We all got excited about the opening of the new W Toronto when it was first announced back in 2019 and scheduled to open in June 2020. But, thanks to pandemic-related delays, we haven’t heard much from the anticipated Yorkville hotel with respect to a launch date.
Now, WanderEater has learned that the shiny new W Toronto is set to finally open its doors in late Fall. The news was confirmed by Marriott International (W Hotels’ parent company) reps in an email.
The 254-room (including 32 suites), nine-storey hotel takes over the shuttered Bloor Yorkville Marriott Hotel (90 Bloor Street East), a long-time often overlooked Yorkville option compared to the neighbourhood’s newer and more luxurious hotels.
See also: Inside Calgary’s Newest Boutique Hotel + How To Make One Of Their Signature Cocktails
The 1974-built building’s $40-million makeover – which began July 2019 – includes things like a top-of-the-line 3,300-square-foot fitness facility (which will be open 24/7), 4,800-square-feet of stylish meeting and event space, and an immersive glass atrium.
Celebrated Montreal-based SidLee led the design of guest rooms and public spaces, in collaboration with W Hotel’s international design team. According to W Hotels, W Toronto will “reflect Toronto’s brutalist architecture, graffiti art, grid-like sprawl, parks and green spaces, and theatre, and music culture.”
This will be reflected in everything from in-house music production studios, to regular speaker series and festivals.
Though not all details surrounding the hotel’s food and beverage program have been released, we do know that we can expect a street-level café on Bloor St. that serves up everything from locally roasted coffee and plant-based snacks to fresh cocktails. Meanwhile, the Living Room – housed in the aforementioned glass atrium – will offer a variety of tapas and sip global coffee and tea drinks, house-infused culinary-inspired spirits, and sparkling wine. By night, this spot will become a bustling social hub.
“The Living Room space will be a hub for all things social – a place to see and be seen,” says Craig Reaume, General Manager of W Toronto “Innovative, inspiring and infectious, W Toronto’s super-charged energy celebrates guests’ endless appetite to discover what’s new/next and to see more, feel more, go longer, stay later.”
But the star of the show for many is the breezy Rooftop Bar & Restaurant that overlooks Bloor Street and the city beyond. Here, guests can expect a Mediterranean and Middle Eastern-inspired late-night bistro and Vermouth and Amaro-centric cocktails.
The Toronto spot is the second W Hotel in Canada. It comes after the W Montreal opened its doors in 2004 and was remodelled in 2015. With its cosmopolitan sensibility, diversity, and thriving arts scene (at least, in non-pandemic times), Toronto makes a natural choice for further expansion of the W Hotel brand in Canada.
“Toronto speaks W’s language – it’s bold and vibrant, full of interesting people, things to see and do,” says Reaume. “Yorkville is luxurious, but interspersed with curiosities, and with so much demand now for a new, buzzy environment, Yorkville’s central location is ideal for locals looking to get out, and travellers who want to be in the middle of it all.”
Sadly, there isn’t a pool nor a spa at W Toronto– two must-haves for some discerning travellers. But – for the well-heeled Toronto set, at least – it shines more in the scene-y wining and dining department than anything and will undoubtedly become a hot spot for popping champagne and splashy events that make the society pages.
And we can’t wait these timelines are never set in stone… but, as they say, good things come to those who wait.
Featured Image: W Hotel Toronto
