ONTARIO Travel Guide
Hotel News / Langham Hotels / Eaton Hotels / Toronto Hotels / Canada Hotels / Hotel Rebrandings / Hotel Renovations / → All Tags
Langham's 'Eaton' Brand To Make North American Debut In Toronto
Now that we've gotten over our initial excitement about Langham's takeover of the Setai Fifth Avenue this month, there's even more Langham-related news to whet our appetite. This time, in Canada.
The brand has decided to take over the Delta Chelsea in Toronto, which, at 1,590 rooms, is Canada's largest hotel.
As of July 1, the hotel will officially be known as Eaton Chelsea, thus becoming the first Eaton hotel to open in North America. (For those of you unfamiliar with the name, Eaton is an offshoot brand under the Langham umbrella, with several properties throughout Asia, including Eaton Hong Kong and Eaton Smart New Delhi Airport.)
Langham's parent company has owned the Delta Chelsea Eaton Chelsea for nearly two decades, but has finally decided to take over management duties as well. This is most likely due to Langham's steadily growing presence in the US, with The Langham Chicago one of the most anticipated openings of 2013 (and not just because of the free WiFi!).
Similar in many ways to Langham, Eaton is known for its "smart, modern and uncomplicated interiors and an enthusiastic 'can do' service culture," as explained by Eaton Chelsea Regional VP Josef Ebner. The hotel itself will undergo major renovations to the exterior, lobby, Market Garden restaurant, and meeting facilities.
One of its main attractions is the "Corkscrew," downtown Toronto's only indoor waterslide.
Rates from $131/night.
[Photo: Eaton Chelsea]
Hotel News / Canada Hotels / MGM Resorts / → All Tags
Where Will MGM Build Its First Canadian Casino?
One of the corporate giants largely responsible for the growth of the gambling and gaming industry in the U.S. is now knocking on our northern neighbor's door.
MGM Resorts is making progress in its bid to build its first hotel and casino in Canada. MGM chairman and chief executive officer Jim Murren (in photo) stated on TV earlier this week that the project has a 50-50 chance of being approved by the city of Toronto. “If it doesn’t happen here there will be one somewhere in Ontario,” he said during a press conference. “Our preference and the OLG’s preference is to be in Toronto.”
It's said that the city of Toronto and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. are mulling it over, though The Star reports that the decision won't come for about a year. Apparently there's been some lobbying going on behind-the-scenes, but that shouldn't surprise anyone.
It is interesting to us that some large stakeholders in Vegas -- MGM and Wynn, for example -- are investing in other cities as opposed to re-investing in Vegas.
Reality TV Hotels / The Layover / Celebrity Chefs / Anthony Bourdain / Toronto Hotels / Canada Hotels / TV Set Hotels / Sex Hotels / Trendy Hotels / Baseball Hotels / Ritz-Carlton Hotels / → All Tags
It's Classic Over Carefree for Anthony Bourdain in "The Layover" Toronto
Anthony Bourdain is back for another season of “The Layover”, and we like it because he names the hotels in the cities where he'll be spending his precious time. We figure, he won't be laying his salt-and-pepper head just anywhere, after all, he's big time now.
So, for entertainment and a dose of travel value, we’ll give you some details on the properties he picks, just in case you find yourself looking for a place to stay in a city that’s sanctioned by this travel personality/chef.
Layover Hotel Episode 5:The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto: This advice from Bourdain: "If you're traveling for work and want to stick your accounting department with unpaid bills for your swank accommodation, you should probably stay at the excellent Ritz-Carlton." He goes on to big up their comfortable beds and ability to get "a good steak" on the premises. Top praise for this hotel located in the middle of the city's financial district that also commands top rates beginning at 545 CAD ($543) in the dead of winter.
Fantasy Friday / Hotel Packages / Hotel Beds / Hotel Amenities / Leading Hotels of the World / Toronto Hotels / Canada Hotels / → All Tags
Fantasy Friday: The Hazelton Hotel's $199K Bespoke Holiday Shopping Package
Yep, it's just about time for some Fantasy Friday dreaming!
This is a package made-in-heaven for shopaholics, so warm up that American Express Black card and be prepared to give it a workout.
