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4 New Toronto Hotels Creating Buzz
August 23, 2022 3 Minute Read
Toronto is greeting the return of tourists with the launch of several long-awaited downtown luxury hotels.
Since the onset of the pandemic the hotel industry has faced no shortage of challenges, from travel restrictions to lockdowns. But the launch of these four stylish properties represents a big step towards a revitalized travel sector and gives new reasons to visit Toronto.
“With the easing of travel restrictions, many new hotels have been able to launch in time for the 2022 peak season,” says CBRE Hotels Valuation & Advisory Services Director Nicole Nguyen. “These are some of the finest hotel properties in Canada and will become destinations unto themselves.”
Here are four hotel projects creating buzz in downtown Toronto:
1. The W
Marriott International launched the W Toronto in Yorkville this past July. The long-anticipated project includes 254 rooms and three restaurants that are open to the public, including a coffeehouse, tapas restaurant and Mediterranean-inspired rooftop bar.
Creative agency Sid Lee conceived the W project as an ode to Toronto’s music scene. The hotel includes a DJ booth, a performance stage and Canada’s first W Sound Suite, a private recording studio for visiting musicians and podcasters.
2. Ace Hotel
Ace Hotel, Canada’s first, also opened its doors this summer. The hotel’s red brick exterior is a nod to the Fashion District’s warehouses and factories. The development includes 124 rooms decorated with local art, vintage furniture and wood paneling.
Ace Hotel is intended to integrate with its surrounding neighbourhood. By day the suspended lobby serves as a community space for art and cultural programming; at night it turns into an events venue.
According to Nguyen, hotels are increasingly putting emphasis on community integration. “Having amenities that are available to the public helps hotels to connect to their neighbourhoods, which helps sustain demand in the low seasons, especially in downtown markets,” she says.
3. The Canopy by Hilton Hotel
Opening this fall, the Canopy by Hilton Toronto Yorkville, another first of its brand in Canada, will have 184 rooms designed by Studio Munge. Also a mixed-use project, the hotel will occupy floors 2 to 9 of the tower, with the remaining 55 floors dedicated to residential uses.
Amid the rise of hybrid work, the hotel will integrate 3,700 sq. ft. of flexible meeting space for guests to use. Hybrid workers can grab coffee and local goodies from the main floor café and host business lunches at the skyline restaurant overlooking Bloor Street and the Rosedale Valley.
4. Park Hyatt
Having temporarily closed in 2017 to be refreshed by designer Alessandro Munge, the Park Hyatt reopened to the public last September. The complex now features a mix of hotel and residential uses, with hotel guests occupying the north tower’s 219 luxury rooms and the south tower offering 65 rental units.
“We’re seeing more and more mixed-use hotel projects,” says Nguyen. “Standalone hotels are often not the most profitable option. Condo and rental apartment developers can put much higher densities on the same sites.”
Locals and visitors will undoubtedly cross paths in the Park Hyatt’s two food and beverage venues, including the refurbished Writers Room Bar. Boasting rich wood tones and leather furniture, the bar serves cocktails named after Canadian writers and offers some of the best views of the Toronto skyline.
“Hotels continue to find creative ways to adapt and service guests as well as their surrounding communities,” says Nguyen. “These exciting new properties are a testament to the resilience of the hotel industry and Toronto’s ability to attract visitors from all over the world.”
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