restore a building such as Le St-James?
LR — The chemistry needs to be there, I think that this is one of the most overlooked factors in creating anything, even something that seems to be “brick and stone” such as a building. The question of “chemistry” is still a vital one for me. Once this is achieved, then the building practically builds itself. I became a sort of protector so to speak, of what the building wished to be. Take Le St-James, sure I could have gone in, take the building and force it to be something other than what it is now, rip out the moldings, and just demolish the insides, but when you really listen to the building, you make the right decision. I did, and in doing so, I took the necessary time, which in most people’s opinion back then, was too long, since I ended up busting the budget. But you know, it was all worth it. It’s now time to renovate, it has been 7 years and I still work by gut feelings with this Hotel, and my gut tells me it’s time to renovate; it’s time to reach out to a new group of clients. Not to reject the existing clients, but just to include a new group of young clients that are much more educated and sophisticated that I ever was, at say, 23 years old. I am very inclusive when I work, I find it is much more fun to include others in what you are doing to create a sort of reality of play where the participants feel motivated to do their best. Not for the money or that sort of temporary reward, but for the reward of doing something that is out of convention. It was with this feeling that the XO was renovated. It is fun to see what is happening around the world, not just in your city, or for that matter your country. It’s fun to bring that back to what you are doing, not to copy outright, but to be aware of the trends and sometimes this is even validation of the choices you are making.
KA — How do you respond to a reality that seems to reject that the ultimate speed is doing the things right the first time even if on the surface it might seem to take longer, and how do you relate to the world that wishes to put things up overnight, when you chose to take three years to lovingly restore a building such as Le St-James?
LR — The chemistry needs to be there, I think that this is one of the most overlooked factors in creating anything, even something that seems to be “brick and stone” such as a building. The question of “chemistry” is still a vital one for me. Once this is achieved, then the building practically builds itself. I became a sort of protector so to speak, of what the building wished to be. Take Le St-James, sure I could have gone in, take the building and force it to be something other than what it is now, rip out the moldings, and just demolish the insides, but when you really listen to the building, you make the right decision. I did, and in doing so, I took the necessary time, which in most people’s opinion back then, was too long, since I ended up busting the budget. But you know, it was all worth it. It’s now time to renovate, it has been 7 years and I still work by gut feelings with this Hotel, and my gut tells me it’s time to renovate; it’s time to reach out to a new group of clients. Not to reject the existing clients, but just to include a new group of young clients that are much more educated and sophisticated that I ever was, at say, 23 years old. I am very inclusive when I work, I find it is much more fun to include others in what you are doing to create a sort of reality of play where the participants feel motivated to do their best. Not for the money or that sort of temporary reward, but for the reward of doing something that is out of convention. It was with this feeling that the XO was renovated. It is fun to see what is happening around the world, not just in your city, or for that matter your country. It’s fun to bring that back to what you are doing, not to copy outright, but to be aware of the trends and sometimes this is even validation of the choices you are making.
KA — There is a belief that buildings are not dead things, that they actually have a spirit, they are living things once built growing from the essence of what happens in them. Did you feel this from the St-James building when you bought it?
LR — I did feel that this building had a spirit when I found it, I also felt it was neglected and was suffering. I wanted to put the spirit back into the building, and I definitely felt during the restoration period like I was putting the life back into the building. It was after I chose the name St-James that I discovered that there had been a Hotel St- James in Montreal at the turn of the century, and that Hotel was very similar in context to the “new St-James” that gave me goose bumps, that sometimes things are in the “book”.
KA — When we look at the St-James it is more akin to a labor of love and not just a place of business. The rooms are all decorated differently and with an attention to detail rarely found in hotels. How much does love influence your business choices?
LR — The St-James is not a boutique hotel, it’s a palace. The guests feel this and they return to be in this. The beauty is that people that live in the city are also welcome into this experience and this is where the fun begins- it is much more interesting this way. I truly appreciate the people in Montreal that come here and enjoy it with such joy and pride. It makes me feel good inside, I created the St-James for me, yes this is true, I created what was a vision, I don’t think that it is possible to create from any other context. Imagine if an artist first created his art wondering what an imaginary audience first wanted. This, I think, would not be art, this would be commerce. I wanted to have the Hotel be created like art. One of the most difficult thing to do in a Hotel is to keep the guest inside of it. The point of hotels (now), is to serve as a place where people stay while visiting other things in a city, and what I wished for with the St-James, was a place that became the destination as well, not just the stop over. The restaurant was a big part of this and this is why now we continue to push the mix in the pursuit of creating that special alchemy which keeps the guests here when they arrive. This starts, in my opinion, with the food and the service. Remarkably simple yes, but remarkably overlooked. I also am a big fan of fun, just creating fun for the people that come to the Hotel makes simple things, fun. I am lucky to be a public company without being a “public company”, this is a good place to be. This creates a passion that is the main motivator for everyone at the Hotel. You feel it when you walk through the doors, when you eat at the restaurant, when you sleep in the beds, or when you come to the spa… passion that’s it! That is the thread that joins everything together.
KA — What has driven you to create the life that you have created for yourself, and how do you keep at it after all these years?