The Hazelton Hotel in Toronto’s tony Yorkville neighborhood is offering a Bespoke Holiday Season Shopping Package, starting at a mere $199,000. (Oh wait... that’s Canadian so the price is actually $200,725 US, but, really, at this level what’s an extra grand or two?)
For this sky-high figure, you get some time high in the sky aboard the private jet that will whisk you from your home to Toronto. There you’ll be picked up in a luxury sedan and taken to The Hazelton to get settled into your behemoth 1860 sq ft Bellair Suite (the dressing room alone, outfitted in zebrawood, is 80 sq ft, so there’s plenty of room to try on your new purchases). This one-bedroom suite also has an 800 sq ft windowed seating area, a media center with a wireless touch screen remote media controller, piped sound throughout the living area, two plasma TV's and a separate dining area capable of seating up to ten. There are two bathrooms – the ensuite is done entirely in galaxy green granite and has heated floors, a deep soaker tub and separate rainfall shower, as well as the requisite TV in the mirror.
Airport Hotels / Toronto Hotels / Ontario Hotels / Boutique Hotels / Canada Hotels / Groupe Germain / → All Tags
ALT Hotel Toronto Dominates Mid-Priced Airport Options
We had the chance to stay at the new ALT Hotel Toronto Pearson, owned by Canadian boutique hoteliers, Groupe Germain and, we gotta tell ya, this hotel-in-a-box is stylin’!
Back in April we reported Groupe Germain planned to open several ALT Hotels across Canada, and Toronto is the first up. The ALT Hotel business model is to maximize style while keeping costs down by minimizing superfluous services and prefabricating the hotel rooms – sort of like how cruise ships are built (ergo, hotel-in-a-box!). What this means is that you can get a hotel room for a very reasonable price, that is always the same, no matter what day of the week or what time of the year.
Knowing all of this, we were still pleasantly surprised that the 153-room hotel is so well-designed. When you enter, you'll first notice the eye-catching video wall. Made up of photos and LCD screens, this ever-changing mural is comprised of photos submitted via Instagram.
Hotel News / ALT Hotels / Groupe Germain / Boutique Hotels / Ottawa Hotels / Ontario Hotels / → All Tags
ALT Offers ALTernatives To Pricey Hotels--This Time In Ottawa
In its continuing quest for world domination – Okay, Canadian domination – family-run Canadian hotelier, Groupe Germain, has announced that they will build another ALT Hotel in Ottawa for 2014.
Expect to see a modern hotel with twelve floors and 148 rooms designed by Canadian architects Lemay Michaud and Richard Chmiel. The hotel will be located on well-traversed Slater Street in Ottawa's bustling business district and will share space with 164 luxury condos in the same complex.
As in all ALT Hotels, WiFi is always free and the hotels don’t just call themselves green, they mean it. They use: geothermal heating and cooling, heat recovery from indoor air that's vented outside, water from commercial washers, energy-efficient lighting and a direct digital control system for ventilation, heating and cooling.
Hotel Openings / Hotel Packages / Toronto Hotels / Four Seasons Hotels / Hotel News / Luxury Hotels / → All Tags
Four Seasons Toronto Opens Today In Big Way
Continuing on the Four Seasons theme, the new Four Seasons Toronto opens to the public today at 3pm. The live ribbon cutting, shown on Facebook today, marks the hotel’s flagship position.
The Four Seasons company was born in downtown Toronto in 1961 as a motor hotel, and its first Toronto hotel opened in 1978. Now it’s relocated from that old building to fresh new digs.
located in Toronto’s popular Yorkville center, The 259-room property, will come even more alive this evening with the Café Boulud opening. We hope that in addition to the various media promos Chef Daniel Boulud’s done for the hotel, he will actually be in the FS kitchen for opening night.
Hotel Openings / Hotel News / Hotel Hype / Toronto Hotels / Shangri-La Hotels / Sweet Suites / Hotel Pools / → All Tags
Toronto’s Shangri-La Hotel Still Set to Open in Late August
Shangri-La Toronto Lobby
Oooohhhh. The word is that the Shangri-La Toronto is still scheduled to open later this month. They're playing it coy, however, as we see that bookings can’t yet be made on their site.
