The 102-room hotel is Thomson’s first international property, with three restaurants and two lounges yet to be unveiled. The Toronto property has retained the boutique-chic feel, which is the trademark of its properties in New York and Washington. Clad in glass shell, the rooms at Thomson Toronto are smart and stylish, blending layers of dark oak with Scandinavian furnishings.
Dark wood floors add warmth to the rooms, which feature floor-to-ceiling windows with views of the surrounding low-level downtown. It also features large closets and comfortable beds with Italian billion thread-count Sferra linens. Spacious Carrera marble bathrooms are stocked with products from Bigelow’s apothecary.
The most notable element of Thompson Toronto is its VIP Club on seventh floor with a rooftop pool that offers an unobstructed 360 degree view of the city from the Victoria Memorial Park directly below, past the Bay Street contingent to the east, the city and onward.
The hotel is spread over 16 floors with 30,000 square feet of dining, bars and event space, described by its owner Peter Freed as an ‘urban playground’. It includes three upcoming restaurants – New York-based Scarpetta, Wabora Sushi and the 24-hr diner Counter. The hotel is set back from the street with a central courtyard that will feature a skating rink in winter, outdoor dining in summer, and faces onto the charming Victoria Memorial Park.
The hotel also features a sleek, glass-fronted lobby with an enormous black-and-white 3-D cartoon of the city by Spanish artist Javier Mariscal adorning one wall. Above the concierge desk, a glass artwork that appears to have splattered like a giant cocktail thrown at the concierge’s head hangs. The ceilings are 18 feet high with tall and narrow doors. Splashes of vivid vermilion and chrome enliven the understated design space.
The Counter, the hotel’s 24-hour diner, is a cheeky mix of metallic teal and velvet damask, with deco-flocked wall coverings and Cuban tile floors. The glass brick wall features courtly Meissen figurines posed against tiny photographic period backgrounds.
Additional amenities include full-sized desks, IP telephones and wireless internet, and 42-plus-inch plasma televisions.
The owners have chosen Architects Alliance for the exterior design, Studio Gaia for the interiors, restaurant designer Bent and Gable for the coffee shop, and club gurus II x IV for the rooftop pool.
