W Hotels Worldwide, part of Marriott International’s portfolio, has opened the W Toronto in the city’s Yorkville neighborhood.
“From its street art scene and ongoing musical legacy, Toronto is a natural fit for W Hotels,” Benoit Racle, VP of brand management, W Hotels Worldwide, said in a statement. “Our unassuming, playful interpretation of luxury is poised to make W Toronto a regular stop for those living and working in Toronto as well as the perfect place for an out-of-town guest to revel in the city like a local.”
Designed by creative agency Sid Lee, W Toronto juxtaposes the city’s biophilia, its urban grid and its brutalist architecture. The brutalist façade has been changed through warm LED lighting that illuminates the night sky, including a glowing, opaque orange lift to take guests to the rooftop bar and restaurant. In the sixth-floor Living Room (the W brand’s name for the lobby/lounge space) has jewel tones of ruby, amethyst and topaz with curved lines and velvet furniture reminiscent of Toronto’s late '60s and early '70s counterculture movement. Other highlights of the 5,000 square foot space include a communal “fire” pit, a circular destination bar with cascading amber lighting and access to The Yard, an outdoor terrace surrounded by a three-story atrium of guestroom windows.
The hotel has 254 guestrooms including 30 suites, two of which are Extreme Wow (Presidential) Suites. Drawing inspiration from Toronto’s theater district, guestroom beds are flanked by stage-inspired pendant lights and situated in front of a sapphire velvet curtain that can be automatically drawn open or shut. Design touches include curved banquettes, dressing-room style vanity mirrors, “record-like” tables in honor of Toronto’s musical history as well as nods to nature, like the abstract floral wallpaper and mushroom-shaped accent lights. Double Queen Rooms have wall art that reads “Not everything has to mean something. Some things just are,” by Canadian writer and musician Charles de Lint.
The Art Collection and Sound Suite
The hotel has Canada’s first W Sound Suite, the brand’s signature recording studio experience. Situated off the Living Room, behind a one-way tinted window, W Toronto’s W Sound Suite has professional equipment where musicians, podcasters and other creatives can work.
The hotel also has a collection of original work beginning with the W Monument on Bloor Street. Created by Sid Lee, it reflects biophilia and hippie culture through the use of natural crystal rock patterns and the bold palette of psychedelia. The journey continues with three murals by Dutch-born artist Mikael B. At the driveway is “Below The Surface,” an interpretation of undersea volcanic eruptions; “Hidden Gem” at Lift Level G, inspired by Salvador Dalí, Jackson Pollock and Peter Saul with an array of colors and geometric shapes; and “Clear Vision,” an abstract experimentation of color in the meeting and event space.
F&B
Executive Chef Keith Pears oversees the hotel’s three beverage and food venues. Public School is the ground-floor coffee house, kitchen and bar. The space takes up two levels, accentuated by late 1960s/early 1970s seating in a palette of earth tones as well as “Toronto Gush,” an original mural by Costa Rican-born artist Alan Ganev, inspired by Toronto’s Graffiti Alley.
Light bites and champagne are available in the Living Room, and Skylight is the rooftop bar and restaurant, serving Mediterranean-inspired cuisine. The indoor-outdoor venue overlooks Bloor Street. In addition to the bazaar-inspired main room—with its nightly DJ booth and performance stage—Skylight includes The Loft (for semi-private events); The Den (an intimate nook); and The Terrace (with birdcage-style seating).
Business Spaces
The hotel has five event spaces covering 4,679 square feet. Industry, at 1,980 square feet, has botanical-inspired wallpaper decorated with elliptical lighting, reminiscent of floral seedlings, and can be divided into three smaller spaces. Studios 1 and 2, off the Living Room, as well as Strategy 1 and 2, offer more casual working session settings.
The hotel also has a 3,300-square-foot gym.