"Some hotels are charming, some are modern and some have storied histories. Few have all three, unless you’re talking about the Hotel @ the Lafayette where French Renaissance interior architecture, contemporary furnishings and a fascinating past combine to create a unique experience with a down-to-earth friendliness that is a hallmark of everything Buffalo."

So starts Buffalo’s renovated Hotel @ The Lafayette offers experience a chain hotel can’t match, a delightful look at Rocco Termini's three-year, $40 million magnus opus, the restoration of the Hotel @ the Lafayette, in a Special to the Toronto Star on January 18 by Buffalo enthusiast and Toronto resident Lorne Opler.

After recounting both the illustrious history of the Hotel Lafayette and its decline, Opler recommends it heartily, especially to hockey fans in town for a Sabres-Leafs game at the First Niagara Center, just "five minutes away by the downtown light rail train."

"As a microcosm of the city itself — one that flourished, floundered and flourished again — the Hotel @ the Lafayette lets you get acquainted with Buffalo’s history and culture. That’s something the chain hotels just can’t match. Isn’t what a great travelling experience should be all about?"

Great piece, Lorne. Thanks for spreading the good word across the border.