SPOTLIGHT ON… Toronto
From above: Distillery District; Four Seasons Toronto; the Drake; Thompson Toronto
(
thedrakehotel.ca) just over a decade ago by influential Torontonian Jeff Stober. Located at 1,150 Queen Street West, the hotel has drawn hipsters to the area with a lively events programme, rotating art exhibitions, basement parties and good food and drink served both in its ground-floor café and restaurant and upstairs at its Moroccan-inspired Sky Yard. Bill Simpson, chief development officer of the Drake, says: “When we opened in 2004, it defied logic that someone would build a world-class boutique hotel in a neighbourhood like this. The dominant retail landscape was appliance stores, little mom-and-pop stores and a couple of Chinese restaurants. People settled here because it was so affordable.” Galleries, artists and creative companies soon moved in too. Simpson adds: “Now there are 17 condos across the street with 4,000 people living in them.” The hotel itself is modest, with only 19 rooms, but there are plans to expand. Simpson says: “We own the three buildings next door – one is Drake General Store and two are our offices – and we are working on incorporating them to create 32 more rooms. We hope to start construction in the spring, with completion for late 2017.” The Drake Hotel Properties portfolio also incorporates Drake One Fifty restaurant in the Financial District, and the Drake Devonshire, a chic lakeside retreat 200km from the city, which opened just over a year ago. In 2014, Toronto welcomed a
record 14.3 million tourists. Catering to demand, the past half-decade has seen a number of new hotel openings. The 102-room Thompson arrived in 2010 – New York’s Studio Gaia designed the minimalist interiors, which include extensive meeting space, but it is best known for its rooftop pool scene. Facebook, Nike and the Toronto International Film Festival have all hosted functions here.
The Ritz-Carlton opened in 2011, with a pool facing the CN Tower, while the Trump International Hotel
26 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016
and Tower and the Shangri-La launched in 2012, and Marriott’s Delta Toronto at Southcore Financial Centre in 2014. Four Seasons moved to its new address at 60 Yorkville Avenue three years ago. General manager Dimitrios Zarikos says: “This is the fifth iteration of the Four Seasons in Toronto [the Canadian brand opened its first hotel here in 1961], and for the first time, the founder of the company, Mr [Isadore] Sharp, calls it the flagship.” More hotels are on the horizon. Local food and nightlife mogul Charles Khabouth, of Ink Entertainment, owns the new- build Bisha Hotel and Residences, to open early in 2016. The glitzy 100-room property will be the first OE Collection property from Loews Hotels, and will be located in the Entertainment District. The 406- room Hotel X is “coming soon” with a rooftop pool, two-storey cinema and ten squash courts, while mini- chain Ace will make its Canadian debut at 51 Camden Street, in the Fashion District, in 2018. Another sign of the city’s
reinvention is its dynamic food scene. Celebrity chefs have been launching restaurants – the Four Seasons has Daniel Boulud, while Jamie Oliver opened his first North American outlet in December. Last year also saw local chef Susur Lee partner with Torontonian rap star Drake (no association to the hotel) to open Fring’s on King Street West. Drake also designed the new black and gold uniform for the Toronto Raptors basketball team – I go to see them take on the Milwaukee Bucks at the Air Canada Centre. To the sound of homegrown star Justin Bieber’s “What Do You Mean”, a team of cheerleaders comes bouncing out, T-shirts are thrown into the crowd, and a dinosaur mascot dances. As the Raptors shoot their last hoop to win 106 to 87, the crowd roars, and Toronto triumphs once again. For reviews of the Thompson and Ritz-Carlton, see businesstraveller. asia/tried-and-tested
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