Travel news: Get a taste of the East Coast, take in Montreal’s cabaret-meets-circus-arts show, explore the U.S. on responsible small-group tours

East Coast dining

Travellers will have to wait just a bit longer to check into Muir, the highly anticipated Halifax hotel debuting next month in the new Queen’s Marque harbour district. But diners can get a taste now: the in-house restaurant, Drift, has opened, serving modern Maritime fare, like the Hodge Podge with haddock and scallops, and the Yarmouth lobster pot pie with buttered rutabaga. Still to come is an outdoor waterfront patio, slated for spring.

Spruced up

The Sheraton Gateway Hotel is nearly done with its $30-million revamp. The only hotel connected to Toronto Pearson International Airport, the 484-room property has been updated throughout; you’ll find renovated guest rooms and an open-concept lobby that features a restaurant, a coffee bar, co-working spaces and soundproof booths for calls on the go. Also new is an expanded Sheraton Club Lounge, open 24/7, for Marriott Bonvoy Elite members and Sheraton Club level guests.

Putting on a show

A new cabaret act will take up residence at Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth: “Celeste,” a 90-minute performance combining circus arts, illusion and live music, inspired by starry nights. A collaboration between the landmark downtown Montreal hotel, Cirque Éloize and Ivanhoé Cambridge, the show will run Dec. 16 to May 7, 2022, with tickets on sale now at cabaretceleste.com.

Music to your ears

The 2022 TD Ottawa Winter Jazz Festival will take to the stage for in-person shows, running from Jan. 28 to 29 (in partnership with the Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre) and Feb. 3 to 5 (at Arts Court). Artists include Holly Cole, one of Canada’s most acclaimed jazz vocalists, and Dominique Fils-Aimé, winner of the 2020 Juno Award for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year. Day passes are on sale now, with single tickets available soon.

New in tours

Intrepid Travel, a certified B Corporation that specializes in responsible travel and small-group tours, has announced it will be launching 38 new trips throughout the U.S. next year. The added itineraries range from the company’s signature outdoorsy adventures (pack your hiking shoes for the “South Dakota to Montana Parks Explorer”) to culinary activities (the “Portland to San Francisco Discovery” includes cycling around to food carts and shucking oysters).

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