By Canadian Press

Montreal hotel redesigns suite that hosted Lennon and Ono’s ‘bed-in for peace’

Sep 21, 2017 | 11:30 AM

MONTREAL — The iconic signs “hair peace” and “bed peace” still appear in the window of the Montreal hotel room where John Lennon and Yoko Ono held their famous bed-in 1969 — only now they’re window decals instead of hand-drawn posters.

Pick up the green rotary dial telephone, and Lennon’s voice can be heard on the other end of the line, explaining his commitment to peace.

On Thursday, Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth Hotel presented their redesign of the suite 1742, where the ex-Beatle and Ono spent eight days during their now-famous “bed-in for peace.”

The rooms, which were redesigned as part of a major hotel renovation, now feature virtual reality exhibits, archival TV and radio footage, and furnishings and artwork inspired by the landmark moment in time.

Instead of re-creating the room exactly as it was, the hotel opted to mix historical replicas with pieces inspired by Lennon and Ono’s travels, art and lives, said one of the architects who worked on the project.

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“We want to celebrate peace and make John’s and Yoko’s message current, in a non-museum fashion,” Martin Leblanc told reporters at a news conference and tour to mark the suite’s reopening. 

The refrain of the antiwar anthem “Give Peace a Chance” is inscribed in the white panelling of the walls, while portraits of Lennon and Ono hang behind a long dining table.

Virtual reality headsets invite the suite’s visitors to take Lennon’s place on the white bed and see the frenzied scene that took place between May 26 and June 2, when the pyjama-clad artists hosted hundreds of journalists, activists and fans.

In another room, the drawers of a wall unit modelled after one owned by Lennon and Ono open to reveal photos, podcasts, historical archives and even the dinner menu from the time of the bed-in.

Hotel spokeswoman Joanne Papineau said the hotel didn’t always go to such lengths to preserve the event’s history, since at the time many hotel guests complained about the media circus and the long-haired hippies hanging out in the lobby.

“People asked us to throw (Lennon and Ono) out,” she said. “Luckily, we didn’t listen.”

It was only in the 1980s, after Lennon’s death, that the hotel began to take steps to commemorate the event, Papineau said. 

She says guests who book the 1,370-square-foot suite before the end of 2017 will be charged a promotional rate of $1,969 per night — a nod to the year the bed-in took place.

Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press

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