LR — It is very important to play – it’s never too late to do something in your life, the idea that you are too old for this or for that is not true. Are you breathing? Then you are not too old. There is no limit no matter how old you are. The age of the body is mostly determined by your mind. Now, I see that the young people, they get tired so fast. It is fashionable now to be bored, not to have passion, but you see, how not having passion robs you of your energy. I am at a stage now where I must show respect for my body, it’s too bad that the things that are not good for you taste so good. It is as if the “poison is hidden in the honey”, the bread is so good, but it needs to be in moderation. I cannot abuse myself, it’s like I would be abusing someone I love. It’s amazing that when you feel good, you look good. For me, it shows in my hair, when I do not eat properly I might as well wear a baseball cap the next day since I will not be able to have my hair respond to any grooming. For others, it can be bad skin etc. but the signs are always there.
KA — How important is charity to you?
LR — The most important thing is to give back to the society that you are in. I think it is also very important that your team sees you as you are not as what business dictates. Sometimes when you are in the business stress you forget that there are people living in realities that has nothing to do with the business game. Serving them (the homeless) their dinners. was such an amazing thing. The organizers wanted to get the press involved to give interviews, but you know what, that was not why I was there, I was there for me, not for profit. This was the essence of why I was doing this to connect with my humanity. I loved to talk to them, it was so funny-I remembered a few of these people were even aware of my stocks ( at that time we were a public company) some people were trading cigarettes for coffee, it was incredible to be part of their world. Also, I think how children are abused, this for me is the greatest sin, but even greater still, is the fact that when you send money, 75% of it goes to places where it does nothing directly for the children. It’s always a question of politics, even with the lives of the innocent. The protection of children and all causes related to this are definitely closest to my heart.
KA — What music do you listen to?
LR — The music I love is the blues- I love the message in this music. I love the stories and how they make me feel that I don’t have to live the reality since someone has already lived it, and great blues gives you the outcome so strong that you know you don’t have to go down that road. I find that when the artist is really good, he can create a sort of virtual reality around the listener.
KA — When are you the happiest and centered?
LR — When I get up in the morning I am happy. I feel that every day, we are given a day but you know what I realized lately, as we age we realize this more than when we are young, it’s this: we are given a day, but one is also taken. We are always at the same point, we are always in the present. But everyday I am happy. I know how lucky I am to even have the choice of being happy, so I chose to be happy. This is the least I can do because I am very aware that there are a lot of people that do not even have the choice to be happy
When am I happiest? The funny thing is that it’s when I am alone in my car driving home at the end of the day just listening to music and in motion. This feeling is magical for me, it is as if it isn’t me that is moving but the scene around me. I love this 45 minute drive with music. I can understand clearly why many recording artists before releasing their music, insist on hearing it on a long drive first.
KA — Which City in the world is your favorite?
LR — I spent two weeks in Istanbul recently, and this place completely amazed me. I fell in love with the place. I was going there expecting something completely different from what I actually experienced. The food was amazing, and the flavors stayed with me for weeks after leaving there. Sometimes just a sound or a memory would be all that I needed to be fully immersed in the Istanbul again from right here in Montreal- magic don’t you think?
KA — Why do you think the biggest “stars” in the world insist on staying at the St. James; from Elton John to Bono?
LR — It’s very interesting how people take the biggest luxury for granted and when you become famous like the stars, you come right back to this truest of luxury. Alone time: time to be by yourself. Even something as basic as sleeping in the same room becomes a longed for luxury, something that we take for granted. I remember when the Rolling Stones came to town, Mick Jagger wanted so much to have privacy, that he booked the whole hotel for himself. It was such a site to see him in his robe unshaven going from his room to the spa. All he craved was his alone time; his time to let his hair down so to speak, and to get to it – he had to rent the whole hotel. There was another time when Elton John was playing in Canada, and whether he was in Toronto or Vancouver he would jet back to Montreal to sleep in his bed. These are just a few in the many examples of how much it is the things that are simple that become the true luxury at the end of the day.
KA — How do you define “a life of luxury” and how do you live yours.?
LR — Take water for example, it doesn’t really matter how much money you have or how big your diamonds are if you were two days in the desert, you would not be thinking of any of those things- but it is for sure that a glass of water would be the most luxurious thing you would have ever seen. I think in our rush for things, we need not overlook the simple things. I am not saying don’t enjoy life, it is just that this enjoyment is often times too much without being aware of what the simple reality is. We cannot live in the past and remain sour, I think that being sour is the cause of most of the diseases in life, cancers etc. these are all there and they get triggered by unhappiness. Life is too short to be sour. We should try to learn when we are hurt and let the rest go, sometimes even when our trust is broken, there is still a bit of luck there if you look closely enough. It’s like love, you can never give up, never. This is sad to give up on love.
KA — How do you believe luck has a factor in our success?
LR — I feel that in life no matter who you are, you need at least 25% of luck. Never forget your luck. In love we need luck more than in most things, to be in love with the right person requires a lot of luck. Someone once said that luck is when preparedness meets opportunity. I think that is quite close to the truth, but for me it is just simple: we need luck. In divorce, we need luck as well since this can be such a messy thing. I think that when in divorce, we see life differently. This force even sometimes makes us think that there will be no love for us, and that we are too old for love. But love is not a noun, it is a verb- we have to entertain love, we have to send it passion. Love is not passive. I truly feel that things are written in the book. Look at this interview, how many things had to align themselves for this moment to happen right now which also will create other perfect moments. It is sometimes hard to see the connections, but to take yourself out of it for just a moment-that is magic.
KA — Who is Lucien?
LR — Who am I ?… I believe in love and in the presence of luck.
