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Thompson Toronto's Canadian Burger Would Make Us Thankful

Where: 550 Wellington St W, Toronto, ON, Canada, M5V

While lots of Americans have the day off today in honor of Columbus Day, our friends up in Canada are celebrating Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving, Canucks!

As much as we love a big turkey feast, we're wishing we were spending this holiday at Thompson Toronto, where we'd order one of these delectable All Canadian Burgers from the hotel's 24-hour diner The Counter.

While she comes in turkey and veggie varieties, we can only speak of--and heartily recommend--the beef burger. And, of course, the French Fries instead of salad or crispy rings.

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People's Choice Award: The Thompson Toronto

Where: 550 Wellington St W, Toronto, ON, Canada, M5V

It's what you've been waiting all year for--The 2010 HotelChatter Awards! We'll be bringing you the best and worst of the year all day today and part of tomorrow. Agree or disagree with our picks? Air your thoughts in comments below.

The hotel geeks have spoken and this year's People's Choice Award* goes to Thompson Toronto!

Perhaps it was the arrival of a NYC boutique hotel chain in Toronto with Dean & DeLuca minibar goodies and C.O. Bigelow toiletries that had you all excited. Or maybe you were excited to dine at Scarpetta from Chef Scott Conant but most likely, we think you just couldn't get enough of the views from the rooftop pool.

We stayed here right around when the hotel first opened in June and here is our initial take on the place:

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Peeking Inside Scarpetta at Thompson Toronto

Where: 550 Wellington St W, Toronto, ON, Canada, M5V

The long-awaited Scarpetta, the Italian restaurant from NYC chef Scott Conant, has been open inside the equally long-awaited Thompson Toronto for almost two weeks now and we're hearing business is booming from the hotel folks (but of course they would say that.)

Still this place is looking pretty cool. We were able to get some photos from the restaurant folks since during our stay at the end of June, the restaurant had yet to open. And so far, we're liking what we see.

We're also liking what we see on the menu like the creamy polenta with a fricasse of truffle mushrooms ($15), several pasta dishes with pasta made onsite at Scarpetta (ranging from $22 to $24) and some big entrees like lardo-wrapped halibut ($28), Mediterranean branzino ($26) and Sicilian-spiced duck breast ($34)

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Even More Photos from Inside Thompson Toronto

Where: 550 Wellington St W, Toronto, ON, Canada, M5V

Check-in at Thompson Toronto.

We've shown you the rooms and the rooftop at Thompson Toronto but we have even more photos for you to ogle.

Below are some snaps of the hotel's 24-hour diner, The Counter; the future site of the Scarpetta restaurant; the hotel's tuck shop; and lobby bar, plus a few extras. More importantly, you get to see the hand-painted mural of Toronto's landscape by Spanish artist Javier Mariscal which spans an entire wall of the hotel's lobby.

If you like what you see, rates at the hotel are still super reasonable at $159CAD a night this weekend.

To see all our photo galleries from Thompson Hotels in one place, go here!

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Up on The Roof at The Thompson Toronto

Where: 550 Welllington St. NW [map], Toronto, ON, United States, M5V

So yesterday we showed you around a room at The Thompson Toronto but the real star of this hotel is the rooftop. Check out these amazing views of the Toronto skyline (and the can't-miss-it CN Tower) from both the pool and the bar/lounge.

However, not anyone can come up on the roof. The space is only open to hotel guests and special Thompson VIP card holders. If you're lucky enough to fall into one of these groups, you can head up to the rooftop starting at 11am for lunch and daytime drinks and continue to hangout there well into the evening as the bar closes at 2am.

In the winter, the pool closes (obviously) but the glass-enclosed lounge and bar will remain open year-round.

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Inside The Thompson Toronto

Where: 550 Wellington St W, Toronto, ON, Canada, M5V

And now we present to you with brief commentary the video and photos from the brand-new Thompson Toronto. We were guests of the hotel and Virgin America last night as part of Virgin America's launch party for their new Toronto route.

What We Liked: Huge rooms with hardwood floors, C.O. Bigelow products in the bath, the delicious Counter restaurant (which also does room service at semi-reasonable prices) and the orange touches on the chairs and the desk lamp. The rooftop pool has killer views of the city. Oh and room service attendants are super cute in plaid shirts, tight jeans, converse sneakers and bowties.

What We Didn't Like: The half door in the bathroom left us a little chilly while showering and the $10 WiFi was slow.

Bottom Line: This hotel is very much a Thompson Hotel--cool, fashionable and a bit discerning--but maybe because it's Canada, the hotel just feels a little more welcoming than the others in the Thompson family. Rooms start at around $209CAD a night.

Stay tuned tomorrow as we reveal more of the hotel's public spaces, including the astounding rooftop pool and views.