We've managed to get a hold of some renderings of the hotel and it looks like it’s going to be a beauty: very light, spacious and open.
Hotel Bars / Canada Hotels / Hotel Lobbies / Hotel Design / Hotel Snapshots / → All Tags
The Great Canadian Hotel Bar Hop: ARC The.Hotel’s Lounge in Ottawa
This is not so much a bar hop as a bar marathon that runs (get it?) the entire length of Canada. If you have the stamina, so do we.
We know what you’re thinking: What’s with the strange punctuation in ARC The.Hotel’s name? Well, we don’t know – but we do know that going to this hotel lounge is worth overlooking poor grammar.
On any given day, you can find a youngish professional crowd hanging out in the lounge, both locals and guests, enjoying the jazzy, dreamy soundtrack. What’s their cocktail of choice, you ask? It’s the ARCtini, the ARC Lounge’s version of a green apple martini.
Hotel Bar Hops / Canada Hotels / Toronto Hotels / Trump Hotels / Fairmont Hotels / Hotel Bars / Hotel Cocktails / → All Tags
The Great Canadian Hotel Bar Hop: SUITS Lounge at the Trump Hotel Toronto
This is not so much a bar hop as a bar marathon that runs (get it?) the entire length of Canada. If you have the stamina, so do we.
The Trump International Hotel & Tower Toronto is a splendiferous hotel, dramatically designed in black, white and grey with shots of glass throughout that make it shine.
The hotel's SUITS Lobby Lounge (yes, they really named it that) mimics this same opulence perfectly, but with an added touch of gold, gold everywhere.
This luxurious lounge attracts local financial district sophisticates in the early evening who are then replaced by hotel guests and other locals coming in for the 7:00 p.m. on shift. Regardless of the time, all lounge-lovers at SUITS enjoy the cocktail concoctions perfected by the master mixologists, who serve classic drinks made modern, or classic drinks that will always be modern.
ALT Hotels / Toronto Hotels / Quebec Hotels / Airport Hotels / Canada Hotels / Hotel Openings / Hotel News / → All Tags
The First ALT Hotel Outside of Québec Opens Its Doors in Toronto
ALT Hotels, the ALTernative brand from Groupe Germain Hospitalité, has recently opened up their first hotel outside of Québec at Toronto Pearson International Airport.
As we first mentioned in April, ALT Hotels are aiming for, maybe not world domination, but certainly Canadian domination, as they actively expand their ALT hotels across Canada. Current locations include Québec City, Montréal’s Quartier Dix30 and now Toronto. Plans to open ten ALT Hotels across Canada by the end of 2016 are underway, with three new properties already in development at Halifax’s Stanfield International Airport, in Montréal’s District Griffin and in Winnipeg’s Sports, Hospitality and Entertainment District (SHED).
A no-frills-but-still-oh-so-chic group of properties, ALT Hotels are pared down versions of Groupe Germain’s Le Germain boutique hotels, which are found in Québec City, Montréal, Calgary and two in Toronto. And while Le Germain hotels are the full-meal deal, ALT hotels have cut down on some the high-end perks of a hotel stay.
For the Sake of Hotel Art / Concierges / Toronto Hotels / Art Concierges / → All Tags
Exactly What Does the Art Concierge at The Hazelton Hotel Do?
[Photo: The Hazelton Hotel / Cynthia Chapman artist]
The Hazelton Hotel in Toronto has an impressive contemporary art collection. So impressive, in fact, that the hotel was receiving inquiries from guests about it. Now what to do if you’re a hotel that prides itself on exceptional service and wants to fulfill a guest’s quest for art knowledge? You hire an art expert to satisfy the need.
The hotel’s art concierge is available through live chat to not only answer any questions you may have about the hotel’s extensive art collection, but to also offer insight into the many art dealers and galleries found in the Yorkville region where The Hazelton is located.
If you’re truly art hungry, you can meet the art concierge in person via an appointment to find out, say, what a particular artist was thinking when he or she painted the particular piece that’s hanging in your room, or to get the inside scoop on the happenings in the art world in one of Canada’s cultural centers.
