October 11, 2007

Fairmont San Jose celebrates 20 years

A pivotal building block in the city’s future celebrates a birthday

By Jeanne Carbone Lewis
Staff Writer

San Jose’s tenure as the unsophisticated sister of San Francisco ended 20 years ago with the arrival of the Fairmont Hotel.

Lino Broydo, left, the hotel’s director of public relations, hosts a press lunch Sept. 25 to start celebrations for the Fairmont’s 20-year anniversary in San Jose. Broydo is pictured with Insituto Italiano diCultura Director Onofri Speciale, Friends of FAI U.S. liaison Ottavia Bassetti and Sylvia Raviola, honorable vice consul of Italy in San Jose. Photo by Jeanne Carbone Lewis

On Oct. 5, 1987, the Fairmont opened its elegant doors as the first luxury hotel in Silicon Valley. From the moment one entered the neo-classical 19-story granite fascia into the posh peach-colored marble lobby, residents and visitors knew San Jose possessed the sophistication of any world-class city.

“The Fairmont was one of the pivotal building blocks to set the course into San Jose’s future,” said former San Jose Mayor Tom McEnery, whose term oversaw the Fairmont’s conception and arrival. “The Fairmont was key and the opening statement that San Jose was ‘growing up.’ Kim Small and the Swig family scored a miraculous triumph.”

From the beginning, the Fairmont Hotel has enchanted its guests with luxury and even expanded with the times. The Fairmont guest registry is a who’s who of celebrities with actors Dustin Hoffman, John Travolta, George Burns, Jay Leno, Bill Cosby, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Rudolf Nureyev, Muhammad Ali and Prince Andrew of England enjoying its sophisticated elegance.

Its mainstay may be accommodating providing chic guest rooms and meeting spaces as well as hosting more than 750 conventions a year, but many San Jose residents also enjoy overnight visits on New Year’s Eve and other special occasions and are treated to the same world-class opulence and hospitality.

“The Fairmont San Jose’s contributions have been nothing but exemplary,” said the hotel’s general manager, Cyril Isnard. “I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Fairmont San Jose team on these past 20 years. We are delighted to see how far we have come and are even more excited to imagine the possibilities of where the next few years will take us.”

An aerial view the Fairmont San Jose. The 13-story Fairmont Tower is to the right of the main building and was added in 2002.

In the 1980s, Kimball Small Properties was designated by San Jose as the master developer of its downtown redevelopment efforts including the Fairmont Hotel and later, the adjacent office tower. Richard L. Swig [1925—1997] was president of the Fairmont Company and foresaw a revitalized downtown with a world-class hotel that offered the best of everything.

As business increased, the hotel expanded. In February 2002, the hotel added the 13-story Fairmont Tower with an additional 264 rooms, bringing the total room count to 805.A coup for city officials and residents alike 20 years ago, the Fairmont remains a jewel of the city’s thriving downtown today. And its employees are as vibrant as the hotel in which they work.

“When I graduate [retire] from my work and my grandkids ask me, ‘Nana, what did you do in the hotel?’ I want to tell them that I did more than just put people to sleep. And that’s why I love working with our wonderful community and our amazing staff at the Fairmont—I am so very lucky,” said Lina Broydo, who has been the director of public relations since the Fairmont opened.

That enthusiasm and knowledge carries through with the Fairmont’s 688 staff members who represent a melting pot of cultures whose goal is make each guest feel special. And that enthusiasm carries into its restaurants as well.

If food is your forte, the Fairmont offers the Fountain Restaurant, Pagoda, Grill on the Alley, McCormick and Schmicks, Bamboo Sushi and the Express Café. There’s also pre-theater events, afternoon tea, Sunday brunch, Café Stretto and ongoing winemaker dinners. All are under the accomplished hands of award-winning executive chef Daniel Maurice.

The 1985 Fairmont groundbreaking in Plaza Park [now Cesar Chavez Plaza] is celebrated with a huge cake reproduction of the building. From left, Kimball Small, Tom McEnery and Richard Swig. Photo courtesy of the Fairmont

The Fairmont also hosts elaborate events including weddings showcasing various traditions that have included the arrival grooms to the hotel on elephants and horse-drawn carriages. The meals served during the events can also be quite elaborate, featuring as many as 10 courses and extravagances such as whole lambs and wedding cakes suspended from the ceiling.

Through the 20 years of weddings and anniversary celebrations and conventions, a number of dignitaries have enjoyed the Fairmont’s hospitality. It was the first hotel in U.S. history to host President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore on the same overnight. President Gerald Ford, George W. Bush and Laura Bush have also stayed at the Fairmont.

Many San Jose residents make the plush Lobby Lounge a destination. With rotating nights of dueling pianos, a jazz and pop dance band, James Bond movies, martini nights, book-signing events and ballroom dancing with instructors, the Fairmont aims to please.

In celebration of 20 years in San Jose, Italian cookbook author, chef and Coltibuono Cooking School founder Lorenza De’Medici will be at the Fairmont on Oct. 19 for an antipasti extravaganza luncheon. Guests will enjoy food demonstrations with Fairmont executive chef Daniel Maurice while De’Medici offers insights of Italian cooking. Tickets for the event are $125 with proceeds benefiting Fondo per L’Ambiente Italiano [FAI]. FAI is a nonprofit foundation dedicated to the preservation and restoration of Italian art and architecture.

For information on the Antipasti Extravaganza Luncheon, contact Lina Broydo at (408) 998-3916 or lina.broydo@fairmont.com.