HotelChatter stayed at Thompson Toronto as guest of the hotel and Virgin America but all views expressed here are our own.

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Thompson Toronto Gets Pushed Back to June 8

Where: 550 Wellington St W [map], Toronto, ON, United States, M5V

Never fear, the imminent opening of Thompson Toronto is near, you just have to wait a teeny bit longer.

We were reading this long article on the opening of TT when we saw it mentioned a "mid-June" opening date. We got skeered and scurried to the Thompson Toronto site. Fortunately when we checked the reservations system, it had only pushed the opening back by one week until June 8. Room rates remain the same at $305 CAD.

Despite getting a sneak peek at the hotel, The Toronto Star really had nothing to report on the hotel, only that there will be a dramatic mural of the Toronto skyline on the lobby wall by Spanish artist Javier Mariscal.

But we did learn that Thompson hotelier Jason Pomeranc used to visit Toronto when he was younger (he remembers a lake and that Canadians were friendly) and that he used to date Shannen Doherty. (How did we not remember this?!)

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Thompson Toronto Now Set for Mid-April, Scarpetta To Follow

Where: 550 Wellington St W, Toronto, ON, Canada, M5V

UPDATE 2.17.10: The official press release says May. Go figure.

As all eyes look towards Vancouver this week for the 2010 Winter Olympics, we've got our mind on what's happening in Toronto, specifically Thompson Toronto.

The latest word is that the hotel should open in mid-April or possibly the end of the April. No word on when reservations will open but we were told by Thompson peeps that there is already a team in place at the hotel.

Meanwhile, it's been announced that the hotel's restaurant will be an outpost of Scarpetta, a famed NYC eatery helmed by busy chef Scott Conant with another location in Miami's party hotel, The Fontainebleau. But what has us really excited is news of a 24-hour diner in the hotel as well!

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What the Rooms at Thompson Toronto Will Look Like

Where: 550 Wellington Street, NW, Toronto, ON, Canada, M5V

It seems as if it's always one step forward, one step back for Thompson Hotels, except this time around it's one step back, one step forward. We were crushed to hear that the free WiFi we so depended on from Thompson Hotels is gone. Out the window with the boom years of the hospitality industry, we presume. Sadly, you will now be asked to pony up at least $10 to surf the web in your fancy designer room.

But we perked up again today when we found photos online of the rooms inside the upcoming Thompson Toronto.

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Thompson Toronto Coming With Pool and Ice Rink

Where: 550 Wellington St. W, Toronto, ON, Canada, M5V

Listen up, Canadians: Thompson Hotels co-owner Stephen Brandman says "We think of Toronto as a great extension of cities where we already have hotels, in New York and Los Angeles."

Sure, we might be taking him a little bit out of context, but that's what the Thompson Hotel Toronto really is: a test case for expanding the brand outside of the US.

Due to open in the summer of 2009, the Canadian expansion of the Thompson brand will be a 102-room hotel paired with a 340-unit residential project, all with some fairly spectacular features. A few of these include:

floor-to-ceiling windows, 42-inch plasma TVs, private 40-seat screening rooms ... an outdoor skating rink with an ice-side lounge, and on the roof, an infinity outdoor pool and bar, with unobstructed views of Lake Ontario, Fort York and the CN Tower.

We just checked the climate figures for Toronto, since we weren't too sure that roof-top infinity pool will get that much use--and summer temperatures tend to hit a maximum of 80 degrees so we're still not convinced that it's worth it.

We're happier with the outdoor skating rink, though, since the average maximum temp in winter is below freezing. Weather aside, we are keen to see how the first non-US Thompson turns out, and of course, whether or not it can open on time.

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Thompson Hotels Break Ground in Toronto

Where: 550 Wellington St. W. , Toronto, ON, Canada, M5V

The other day we told you that Thompson Hotels has plenty of other hotel projects lined up now that Six Columbus has finally opened its doors.

And they are moving fast. The Toronto Star reports that ground-breaking is expected today at 550 Wellington St. W. in Toronto's King Street West area, which is described as similar to NYC's Soho neigborhood.

The modernist condominium and hotel complex at 550 Wellington St. W. is expected to be completed by the summer of 2009. It will feature design by Estudio Mariscal, a Barcelona company that created a cutting-edge look for the hotel across from Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain.

The The Thompson Toronto will also feature condos and four restaurants/bars and the ultra-hip, ultra-now rooftop pool (above in rendering.) Yikes. But if you're visiting Toronto before 2009, here are some other boutique hotels worthy of checking out.

· Hotel Le Germain
· The Gladstone Hotel
· The Hazelton Hotel
· The Soho Metropolitan

Related Stories:
· What's Next for Thompson Hotels? Apparently, A Lot [HotelChatter]