Park Royal Hotel

Wednesday, September 16, 1992 - North Shore News - 3%

Nuts on a party

st Vancouver’s ‘jewel’ thrives in an atmosphere of family feeling

OT SOME scoop on

Barcelona. My West

Van friend, ‘‘MF,”
has a friend who's a top dog
at Gatorade. For the-final "
Dream Team basketball

-gameat the Olympics, NBC...

chartered a jet for Gatorade,
Quaker Oats and Indy VIPs,
plus. Dream Team players’
parents, and MF. was invited
along. How:could she say
no?. ar

the best cabin on the ship, a lim-
ousine (everyone else was bused),
and his every wish fuifilled.

_ [guess NBC wants the rights to
the Kings’ games.

‘McNail, who with John’ Candy
and Wayne Gretzky, recently
bought the Toronto Argonauts,
told MF “I'd like to know what
Canadians think of football.”

Excuse me? Doesn’t one do
market research before spending
millions on a sports team? Perhaps
McNall should nave a little talk
with Murray Pezim. .

wk

How time flies. It's been 20 -
years since the Park Royal Hotel
changed hands — since Frank
Bernard sold it to Myron and Or-
rie Holuditsky, Mario Corsi _
became general manager and: °
part-owner and, later; chef Hans .

- Schaub and Antonio Corsi came
“an board. Obviously, this anniver-

sary had to be marked by a party

~ Vand who knows how ie throw a:

NBC's guests were ensconced. ©

na luxurious cruise ship, on’:
‘. which MF.worked out daily with

2 MF; who calls Reilly a “god,”
reports that Reilly stays in sha
simply by doing 90 minutes a

weights daily and that he’s not just

“handsome, he's deep — his
favorite activity there was ‘‘wat-.
ching the sun set over the lights ~
and fountains of Barcelona.”

Gage

:. ME'says that Reilly, not Magic

johnson, was the American stat in -

with grown men'chanting “Pat, °
Pat, ! love yeu Pat!’";

Come on guys, he’s married —
‘oa woman Me ;

but L.A. Kings owner Bruce

McNail got the royal treatment — -

- FRANK BER D (above) is

the previous owner of the Park:
Royal Hotel. At right, current .
owners (left.te right) Antonio

Corsi, Chef Hans ‘Schaub,
Kario Corsi-and ‘Orrie Holubit-
-racentiy
ut 300 friends, family and
emgioyees to: celebrate z
20-year ownership. «.

hosted a party for

- party better than Matic?’

*. Great party. About.300 friends,

- family and employees — past and |

present — met under the marquee
in the hotel’s garden to sip and
nibble, catch up and reminisce.

~ Even the weather was lovely.

But what a time warp. As a
former PRH staffer, 1 knew I'd see
familiar faces, but | was expecting
peopic to at least Jook different.

Aside from a wrinkle here or a
few pounds there, no one has .
changed. It was fike the Twilight
Zone. mo :

With the exception of

- businessman Tom Work, one.of

the PRH’s favorite guests who will _
stay nowhere else when he’s up

'* fram Portland (and who came up
specifically for.the party), all of the

guests. were from the North Shore.

: Frank and Atie Bernard were.
there, of course, both looking ter-
rific. Same with CAL Investment’s

_ Dick Hibbard, Lions Gate Hospi-

tal president Robert Smith,
mushroom man james Barber,
painter Gordon Smith and soccer
stars Sergie Zanatta and Sammy
lenasduzzi, -  -

Antonio Corsi, usually. spotted
managing Cafe Roma or the Corsi
Trattoria, gets better looking every

PICTURED AT the Park Royal Hotel's
Paijenler, Hotel housekeeper Marissa Ci

Vancouver.

day (never mind, girls, he’s mar-
tied) and he and PRH head waiter
Scott Phillips (not married, make
reservations) still tie for the title of
“North Shore's Best-Dressed _
Man.”"" .

One of the North Shore’s most
charming and eligible bachelors,
Keen Engineering's Peter Hughes,
a long-time PRH customer, kept us
in stitches as he and former PRH-
bartenders Peter Diett and Jeremy
Greene exchanged anecdotes
about certain, er, eccentric pub
customers. .

(Keen Engineering, by the way, -
has been awarded the contract for

_ the new Vancouver Public Library
- and will be working on the

changes to Lions Gate Hospital.)
Angelica Corsi, who was
celebrating the 22nd anniversary
of her arrival in Canada, looks
marvelous.
The PRH’s long-time attorney,
Bo Fodchuk, was there with his

_would be impolite to call her by

-usual, dapper and genial.

20th anniversary party are Core! Trattoria’s chef, Richard

wife Sheila. Sheila is back at UBC _—-_ from.a reunion of people who've. ©
working on her Masters degree known each other for a very long’
(she’s a family counsellor) arid time (the PRH is the North Shore’.
they moved to Kits Point so they Triangle — once you get in you.
wouldn't both have to worry -never get out), Corsi hosted one of
about the bridge. But f suspect the nicest North Shore parties on
that Kits Point doesn’t, uh, quite record... 0 .
compare with Sentinel Hill — they And how does Corsi sum up the”.
should have checked with Michael success of his West Van jewel?
Campbell firston that one. Well, aside from the pride he's
Mrs, Sproule (! always fet it’ always taken in’ being part of the

North Shore community, he says... -
simply “Family. This place and -

everyone in it is family.’” Sante,

Mario, : noe

her first name so } never asked
what it was), who has cabbed it
down from Inglewood Lodge for
dinner every Saturday night for
who-knows-how-long, was there
— still healthy, lovely and
beautifully dressed. .
Throughout the evening our
dapper and genial host was, as

be: ne
“There are still tickets available . -
for “A Symphony of Fashion,’:: |:
* the annual fashion show hosted by
South Granville’s Boboli..

This year’s gala, at the Bayshore,
“is organized by, West Van ladies... -
~ Rhoda Rizkalla and Collett

Chilcott ‘and Will benefit the Van- :
‘ couver Symphony: For tick al
Rhoda ‘at 926-8960

With help from Phillips and
maitre d’ Guy Easter, and ex-: .
cellent service combined with the
atmosphere that inevitably arises

ariini, and Angelica Corsi’s mother, Inga Spinato of North,